(13) Soldier, Priest – The Weapon of Prayer
(13.) Soldier, Priest – The Weapon of Prayer.
“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For this struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm, then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.” (Ephesians 6:10-20).
“Proseuche” (the Greek word for “pray” in Ephesians 6:18); the first part of the word, “pros,” means moving toward, a sense of closeness; it is the word used to describe the intimate relationship that exists between members of the Godhead; the sense is to be face-to-face, extremely close; the second part of the word for pray is ”euche,” which is the Greek term for prayer, a vow, a promise. So the two terms together translate to the prayer that brings us face-to-face with God, into very close contact with the Godhead. The word implies that when we pray we are immediately in communion with God. Evidently, the Greek term assumes surrender, sacrifice, and thanksgiving on the part of the person praying.
There is little doubt that Paul intended for prayer to be understood as the other offensive weapon in the spiritual warfare he describes in Ephesians 6. When we openly acknowledge our allegiance to God, the unseen enemy is alerted to a new spiritual foe, another soldier to fight in the spiritual realm. Whenever I sense I am being harassed or hounded by forces of spiritual darkness, or am fearful, or I simply want to confirm which side I’m on, I recite the opening words of Isaiah 12: “Surely it is God who saves me; I will trust in Him and not be afraid. For the Lord is my stronghold and my sure defense, and He will be my Savior.” With these triumphant words of faith, I am declaring to the spiritual powers that I trust in the Lord to save me, to remain my refuge and dwelling place. These words remind the spiritual forces that God is my Savior, and that I am sheltering my spirit in Him. When used this way, as a spiritual declaration, it is important to sing or speak the words aloud. When you are merely thinking these words in your head, they will not reach the ears of our foes. Satan and his forces are not omniscient, they can not read minds. Speak or sing these words aloud, and you are declaring to the spiritual world that God is your strength, and there is no point to trying to assault someone hidden in the stronghold of the Lord. With these words, you are telling the evil one that you are not fearful, that God has become your salvation. You are telling the Accuser that he may as well surrender in his battle, since God has already won the victory.
Crowder – Run Devil Run – YouTube
The Holy Spirit is portrayed as quite the prayer warrior in Scripture, and what a comfort to know that the Spirit dwelling in us is always ready to intercede for us to God in heaven… “In the same way, the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.” (Romans 8:26). Who better than the Holy Spirit who dwells in us, can read our hearts and understand us at the deepest levels? There is no one better than the Spirit to lift us up in prayer to the Father and to Jesus. The Spirit of Prayer is also right there inside us, encouraging us to “pray in the Spirit” Ephesians 6:18: “Pray at all times in the Spirit, with all prayers and supplications.” And Jude says much the same thing… “Build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Spirit.” (verse 20).
To Pray In the Spirit: There are many different ways of describing what it means to pray in the Spirit. We can safely assume that the power of our prayer life is rooted in the Holy Spirit, and that the privilege of praying in the Spirit is a gift given to us when we accept and trust in Christ. Here are some of the descriptions of what prayer in the Spirit means: to pray according to the Spirit’s leading; to pray in the power of the Spirit as a weapon in our spiritual warfare; to pray by means of the Spirit; to pray in submission to the Spirit; to pray in harmony with the Spirit; to pray in cooperation with the will of God and Scripture; to pray under the spiritual influence of the Spirit; to pray under the guidance of the Spirit; to pray as directly inspired by the Holy Spirit; to pray with the assistance of the Spirit.
“Because of His glory and goodness, He has given us great and precious promises, so that through them you may escape from the world’s corruption due to disordered passions and human desires, and may become partakers of the divine nature, participants in His nature, sharing in the divine life of God.” (2 Peter 1:3-4).
Before the divine invention of time, before the foundation of the world, the triune God existed in a profoundly intimate community of three Persons. Because God is love, they created the world so they could share that intimacy with the human race. They did not hoard their eternal love for each other, but instead they included humanity in their relationship. In creation, God shared His life with humanity, providing a truly life-giving relationship with Him. The Spirit of love binding the Father and the Son has proven to be the energy source of all the love in the world. The trinitarian relationship became the engine of the universe. Without the virtues within the life of the Trinity, there would be no virtues in the world, no truth, goodness or beauty. The passionate interaction within the Godhead is the spark of communion that ignites the presence of intimacy in the world. The original source of everything right in the world lies within the everlasting togetherness of the Trinity. “The great dance of life shared by the Father, Son and Holy Spirit is the womb of creation.” (Baxter Kruger, The Great Dance).
