It’s great that you prayed, now PRAY AGAIN!

I recommend a short prayer to you…

Lord Jesus teach me to be consistent and earnest in my prayers.

God, in only the way that He can, has positioned His Church in a tight place where the only option we have is prayer.  We’ve exhausted every human resource available to us.  We’ve tapped every friend, neighbor and family member in an effort to meet the need in our lives.  Now, our only option is to go to the lover of our souls.  The God of all flesh, our healer, our deliverer … you get the point.

That said, there’s a problem.  What do we do when God doesn’t answer in the way and in the time that we’re hoping He will?  Here’s the answer…

PRAY AGAIN!

Let’s take a look at the Word of God.  Right before Jesus sets His face like a flint to go to the cross, Heaven decides to include Him in a meeting with the only people specifically empowered to stand with Him at this critical time.  These individuals had one thing in common, they understood the power of intercession and they had already established a track record of prayer.  Let’s see who they were.

About eight days after Jesus said this, he took Peter, John and James with him and went up onto a mountain to pray. As he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning.  Two men, Moses and Elijah, appeared in glorious splendor, talking with Jesus.  They spoke about his departure, which he was about to bring to fulfillment at Jerusalem.  Peter and his companions were very sleepy, but when they became fully awake, they saw his glory and the two men standing with him.  As the men were leaving Jesus, Peter said to him, “Master, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” (He did not know what he was saying.)  While he was speaking, a cloud appeared and covered them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud.  A voice came from the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him.”  When the voice had spoken, they found that Jesus was alone. The disciples kept this to themselves and did not tell anyone at that time what they had seen.

Luke 9:28-31 (NIV)

Let’s dig in…

• Jesus takes the inner core of disciples to a prayer meeting.  They’re not empowered to pray, but that’s not the point.  They’re there to learn.
• While Jesus is praying (in the middle of His prayer), Jesus and His disciples are taken up into heaven.  How do I know they were taken up into heaven?  The splendor of the brightness described here can only be witnessed in heaven.  So we learn that prayer transports us from earth to heaven.
• While in heaven, Jesus talks with Moses and Elijah about the plans for the Lords life as they’re understood by those in heaven.
• While the meeting is still underway, the disciples weakness in prayer appears.  But something happened, the became fully awake.  So as we pray, we enter heaven and provision is available for us to bring others to be trained as we pray.
• While in heaven, all three disciples see Jesus, Moses and Elijah in glorified bodies.  Although they were just fast asleep, God in His mercy still allows them to grasp the just of the lesson Jesus wanted them to learn.
• Then the glory of God transports all four men (Jesus and the three disciples) back to the earth.  On the way, God the Father speaks and settles, once again, for the disciples that Jesus is the Messiah and that they should listen to everything He says.

So God the Father and the Holy Spirit arranged for Jesus to be encouraged by two of heavens most powerful intercessors.  Here’s the application for you and I.  If you know you’ve been called to intercede for leaders at any level, if you don’t learn anything else learn this, when it appears like things are going south…PRAY AGAIN!

Let’s look at a few more passages…

Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.”  He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled.  Then he said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.”  Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”  Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Couldn’t you men keep watch with me for one hour?” he asked Peter.  “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”  He went away a second time and prayed, “My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.”  When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy.  So he left them and went away once more and prayed the third time, saying the same thing.

Matthew 26:36-44 (NIV)

I think the message is clear from this passage.  Jesus needed intercessors from heaven to strengthen Him because even His own disciples fell asleep at His greatest time of need.  Let that not be the testimony of those of you who know you’ve been appointed by God as intercessors.  When you clearly see that your leaders are overwhelmed, sorrowful, hopeless and seemingly perplexed on all sides, this is not the time to begin talking or discussing what you see.  It’s time for you to PRAY; and after you’ve prayed, PRAY AGAIN!

A few more passages to settle this matter of praying again…

Not sure whether Moses had a track record of being a man of prayer?  Take a good look at Psalm 90 in your bible.  Does it say the prayer of Moses?  If that wasn’t enough, Moses prayer led to Miriam’s healing Numbers 12:13.  Moses’ prayer restrained the judgement of God against the children of Israel Numbers 11:1-2.  That settles it, a place in the Holy Word of God for eternity qualifies as a track record.

Elijah was a human being, even as we are. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years.  Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops.

James 5:17-18 (NIV)

Father, I ask you in the mighty name of Jesus, to forgive our weaknesses when it comes to prayer.  Father I ask that you strengthen intercessors across this nation wherever they are.  Allow the Spirit and Power of Elijah to rest on them in this hour.