The Essentials of a Victorious Importunate Prayer Life (4)

Faith gives meaning to our importunity!

Photo by Massimiliano Morosinotto on Unsplash

Sometimes, when we pray on a matter, the events we observe can be discouraging and make us discontinue our prayer altogether. This tendency to give up based on what we see or feel contrary to our expectations makes faith invaluable in importunate praying.

The Bible says,

For we walk by faith, not by sight. (2 Corinthians 5:7, NKJV)

In the parable of the widow and the unjust judge (Luke 18:2-8), Jesus said that God would avenge us when we cry to him day and night. He, however, asked whether He would find people with faith?

What does it mean to have faith?

Some people think that faith merely believes that something will happen—but that is wishful thinking. Faith believes that only God can and will make things happen. The difference is God!

In Mark 11:12-14, Jesus cursed a fig tree in the hearing of His disciples and went His way. As they passed by the fig tree, the next day, Jesus' disciples observed that it had withered from the root and called His attention to it. Then, He said to them,

"Have faith in God. For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them. (Mark 11:22-24, NKJV)

"Faith in God" is faith directed at God. A person may have faith in himself, but that will not answer prayers. Speaking to a mountain must result from faith in God; otherwise, it is vain speaking.

Faith is our unshakable belief that God can bring to pass what we ask of Him. Jesus noted that, provided we do not doubt in our hearts, we should receive whatever we ask God.

Faith must believe God and accept His Word

Faith in God arises from hearing God's word (Romans 10:17). So, faith trusts that whatsoever God says is true and will indeed happen. The Bible says,

Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. (Hebrews 11:1, NKJV)

So, we believe heaven exists because God said so. We also believe hell exists because God said so. We believe whatever God says, not what we can see or feel! A problem may seem gargantuan to us, but if God says it is not a problem, we must believe Him. Our faith is in God and His Word, not in our thinking.

When God answers prayers, all we have is His Word. As we believe and hold on to His Word, we shall see the manifestation of the answer. When God has spoken about our petition, He expects us to trust that we have the answer without equivocation. Our faith in such a situation translates to a confident assurance that all is well and will become known at the right time—no fretting!

So, faith in God believes and accepts everything that God says!

A little boy's faith

During family devotion one day, a little boy's father, sharing from Mark 11:22-24, remarked that "If you have faith in God, you can say to a mountain, ‘Be uprooted and cast into the sea’, and it will obey you". After devotion, the little boy went to school with his mates. On their usual route, they arrived where a mountain blocked the view of the sea. The boy stopped and said, "You mountain, I command you in the name of Jesus, be uprooted and cast into the sea!" His mates heard it and began to laugh, but the boy told them, "My father said during our devotion this morning that if I say to a mountain, 'Be removed and cast into the sea in the name of Jesus', it will obey me." Nonetheless, his mates continued to make fun of him.

Later that day, on their way back from school, as they reached the spot where the boy had made the statement about the mountain, his mates stood still in awe—the mountain had disappeared, and tractors were hauling the debris into the sea! When the boy realised that his mates had stopped, he looked back, and they said to him, "Look! the mountain is no longer there!" Then the boy said to them, "Did I not tell you that my father said that if I say to a mountain, 'Be thou removed and cast into the sea' it will obey?"

What had happened was that that day, the city mayor had asked the city engineer to blast the mountain and push the debris into the sea. But the mayor's action was not a coincidence; it was because of the little boy's faith in God's word!

Through faith, God steers world leaders

When you give a command through faith in God and His word, all those in authority, including world leaders, who must instruct people to implement the order, will have to do so.

Long ago, God had declared through Micah that Jesus would be born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2). But his parents were not in Bethlehem close to the time of His birth. But then, the Roman Emperor gave a decree that all should return to their hometowns to be counted in a census. Thus, Joseph and Mary had to go to Bethlehem, where Jesus was born according to God's word by Micah! (Luke 2:1-7). This was no coincidence—God moved the Roman Emperor so that His word by Micah would come to pass!

The Bible says,

The LORD controls rulers, just as he determines the course of rivers. (Proverbs 21:1, CEV)

So, when God decrees a thing regarding our community or nation, even when we have an obstinate leader, as we pray persistently, God will move that leader to do His bidding or replace him with someone who will do His bidding! Nebuchadnezzar, the world's most powerful king in his time, experienced this firsthand and observed that God does as He pleases, and no one can query Him (Daniel 4:35).

