Not Giving Up

THE DAILY WORD
By Jim Seekamp

Wednesday January 23, 2008

Luke 18:1 (NIV)
Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.

As we mentioned on Monday, Jesus made a point of telling His disciples that they should NOT GIVE UP when they pray! The reason they would be TEMPTED to give up is because they wouldn't have seen the answer yet!

We established Monday that thanksgiving should be associated with making a request of God:

Philippians 4:6 (NIV)
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

When you make a request of God, THANKSGIVING is part of the deal! That's because if you BELIEVE you HAVE received what you asked for (Mark 11:24), then you will GIVE THANKS TO GOD for it, even though you don't physically have it yet, because you BELIEVE you already HAVE it!

After you've requested something of God, although you should NOT make the request again, you SHOULD continue to PRAY about it!

You might say: "What?? That doesn't make sense!"

Actually it does. All prayers AFTER your initial prayer request should be prayers of THANKSGIVING; THANKING God that He has heard your prayer, and that you have received what you asked for!

Mark 11:24 (NIV) (Jesus speaking)
Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you HAVE RECEIVED IT (past tense), and it WILL BE (future tense) be yours.

Hebrews tells us to "hold firmly to the faith we profess"!

Hebrews 4:14 (NIV)
Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess.

In this case, the KJV says it better:

Hebrews 4:14 (KJV)
Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us HOLD FAST our profession.

Why would we have to hold fast our profession (or confession) if it looked like we already had the answer?? We wouldn't!

The reason we must hold fast our confession is because it DOESN'T LOOK LIKE the prayer is answered!

Therefore, when we pray, we should thank God for hearing us and answering our prayer! If we asked for something in line with the Word-- like healing or provision-- we can thank God that it is ours, since there is no possibility that God would ever say no to His own promises of His own Word!

Not giving up means asking once, and then continually thanking God for the answer just as if you had already received the physical manifestation!

PRAYER
Thank You Father for Your Word, which is alive and active; sharper than any double-edged sword. Help me by faith and confession to remove the barriers that have hemmed me in. Help me remember to always trust Your Word and keep my words in line with what You say even when circumstances don't seem to agree with You.
In Jesus' Name, Amen

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