Embracing Prayer: The Power of Faithful Persistence

Bob was not uh particularly wealthy or particularly con connected but he met Jesus and he he read passages in the Bible like where Jesus says ask and seek and knock ask whatever you will in my name and I'll give it to you and uh Bob asked Doug Co is that really true does God really do that Jesus really do that and Doug said yeah he really does now you have to understand that in the context of all of scripture, it's not a magical formula you can't use it selfishly and so but God responds to he hears and ansers prayer. [00:01:30]

Bob said the Doug well I got to start praying about something then and Doug said all right what do you want to pray for and Bob said I think I'll pray for Africa and Doug said well that's a little big that's a little vague can you narrow it down and Bob said all right I think I'll pray for Uganda and Doug said oh you've been to Uganda nope you know people there oh I just want to pray for Uganda. [00:02:20]

Bob was a new Christian so okay I'll do it so he starts praying and for about a month nothing happens and then he is at a dinner in Washington one evening and people sitting around the table talking about what they do and one of the women says that she runs the largest uh orphanage slmed facility of its kind in the country of Uganda and all of a sudden Bob was just been sitting there like a bump up until now Roars to life and starts preppering this woman with questions about what it is that she does and how it's going. [00:03:36]

Bob says yes and we'll come back to this is part of a prayer life talking to God about what we're doing together Bob says yeah so he goes over and he tours this facility and he is appalled by the suffering and the pain and the Despair and so when he comes back out of that experience out of his prayer he begins to write to the heads of like multinational pharmaceutical companies and and says you know there's every year you throw away millions of dollars of medical supplies and there's kids over here that are dying and they need you ought to send some of those supplies to this place. [00:04:40]

Bob gets back on a plane again Doug Cod tells me this story flies back to Uganda and they have this big party because it's not a real country and this is the largest facility of his kind the president comes to this party and meets Bob and offers to take him on a little tour of the capital and on while they're going on that tour Bob sees a group of prisoners over there and he asks the president what are they in for the President says well they're political prisoners and Bob says oh that's not a good idea you to let them free. [00:05:35]

State Department goes on to tell Bob that the US had been working for the release of those prisoners for years to no avail and they had just been informed that they have now been released in part because of Bob sometime later Bob gets a phone call from the president he's going to select a new cabinet and he says to Bob I'd like for you to come over and pray for me while I am selecting a new cabinet for my government so Bob knows nobody no connections gets on a plane flies back over there prays for the president. [00:06:48]

Prayer may not look like that for you or for me but Jesus says that we follow a God who loves to answer prayer so here's the challenge uh you pray this week every day for something that's on your heart and if at the end of this week God has not clearly answered your prayers I will not pay you $500 but if God does you don't have to pay me anything but the de is We're The Fellowship of the withered hand we seek God's help um we're going to stand with each other in prayer and there's going to be stories that will come out of this week and I'd love to hear them. [00:07:34]

Pick something that you pray about that you care about keep praying every day just persist for this week listen what thoughts come when you pray God telling you to do anything like write to companies the way that Bob did uh and then you walk through your day look for God like if Bob had not noticed there's this woman from Uganda at his table he could have missed it and we do that all the time if we're not praying we don't have the opportunity to see God show up in our life. [00:08:08]

Do not manufacture artificial Miracles God's involved that's a great thing sometimes in church circles there can be this weird kind of pressure to come up with some kind of weird strain Supernatural story we're deeply human We Are The Fellowship of the withered hand so uh don't manufacture or Force any explanation for something and then we have a prayer team that loves to be in prayer so if you have something and you'd like to ask somebody else to stand with you in prayer then let the prayer team know about that. [00:08:53]

If you'd like to be a part of that prayer team if you would like to pray for other folks and stand with them then uh you can let Tim Williams know here it become new and love to have you do that this week right now we're going to pray right where you are so if you want to close your eyes you can do that or keep them open just pray right now Our Father who is in heaven may you be revered and loved and I'll just simply tell God about what you care about what you want to pray for that relationship that person that problem that need that anxiety that hope that dream tell God right now. [00:09:20]

Part of what Jesus said in the sermon of the mount is don't be like the pagans who think that they will be heard because of their many words in Babylon they just think there's a mechanical formula and a power out there no no no this is our father this is the one who loves us this is the one to whom we pray this is our week of prayer together make it a golden rule. [00:10:50]