Inside the Trinity. Yes, Christian believers have God in us, but we are also in God. We have the Spirit of God inside us, true, but we also are in the Holy Spirit. Because the triune God is united and inseparable, the Father and the Son is everywhere the Spirit us. If the Spirit dwells in us and alongside us, so does the Father and the Son. If the Father and the Son have promised to make a home in us, the Spirit is right there as well, arm-in-arm in their trinitarian Presence, establishing a dwelling place in us. Since we are welcomed inside the relationship of the Trinity, the Spirit helps make that happen. Since we are adopted into God’s family as His children, we can be sure the Spirit was a part of that process. We can be assured the Spirit will work to sustain us in the trinitarian circle and fellowship. “The prime purpose of the incarnation is to lift us up into a life of communion, of participation in the very triune life of God.” (James Torrance, Worship, Communion and the Triune God of Grace).
Here is a wonderful worship song that reminds us of our fellowship within the Trinity and the Love that waits for us there. Absorb those amazing words… “Jesus my Lord, you’re always around me. Sweet Holy Spirit, you’re always around me. Father, you have found me.” Listen for the comforting words of the 23rd Psalm as well.
“God is faithful to do what He says, and He has invited you into partnership with His Son, a life of communion and participation in His life. God has called you to co-share the very life of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.” (1 Corinthians 1:9).
There is a mystery to the depth of unity between the three-Person’d God. Their love for each other is too deep to understand, yet close enough to experience through Christ. St. Bernard of Clairvaux once tried to describe the intimacy within the Trinity this way… “Surely if the Father kisses and the Son receives the kiss, it is appropriate to think of the Holy Spirit as the kiss.” We do know from John 14:10-11 and 17:21 that their communion is such that they are somehow inside each other. They are so closely knit that when you know the Son, you know the Father. And when you see the Son, you have seen the Father (John 14:7). Father and Son have enjoyed an intimate oneness, with the Spirit being their bond of love, since before the foundation of the world. And the triune God wants us to participate in the unity of their Family circle, the Son in us and the Father in the Son (John 17:23). Both the Son and the Father have always desired to share their home life with us (John 14:23). We are called to literally live within the Trinity, inside their relationship, being more intimate with God than with any other person (John 14:20). The Christian mystic Elizabeth of the Trinity once wrote that one of her spiritual disciplines was “burying myself, so to speak, in the depths of my soul to lose myself in the Trinity who dwells in it.”
Welcomed into the Circle. The Trinity’s profound love for each other has resulted in their sharing that love, their including humanity in their interaction. We have been called to participate in their life-giving intimacy, in their divine fellowship. We have been offered, through Jesus, the amazing privilege of sharing in their companionship. In Christ, we can now open our eyes to see the truth of our life inside the Trinity. Christ has succeeded in uniting the holy Trinity with fallen humanity, and the result is mankind’s inclusion in the life of the triune God. Inside the circle, we can now experience the very same love that the Father shows the Son (John 17:26). We can now confirm that the Father will love us just as much as He loves the Son (John 17:23). As Baxter Kruger says, “We don’t make Jesus a part of our world. He has made us a part of His.” We now can know our true identity, living in the circle of the Trinity, our true selves hidden within the joy and love of their intimacy.
Baptized into the Trinity. James Houston once wrote that “God is infinitely relational and intimately personal.” The wonderful mystery is that it is God’s nature to be relational and personal with the human race. When we are baptized in the Name of the Trinity, we are restored into God’s own bosom, received into the triune life of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Their relationship is now our relationship. Their reality is now our shared reality. We thus have a joyful place within their circle. When we are baptized in the Name of the Trinity, our eyes have been opened to our permanent destiny within their life. We thus celebrate our adoption into God’s trinitarian family.
