Jesus reminds us that when we persevere in prayer we must do it in faith. Speaking the same words day after day in an empty ritualistic manner is nothing more than vain repetition and it is useless. True persevering prayer isn’t like that.
It is as heartfelt the fiftieth time as it was the first time it was prayed and it’s always accompanied by a childlike confidence that expects God to do what He promised—no matter how long it takes.
That means when you pray perseveringly, you don’t get up off your knees, look at the situation and say, “Oh my, it doesn’t look like my prayer did any good. I guess I’d better pray again.”
No, every time you pray you must believe your prayers changed things in the realm of the spirit even if you cannot yet see evidence of those changes in the natural world. You must believe God heard you and went to work on your behalf.
But you must also understand there are forces of darkness working to hinder the answer to your prayer, and so you must be willing to stick with the process until you’ve prayed the answer all the way through.
Plead Your Case
There is only one thing that will give you that kind of tenacity: the Word of God.
To keep praying in faith in spite of all the adverse circumstances and negative reports that often come along, you must not only know what the Bible promises you, you must see a clear inner image of that promise being fulfilled. It must shine within you so brightly it chases away every shadow of doubt.
Sometimes people will tell me about a situation and say, “Well, you know, Sister Hammond, I’m just praying and standing on the Word.”
“Really?” I’ll say. “Exactly what scriptures in the Word are you standing on?”
You’d be amazed how many times they can’t tell me. They just shrug as if to say, “The whole Bible, I guess.”
Listen, you can’t base your prayer request on a general belief in the Bible. You have to be specific. You have to study the Scriptures and find out exactly what you can expect God to do in your particular situation.
In some ways, praying is like presenting a legal case. And in the courtroom of heaven, the only acceptable law is the Word of God. Now, even though the Judge is your Heavenly Father and He desires to rule in your favor, He can only do so if you base your case on promises and precedent from the Bible.
That’s why in Isaiah 43:25-26, He says, “I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgression for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins. Put me in remembrance: let us plead together: declare thou, that thou mayest be justified.”
When God says Put Me in remembrance, He’s not telling you to remind Him of what a great person you are or how very much you want your prayer answered. He is telling you to put Him in remembrance of His Word. For according to divine law, that Word is the only plea to which He can respond.
As Isaiah 62:6-7 says:
I have set watchmen upon your walls, O Jerusalem, who will never hold their peace day or night; you who [are His servants and by your prayers] put the Lord in remembrance [of His promises], keep not silence, and give Him no rest until He establishes Jerusalem and makes her a praise in the earth.
Your job in prayer is to hold God’s Word before Him and keep it there until that Word is manifested in the person or situation for which you are praying. You are to put together an airtight case based on the specific scriptures and to keep pleading that case in the court of heaven until your adversary, the devil, gives up and goes home.
Of course, you don’t have to do it by yourself. You have the Holy Spirit to help you. One of His names is Advocate. An advocate is a lawyer who pleads another’s case.
As your Advocate, the Holy Spirit will lead you to the scriptures you need. He’ll quicken them to your heart. He’ll help you bring forth your case with such eloquence (both in other tongues and with your understanding) that the devil won’t stand a chance against you.
Then He’ll help you stand strong until your case is fully won.
Excerpt permission granted by Harrison House Publishers
On the chilly March night in 1972 when Lynne Hammond took her first step into a life of Spirit-led prayer, she had no idea what was about to happen. All she knew was the hunger in her heart for God wouldn’t let her sleep. In the few short months she’d been born again, her desire to fellowship with Him had grown so strong she could hardly contain it. “Help me, God!” she cried. “I want to know you. I want to be able to talk to you. Please, teach me to pray!”
Suddenly, a heavenly presence flooded the room. Lynne sensed waves of spiritual fire sweeping over her and a beautiful language began to flow like a river from within her. Although she’d never heard of the baptism of the Holy Spirit, she knew instantly, without a doubt—this was God!
What began that night soon blossomed into a life of prayer that ultimately became a ministry of prayer when, in 1980, Lynne and her husband, Mac, founded Living Word Christian Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Under Lynne’s leadership, the prayer ministry at Living Word has become an internationally recognized model for developing effective pray-ers in the local church.
A teacher and an author, Lynne publishes a newsletter called Prayer Notes, has written numerous books, and currently serves as the national prayer director for Daughters for Zion. Her passion for inspiring and leading others into the life of Spirit-led prayer continues to take her around the world to minister to believers whose heart cry, like hers, is “Lord, teach me to pray!”