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Do Not Give Up
Andrea Lende • February 27, 2021
Luke 18:1
Do Not Give Up
You can also listen to the devotion and prayer at: https://anchor.fm/andrea-lende/episodes/Do-Not-Give-Up-er55iu
Luke 18:1
“Also [Jesus] told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray, and not to turn coward (faint, lose heart, and give up).”
Well, this passage sounds like all the business seminars I have gone to over the years.
Don’t give up, don’t lose heart, and don’t let your fears stop you.
Not to mention the acronym for FEAR: false evidence appearing real.
Except here Jesus was talking about prayer.
He was giving the people a spiritual nugget.
A peak into a powerful spiritual law.
He said to pray, always.
He told them to not give up - just keep praying.
He said don’t be a coward in prayer.
Don’t lose heart while praying.
Don’t faint while praying.
How can we rephrase all these don’ts to do’s?
Pray continually.
Pray with purpose.
Pray with power.
Pray with enthusiasm.
Pray with faith and belief.
The minute we question whether our prayer will come to pass, doubt robs our prayer of power.
We rob God of the miracle He had in store for us.
And we rob ourselves of the miracle as well.
No matter what the situation or circumstance may look like, we cannot waiver in our belief that the Lord will answer our prayer.
Jesus said, “He will defend and protect and avenge them speedily”.
This is God’s promise to us.
If our faith starts to waiver, we can be encouraged by all of God’s promises found in the Word.
So, instead of going down the path of reluctance, wondering, and questioning whether God will take care of us, open up the Word and be encouraged.
Read His promises.
Meditate on His promises.
Verbalize His promises.
Then we can go to the throne room with faith, belief, and enthusiasm.
Today I choose to praise the Lord for constantly listening to my prayers and answering them swiftly and powerfully.
May you find the Lord is answering your every prayer as you continue to pray with belief and enthusiasm.
Daily Prayer:
O Lord, my God, thank You for hearing my prayers. Thank You for reminding me to be constantly in prayer and to pray with faith, belief, and enthusiasm. Thank You for listening to my heart with love and gentleness. Thank You for continually molding my heart to be more responsive to You and to be led by You. Help me follow You, Lord. As the world vies for my attention and desires, may You wrangle my heart and desires for You only. Keep my eyes on You today and every day, Lord. Thank You for allowing me to sit in Your presence and be filled with Your Spirit. May I serve You and You, only. Help me bless someone this day. Thank You for hearing my prayer.
Answer: I AM molding your heart and your mind as you come to me in prayer, and will answer you according to My will.
Response: Thank You, most gracious and merciful Lord.
We start a New Year! How exciting! Paul had just finished telling the Ephesians to put off their old nature. They had been run around by their feelings and desires. He told them to be renewed in their spirit. The Amplified Bible defines this to be “having a fresh mental and spiritual attitude.” As we say goodbye to this year, let us put on the new and leave the old behind. We have an opportunity to reflect on what to bring forward into this New Year.
This is a great message for the New Year. We can be in control of our own words. As a mother, I used to tell my children to use their words to explain what was happening in their minds. I tried to help them find the right words. Words that would help the situation and not make it worse. I must do the same thing when talking to them. It’s important to use words that do not damage their spirits. Words that lift up instead of tear down. Even though my children have grown, I still want to be careful how I speak to them because my worlds will impact them for the rest of their lives.
As we approach the New Year, it is a perfect time to take inventory of what part of our lives, our hearts, and our souls are not bearing fruit. What can we give up as this year comes to a close? What do we need to give to the Lord for His cleansing and pruning? The answers to these questions take time. Time with the Lord. We are creatures of routines and habits which serve us well. But we can also change our routines and habits to serve us and the Lord better. So, we can ask God to show us what He wants us to give up so that He can have more of us.
I cannot think of a better verse to meditate on as we approach the New Year. Jesus said, "the kingdom of God is within you [in your hearts] and among you [surrounding you]." For so many years I believed I had to wait to go to heaven to experience the kingdom of God. I have longed to step into heaven and meet the Lord and His Son. However, as we read the Gospels and study Jesus and all that He said, we begin to understand the kingdom of God is all around us. The kingdom of God is within.
Paul wrote to the Colossians and told them he was praying for them. He prayed they would be refreshed, renewed, and invigorated. He also prayed they would be strengthened. May his prayer be heard by the Lord God Almighty on our behalf today just as it was received two thousand years ago. God is the Source of all things beautiful and wonderful. There is no shortage of renewal, refreshment, or inspiration in His kingdom. And as the Creator of this universe, He continues to pour all good things into His people. Paul wrote that refreshment and strength are needed so we may have endurance.
This verse is the perfect verse to reflect on as Christmas comes to a close. The Lord sent His Son to us. He sent Him to this world as a babe. Jesus was given the task of growing up. A difficult one for all of us. He endured the awkward stages we all go through as we grow past them. I look back at old picture and cringe, yes, I cringe. This life provides plenty of opportunities to feel awkward and just plain weird, but our Father loves us as though we are perfect every day of our lives. This is why Jesus came. He came to make us perfect in God’s sight.
God made Himself flesh so He could take away the sins of the world. The story of the very first Christmas was humble, yet the most powerful and loving birth ever recorded in history. All humanity changed in an instant. When Jesus was born, love filled the earth. Love came down and lifted us up. The angels came to tell the shepherds of this beautiful birth. The stars in the heavens also told the story. As we do all tasks that we do to ensure a beautiful Christmas day, may we remember the miracle that God sent long ago. The miracle of all miracles.
The first Christmas was going to be documented, so that it could be read many times over for all Christmas’ to come. It was also documented so the prophecy of the Messiah’s birth would be known to be fulfilled. Prophets of old foretold Jesus would come from the house of David. They also prophesied that He would be born in Bethlehem. And all this came to pass. Even though Jesus would be known as a Nazarene, His beginning began in Bethlehem. God’s divine plan was set in motion with the first census while Mary was at the end of her pregnancy.
What a wonderful passage to read during Christmas week. Our passage touched my heart as I read it through the lens of Jesus’ birth. “It was God [personally present] in Christ, reconciling and restoring the world to favor with Himself.” We have so much to be thankful for in these few short words, “restoring the world to favor with Himself.” So undeserved and yet so graciously given. We are offered favor with the Lord. Imagine having favor with the almighty God, the Creator of the universe. Jesus chose to leave heaven’s door where all was perfect. He chose to be born into this dusty messy world.
Jesus had just spoken to a fig tree and deemed it unworthy to live because it had no fruit on it. His disciples were amazed when they saw the fig tree wither and die. Then the Lord talked to them about prayer and belief. He told them that whatever they asked for, if they had the faith and belief, they would receive it. I remember the day I started hearing music and lyrics. I had just bowed my head at the piano and asked if the Lord would bless praise and worship music. As soon as I prayed that prayer, the Lord bestowed the gift of song writing upon me.