Inside the Spirit. So when we pray “in the Spirit,” we are praying “inside” the Spirit. We are talking with God inside the Trinity, participating in the life of the Holy Spirit. When we are “in” the Spirit, we are within the sphere of God, in the atmosphere of the Godhead, surrounded by God’s presence. In a sense, the “prayer closet” mentioned by Jesus (Matthew 6:5-8) is the Holy Spirit. He is our Place of prayer, the sacred space in which to talk to God. When we are praying in the Spirit, we are in our spiritual hiding place, praying with the mind of the Spirit, led by Him, inspired by Him, guided by Him.
Praying the Word. What better way to pray in the Spirit than to pray His inspired Word? Praying the Scripture is praying into the mind of the Spirit, to pray into His thinking. To pray the Word is to pray in the spirit of the Spirit. To pray the Scripture is to pray according to His established will. To pray the Word is to participate in the “cycle of blessing” described in Isaiah 55… God drenches the earth and mankind with His Word, like He waters the earth, for life and growth that is sure to follow. The new life that springs from God’s Word will result in spiritual fruitfulness. And mankind responds to God’s favor and blessing, and offers back to Him His Word of praise and trust and adoration. We offer back to God the best that mankind has ever said in praise of God, all of which has been inspired by the Holy Spirit. God is blessed when His Word returns to Him fulfilled and fruitful. God’s Word of love will accomplish its purpose as we pray the Word of love back to Him. Praying His Word puts our thoughts into better expression than our own words, though God wants those too. Praying His Word back to Him completes the love cycle and brings Him joy and satisfaction. Unlike many of us, God loves to be quoted, because He fully knows His words bring us life.
Praying with the Spirit. We wonder a lot, don’t we, about how best to pray for our loved ones , ourselves, our neighbors, the world? Praying God’s Word would seem to calm those fears, because it is obviously what is in line with His will. A prime example of what we could pray in line with God’s wisdom over our loved ones is Aaron’s priestly prayer in Numbers 6:24-26. Praying these words of divine blessing that were inspired by God would seem to guarantee a blessing, wouldn’t it? God told us to pray these very words, and much like the Lord’s Prayer, there is wisdom in praying into these sacred words of Scripture. Remember, God said these words first, and he loves to be quoted.
Aaron’s high priestly blessing. I imagine that it is acceptable to insert “us” in the place of “you” when praying this blessing over a family or group of people and you want to include yourself. This prayer of blessing was given to Aaron in a moment of divine inspiration. This high priestly blessing was discovered on two small silver scrolls dated 7th century BC, which makes it the oldest written Scripture known to us at this time. Needless to say, this sacred blessing has stood the test of time in the history of faith.]
“The LORD bless you and keep you;
The LORD make His face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you;
The LORD lift up His face onto you and give you peace.” (Numbers 6:24-26)
The UK Blessing UK (With Lyrics) – YouTube
“The LORD bless you and keep you;” May the Great I AM remain active in our lives, providing us with what we need, and protecting us from all harm. May Yahweh bless us, provide for us our daily bread. May He sustain us in our daily work and livelihood, enabling us to pay the bills and remain productive in our jobs. And may He keep us, protecting us from crisis, tragedy, serious illness, accident or injury. May the Lord protect us in whatever spiritual warfare we may experience. Blessing us and keeping us, may God provide for us and protect us.
“The LORD make His face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you;” May the Great I AM, the Lord of Life shine His face upon us in friendship. May His eyes light up with fondness when looking upon us. May He deepen our friendship with Him, our union with Him. May the radiance of His presence shine on us by taking pleasure in us, like a loving parent smiles in pleasure when with his or her child. Thank you that you are not a God who hides His face in displeasure or anger. May the face of the Lord reveal His divine approval of us. May His shining presence reveal the light of His glory to us in a personal way. May His shining face upon us be like the brilliant sun shining on the surface of the earth to bring about growth and blessing. May your face pulsate with heavenly light, Lord, and be the light of our world. May we see a smiling face when we see God in the holy ground of our heart. May we reflect the divine light of your face to others, Lord, like the full moon reflects the sun. May the light of your face enable us to be a light in this dark world.
