‘Praying Through Obstacles’

​Daily Devotional – Wednesday, August 11, 2021

“Never stop praying.” (1 Thessalonians 5:17, NLT)

There are times we are tempted to stop praying. God isn’t answering, so why bother. Rather than stopping, what may be needed is a change in what we are praying. For instance, there are times when our prayers are simply requests for God to rubber-stamp our plans. The lack of an affirmative response to our prayers may in fact be His roadblock; He has a better plan. We need to be certain that when we pray for God’s help we are prepared to pray through the obstacles of pride and self-sufficiency, looking for His direction.

Another obstacle we need to pray through is common sense. Just because we have discerned one solution to a problem, doesn’t mean that we have discerned the best. Sometimes God’s ways are nonsensical. When God promised to help the Israelites take over the land of Canaan, He didn’t promise that His help would always make sense…but it was still up to them to obey. God’s battle plan for Jericho was ridiculous from a human standpoint. March around the city, blow trumpets, yell and the walls will fall down. God was fully prepared to perform a miracle on their behalf. We need to be certain that we don’t block God’s answer because it doesn’t make sense to us.

At other times, the obstacle we need to pray through is the interference of the enemy. Satan loves nothing better than to lie, discourage and harass. As Christ’s followers, we have the authority to pray against his machinations. Sometimes the times when we face the greatest resistance to our prayers is when we are indeed praying in line with God’s will; when the praying gets hard, it is not a sign that our prayers should stop, but should in fact increase!
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Pray always. Pray for believers. Pray for those who persecute you. Pray that you will stay faithful to the end. Pray to hear God’s voice and discern His leading. Never stop. Pray. Pray. Pray!
~ Pastor Jane