Matthew 11:12
12From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it.
For a genuine Christian to get anything done, he must do it forcefully. There are invisible barriers and demons that try to thwart your work at every turn.
Most of my important prayers in the last 12 years to remain unanswered. I observed that even though I had done more than what the evangelical churches had been teaching me, yet for most of the crucial challenges in my life I could only muddle through. I won’t call that abundant, joyous, and victorious Christian living. I would say I am a muddler, a person who survive because of God’s grace, but most of the time I was not an over-comer.
Today before dawn when I asked the Lord why many of my prayers remain unanswered, He gave me the above Bible verse. The heaven is advancing forcefully. Only forceful men lay hold of it.
Before, my prayers were mainly the “see if it’s God’s will, if He doesn’t answer then it isn’t” kind of prayers. I expect “the sky isn’t always blue” so I would not expect absolute victory when I pray.
I also like to pray quietly— contemplative prayer that is so easily to be distracted by the surroundings.
For years I rarely allowed my prayers to go beyond certain level of pains that would test my patience and focus, unless they are the kind of prayers that describe my problems to God so I can get consolations from Him.
Many times I let go so easily. I would end my prayers when God merely began speaking to me. I would not stay long enough to gain enough clarity on God’s responses to my prayers. I was so distracted by environment, physically needs, and random whims.
Sometime I read the scripture before I pray but many times I didn’t. Sometime I spoke my mind about things, but not praying to change things. Later I learned to discern God’s voice, and focus on listening, but still, I didn’t learn to get more forceful with my prayers.
God has been teaching me to pray more forcefully. Visually speaking, to bang God’s heavenly door loudly and persistently.
Relevant Reading:
The Three Stages Of Answering A Prayer
Related posts:
- Earthly Success And Heavenly Success Earthly success and heavenly success isn’t always in conflict, but...
- Wasted years Joel 2:25 “I will repay you for the years the...
- Faith, Hope, and Love That all things are possible to him who believes, that...
- Please God By Confronting Him I think it actually pleases God if you explain your...
- The Power Of Tongue 3 1. I wondered how many people died because of the...
Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
Tags: prayer, Productivity, success, Time Management