Continue your graces upon us, Lord. Be gracious to us as we go through each day, vulnerable and helpless without your grace. We thank you for how you have been gracious to us in the past, and we pray that you would continue your mercies as we seek to follow you each day. Be tender with us, Lord, and understanding, and compassionate. Thank you that you are full of grace and truth. May our children and grandchildren realize at a deep level that you are a gracious God. We realize, Lord, that the word “gracious” is in the middle of this blessing, and we know that it is your grace that is in the middle of everything in this prayer and in our lives. Grace is that quality of yours, Lord, that makes things happen according to your will. Thank you for your grace.
“The LORD turn His face towards you, and give you peace.” Lift up your face to us and look at us eye-to-eye, Lord. Look upon us with favor, and don’t pass us by. We pray for your loving attention, that you would turn your face in our direction and share with us a true glimpse of your loving countenance. Thank you, Lord, that you are a personal God who recognizes us, who gives us meaningful eye contact and thus affirms our worth and dignity. We thank you that you are pleased to show us your face, that you would deign to be familiar with us. We pray that we would be constantly and deeply aware of your presence, dear God.
O Prince of Peace, give us your peace. Give us peace in our spirit, our heart, our mind. May we be free from anxiety and worrisome thoughts as we seek our peace in you and you alone. May there be freedom from strife and disorder in our family, peace between parent and child, between spouses, between children, between siblings. Please heal any division or discord there may be that would take away from your peace in us. Grant us true shalom in our homes, Lord, a sense of flourishing and wholeness and abundant well-being. Give us peace within each of us and peace with others, through the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.
A Final Note Regarding the Priestly Blessing: Immediately following the final blessing of peace, the Lord says to Aaron, “So they shall put my Name on the Israelites, and I myself will bless them.” (Numbers 6:27). Aaron and his priestly descendants were to pronounce the blessings, verbatim, over the children of Israel, but the Lord emphasizes that He alone is the source of the blessing. When one prays the priestly blessings over others, the pray-er is a channel used by the Lord, who ultimately is the one doing the blessing.
Pray without Ceasing. Finally, Paul concentrates on the importance of prayer as the ongoing weapon of choice in the spiritual battles we face … “Praying always,” with all kinds of prayers, whether intercession for fellow believers, or adoration of God, or petitions, or whatever is on your heart. Paul tells us to be alert, be watchful, the Greek word here meaning to be sleepless, always wide awake. Paul instructs us to persist in prayer, to never give up, to persevere as we continue to pray in the Spirit.
To “pray without ceasing” (1 Thess.5:16-17) don’t mean we don’t work for our daily bread or take care of our family. To pray unceasingly, to pray always, doesn’t mean a mind-numbing intentional, all-day session of prayer, like the monks in the abbey who are privileged to be called to such a life. We are not supposed to feel guilty if we find ourselves during the day when we were caught not napping. Praying always means to develop a life in which you live prayerfully, we get in the habit of using God as our reference point during our day. It is developing a lifestyle that offers up spontaneous prayers of thanksgiving and blessing, of asking for God’s help, and it becomes like breathing, sometimes conscious, other times subconscious. To pray always is to have the willingness to thank God for everything in the course of a day… from successfully going to the bathroom, to having a roof over your head and daily bread, to that thoughtful comment heard from a friend, to a safe car ride doing errands. Consciously keeping God as our reference point during the day becomes like muscle memory, something done spontaneously like a reflex, In this type of prayerful lifestyle, we can learn a lot from our Jewish brethren, who have hundreds of blessings to offer God in the course of a day. Getting into this spiritual habit will help it to become, over time, second nature.
“Seven times each day I stop and shout praises, because of your righteous judgments.” (Ps. 119:164). Of course, to have a fixed time or times for prayer is an important Judeo-Christian tradition that has stood the test of time. There may be many different ways to “pray yourself hot” in the course of a day. One prayer system comes from the Apostolic tradition. The early Church based the idea of fixed prayer times on Jewish law, which expected believers to pray three fixed times a day: in the morning, in the afternoon, and in the evening. The early Christian leaders decided to take that verse in the psalm literally, constructing each day with 7 fixed prayer times for each day. It gradually became known as the Liturgy of the Hours. Seven times… the complete way to sanctify a day. This ancient structured system of prayer can be a Christian’s way of learning to think prayerfully, to cause one’s heart and mind to refer to the Lord during a day that does its best to distract one from God. The Hebrew concept in the Jewish Bible is that of “Kavvanah.” It refers to “directing the heart” to God in such a way that we are “inwardly turned toward God’s presence, offering our words or deeds or gifts upon an inner altar, the humble heart. When it comes to prayer, kavvanah is required, because kavvanah is the very essence of the act of prayer. Without it there is only the empty recitation of words.” (Arthur Green).
