You Can Have Praying Power, but You Also Need Staying Power

Let’s be real for a second, how many times have we stayed in relationships praying that things will work out? Let’s get even more real, how many relationships have we stayed in & didn’t pray about because we knew we weren’t supposed to be in them?

How come we can give human relationships that kind of patience & perseverance but when it comes to God if He doesn’t answer us in the way we want or how we want we are quick to abandon ship? We can pray bold prayers, clap our hands & shout on Sunday, but not talk to Him for the rest of the week because the breakthrough didn’t happen at the altar. We have “praying power” but no “staying power”.

The ultimate example of “staying power” is Jesus Christ himself, He was denied, beaten, mocked, spit on, stripped down, & nailed on a cross for our sins. He didn’t want to go to the cross, He PRAYED fervently for another way & when God gave Him an answer that His flesh wasn’t looking for He said, “not my will but yours be done” & He STAYED on the cross in order for the promises of God to be fulfilled. 

Our Bible tells us that the promises of God our “Yes & Amen” & in Matthew 7:7, Jesus tells us that EFFECTIVE prayers are PERSISTENT prayers, “keep asking...keep seeking...keep knocking…” In other words, Jesus is telling us to STAY, to stay in His presence, to continue believing, to continue asking & that in His perfect timing you will receive. 

Pastor Nathaniel Green compared the “staying” process to a crockpot, there are some meals that need to be cooked slow in order for the ingredients to come together. There are character traits that God is slowly developing inside of us in order for the blessings that He has in store for us to come together & God loves us so much that He takes His time with us making sure that we are ready. Just like you wouldn’t serve the roast if it was half-cooked, God doesn’t want us to receive anything we aren’t ready for.

I don’t know about you but I want my life to be lived “well done”, so let’s PRAY & ask God to give us the patience & perseverance to STAY.

I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living!- Psalm 27:13 ESV

Preaching to myself,

Imani Nailah