“O Lord my God, I cried to You for help, and you restored my health. You brought me up from the grave, O Lord! You kept me from falling into the pit of death. Sing to the Lord, all you godly ones! For His anger lasts only a moment, but His favor lasts a lifetime! Weeping may last through the night, but joy comes with the morning.” (Psalm 30: 2-5 NLT)
The night I asked the Lord Jesus to forgive me, come into my life and fill me with His Spirit, was a very emotional experience for me. I more than cried, I gasped with uncontrollable wailing. I’d never cried like that before, and only on rare occasion since. It was like I was undergoing an internal cleansing, which, of course, I was.
What I didn’t know or understand then that I see clearly now, is that the reason I had that spiritual breakthrough that led to my new “birth,” was because someone had been praying for me – specifically for me – by name.
Early in my walk with God I read a book on prayer by Dick Eastman who said essentially: “Behind the saving grace of every believer is someone praying.” The quote may not be exact, but I believe I’m staying true to his intent. Understanding that informs me in two ways: First, I wouldn’t know the Lord if someone hadn’t prayed for me. And, secondly, it fuels my desire to pray diligently for those in my spheres of influence who need to come to the Lord.
C. H. Spurgeon wrote: “In due time the weeping intercessor will become the rejoicing winner of souls.” There’s that phrase again: “In due time!” What does that mean? Peter addresses this in 1 Peter 5:6 when he writes: “So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time He will lift you up in honor.”
What can possibly be more honoring than praying for someone’s soul to be redeemed, then seeing it happen? When I was pastoring, we had in our church an evangelistic training program that helped people have a track to run on as they shared their faith with others. The best way to learn how to do something is by doing it, so, I would take a couple of people with me to visit those who had come to our church for the first time.
On this night we visited a family of six – mom, dad, and four children ranging from teens to maybe 9 years old. After explaining to them what Jesus had done for them and how they could respond by faith, I began with dad, then mom, and each of the kids, asking each one: “Would you like to receive God’s gift of eternal life by putting your faith in Jesus tonight?” One by one, each one said: “Yes!” For that family “in due time” meant right then!
I’m confident you have those on your prayer list for salvation, as I have, for whom we’ve prayed for years. Here’s our hope: “In due time!” Do we get discouraged and stop praying? Do we lose faith that God even hears our prayers? Do we turn our prayers to the ones we deem more “ready?” No! We persevere because we know that “in due time” they’re going to say “yes,” just like that family so many years ago.
Maybe for you it’s not someone’s salvation, but their healing, a means to provide for their family, the healing of a relationship, or something else that has captivated or entrapped their life. Please don’t give up. Please don’t lose faith or stop praying. I can’t explain it and, honestly, I don’t always understand it, but we have to go on the basis of what we DO know, not what we don’t know. And I KNOW that God is faithful, that He hears us, and that He will answer “in due time!”
Food for thought.
Blessings, Ed 😊
Walking With Jesus 