The 7 times for prayers established in the Liturgy of Hours are:
(1.) 6:00 a.m. sunrise;
(2.) 9:00 a.m.;
(3.) 12:00 noon;
(4.) 3:00 p.m.;
(5.) 6:00 p.m. vespers;
(6.) 9:00 p.m. compline;
(7) 12:00 midnight.
When possible, Christians gather together in church to pray at the 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. times, while the remaining fixed prayer times are enjoyed privately. Each church tradition has established its own liturgies for these fixed prayers, complete with a designated psalm, hymn, Scripture reading, and prayer. One rightly wonders, this is an impossible regiment for those who have a busy family and who work all day. Isn’t this prayer structure meant only for those who live in a Christian community if not in a monastic setting? But one doesn’t need to be literally on their knees while in prayer. One can bow the heart, focus the mind just for whatever brief time one can manage, and achieve intimacy with God. In this way, we can follow the Biblical command to “pray without ceasing.” (1 Thess. 5:17). One could even become so accustomed to these moments of undistracted prayer during the day that one maintains an unfettered conversation with God at a deeper level while one is conducting typical daily matters. To pray without ceasing is the goal, and the 7 fixed times of prayer is a way to achieve that goal.
“The familiar rhythms of fixed prayer serve ideally as a language familiar to the heart, one that can stir it to wakefulness like a friend who comes to remind one of the affections of a silent lover.” (Arthur Green).
Let’s close with an amusing story from Jesus about prayer…
The Parable of the Judge and the Widow. Please read Luke 18:1-8.
THE CONTEXT. Jesus told this parable immediately after conversations with both the Pharisees and his disciples about the coming Kingdom of God. His comment and parable are about prayer, both for present needs and for the 2nd Coming of the Lord. Jesus tells here an amusing story to his audience to inspire persistence and faith in their prayer life. The audience was probably a mixture of disciples and Pharisees, the common religious person and the religious elite, all of whom could use some wisdom on prayer.
THE JUDGE. He was a recognized power figure in society. During this time period, there were municipal authorities assigned by either Herod or the Romans. They were not Jewish, were not held to religious standards, and were generally pagan in their values. Jews considered these unpopular “village-judges” ignorant, arbitrary, dishonest, but still with the kind of authority they had to accept and deal with. These judges were not inclined to handle their duties in a just manner, and they didn’t care about public opinion. The judge in Jesus’ story would have been immediately recognized as one of these pagan judges, since he didn’t fear God and didn’t respect anyone.
THE WIDOW. She was the opposite extreme from the judge, powerless and vulnerable, weak and in low standing in the community, not at all influential in society, and without an advocate in the courts.
- Her situation appears hopeless from the beginning. In society at that point in history, men always advocated for women in the courts. Widows would not even be allowed in the courtroom. In this case, the widow was advocating for herself before the judge, which means that there was no male in her family to advocate for her. She was utterly alone, with no husband, son, uncle, cousin, brother to plead her case. She was desperate and alone.
- Despite her low standing, she feels she has been victimized and continues to plead her case before the judge. She wants his attention, and she won’t give up till she has justice. She pesters and badgers the judge, persistently demanding his attention to her case. She is insistent that the judge defend her against her adversary, and she won’t be ignored.
- It’s interesting that, in a traditionally patriarchal culture, Jesus puts a woman into the heroic role in the story. Women were loved and appreciated and held up for admiration by Jesus throughout his ministry. Here we have a widow held up as a role model when it comes to patience, courage and persistence in prayer.
THE JUDGE. True to form, the judge initially couldn’t have cared less about this wronged widow. He stubbornly didn’t give her the time and attention she demanded.