Is there faith on the earth today?

We can rest assured that when God decrees a thing, it will happen, even if He must steer the most powerful man in the world to do His bidding—God has never lied and will never lie! But Jesus' concern remains:

"will [the Son of Man] really find faith on the earth?" (Luke 18:8)

When we pray, we must be fully persuaded that we are not speaking to a human being but Almighty God. We must have faith in His ability to do what is impossible with men. Therefore, let us throw off our timidity and pray ceaselessly in faith unto God until our petition is granted.

Importunity is only effective when we know God's mind on a matter

In John 11, Jesus raised Lazarus from death. When Lazarus was sick, and Mary and Martha sent for Him, He did not go but announced to His disciples that Lazarus' sickness was not unto death. Yet, Lazarus died!

Jesus was so confident in His earlier declaration that Lazarus' sickness would not result in death, He told His disciples beforehand that He would raise him back to life. Jesus was sure because He had heard from His Father. Jesus told Martha,

"…. if you would believe you would see the glory of God?" (John 11:40, NKJV)

Faith first believes in God and then sees the manifestation of God's deeds. When we believe God, our importunity is well directed because we are confident that what God says, He will do!

Faith gives our importunity an endpoint

When we have faith in God and His Word, we can confidently pray for what God has said and expect the result. Thus, faith in God gives us a terminus for our importunity. We no longer have to pray endlessly or with uncertainty. Praying without ceasing does not mean praying endlessly; it means praying until the goal is achieved!

Faith in God and His Word in importunate praying means that we pray until we hear from God. Thus, our praying is no longer about how many times we pray but whether God has spoken on the matter. If we are yet to hear from God, we continue to pray. However, once we hear from God, we know we have reached the end of our importunity.

When Elijah prayed for rain in 1 Kings 17:41-44, it was because God had told him that He was sending rain. So, when he began to pray, it was not about praying seven times, but praying until his servant came and told him about a cloud, the size of a human hand in the sky. That, for Elijah, signalled the termination of his importunity for rain!

Victorious importunity requires knowing and believing God's Word or thought on what we are praying about. When we know God's position on a matter and our prayer accords with it, we can then be importunate until the result is achieved or until God tells us to stop praying on the matter.

Daniel prayed and fasted for 21 days until God's angel brought the answer to him. The angel bringing God's response to Daniel was sent forth with the answer from the first day Daniel began to pray, but a demonic principality detained him. However, Daniel's continued prayer and fasting caused Archangel Michael to intervene and release the angel to get the answer to Daniel. (Daniel 10:12-14).

But for Daniel's persistence in fasting and prayer, the answer either may have been further delayed or would never have arrived! Think about that! Daniel was confident that God would answer him, so he continued to pray until he got the answer from God.

Whereas Daniel, in his day, did not have a name that is above all names, today, we have the all-powerful name of Jesus, and every knee everywhere bows at the mention of that name! (Philippians 2:10). So, unlike Daniel, we have Jesus facilitating and expediting the divine response, and no demon can stand in the way when we pray in the name of Jesus!

Sometimes, it may become necessary to fast—another mark of importunity—along with our praying because some mountains will not be uprooted otherwise (Matthew 17:20-21).

By faith, we can pray for our communities and nations

When God wants to pour out a blessing on a community or nation, there may be turmoil from Satan's camp. Such an upheaval is Satan's attempt to stop God's plan for that community or country. And if we, the Christians in the community or nation, consider such disruptions with our eyes and feelings, we would be discouraged and discontinue our praying. However, when our faith is in God, we would pray until God gives us an answer of peace.

God said of Jerusalem (and it applies to any community or nation),

I have set watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem; They shall never hold their peace day or night. You who make mention of the LORD, do not keep silent, And give Him no rest till He establishes And till He makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth. (Isaiah 62:6-7, NKJV)

Christians are God's watchmen today. If they keep crying day and night for the land where they dwell, as Jesus said, God will avenge (respond to) them speedily (Luke 18:8). So, let us pray ceaselessly with faith and fasting where necessary, and soon, we will hear from God about our petition!