- He finally gets worn down by her persistence. He could turn a deaf ear for only so long. He realized this widow was prepared to go on indefinitely, forever, and simply is determined to continue her aggressiveness for as long as it takes. “The Greek word has an unusual verb that means ‘ever tapping,’ signifying one who keeps knocking on the door of heaven until he receives what he came for.” (Dr. Brian Simmons, from notes in his Passion Translation).
- The Greek word for “wear me out” is actually a boxing term, and has been translated to mean “punch in the eye,” “slap in the face,” or even “give me a headache.” It’s clear that the judge was physically intimidated as well as exasperated, which would have amused Jesus’ listeners.
- So finally the judge relented, just to get her out of his hair. He caved in, through sheer courage and persistence from the widow. The audience would have felt like cheering, the villain being beaten by a powerless widow.
JESUS. For Jesus to use this unscrupulous, unpopular judge as a symbol for God is laughable. Jesus told this parable with a twinkle in his eye. The judge was an extreme opposite of God in every way. Every Jew knew that in Scripture God was a tireless defender of widows, a passionate advocate for widows and orphans. For example, “Your widows too can trust in me.” (Jeremiah 49:11). That thought is all through the Law and the Psalms and Prophets. The audience would have laughed at the irony of God and the judge.
- Jesus used a particularly Jewish form of teaching… How much more!If even a callous judge, who cared for no one, will help out a poor widow who keeps pestering him, how much more will a loving Father help those who approach Him!
- “By role-playing with divine nature and by using an exaggerated characterization of what God is not like, Jesus teaches what God is like.” (Brad Young, Jesus the Jewish Theologian)
FINAL THOUGHTS. If a powerless widow persistently badgered a pagan judge knowing sooner or later she would find justice, how much more should we not give up when appealing to a righteous God? We are encouraged here to pray, and keep praying under all circumstances, even when it looks like an answer is long in coming and discouragements are many.
- By contrast, it is important to remember in faith that we pray to a just judge, who shows no favoritism to the powerful, who loves people, who won’t ignore or overlook those who seek Him.
- Referring to this parable, Hultgren comments, “Soon Jesus and his disciples will be in Jerusalem. That could mean disaster, even death, for Jesus and his followers. But within such perilous times, one should not lose heart. God will not only care for his own, but even vindicate them. Therefore the disciples should persist in prayer and faith.” (A. Hultgren, The Parables of Jesus).
- Jesus asks a frightening question at the end of the story. “When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?” Oh my. Why did he ask that? Was he discouraged about the amount of faith he witnessed around him? Did he lack confidence that his followers would hang on? The reader is not sure where Jesus is going with this puzzling question. Perhaps he is preparing his disciples for the tough times ahead, telling them that they will have a difficult time holding onto the faith unless they have the persistence and courage of the widow in the story. Let us consistently pray that Jesus will indeed find faith on the earth when he returns in glory. If doubts about this surface, remember that Jesus told us he would never leave us or forsake us, and rejoice that he has left us his Holy Spirit to transform us and prepare us for the Final Day.
- There is a story told by Rev. Kenny Borthwick of an old building in Scotland that had a bakery shop on the first floor, with the kitchen on the second floor. This kitchen had a huge bread kneeling machine that, for most of the day, banged and knocked and vibrated, shaking the floor and walls. One day, the entire building collapsed unto itself with no warning. Evidently there was a cumulative effect of the bread machine after many years of use, and all that shaking and vibrating eventually resulted in the collapse of the floor and walls. There wasn’t one big vibration that collapsed the building, there was no way one could point to one vibration more than any other. Prayer can be like that. Sometimes when a prayer gets answered, it’s impossible to tell if there was one prayer that took effect, or if it was the cumulative effect of persistent prayers over a long time. Sometimes prayers are only answered after a persistent knocking on heaven’s door. Jesus wants us to keep knocking, like the bread machine, and in God’s timing the door will open, the response will happen. Just keep praying, hopeful and expectant, and eventually those prayers will take effect.
Resources: Alfred Edersheim, The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah; Kenneth Bailey, Through Peasant Eyes and Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes; Herbert Lockyer, All the Parables of the Bible; Joachim Jeremias, The Parables of Jesus; the Passion Translation, by Dr. Brian Simmons.