Category Archives: Devotional Life

The value of developing a relationship with God, The value of having a daily quiet time.

Our Heavenly Father’s Role in Intercession – 7 Points

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Stephen Nielsen's avatarPrayer A to Z

 

It is not the Father’s role to intercede.  The Father is the one who hears, receives, and answers our prayers.  But I think He should be included in the intercession process, because if it wasn’t for the Father we could not pray at all.  In fact, all prayer comes from the Father.  We will take time now to consider seven things regarding how the Father is involved in intercession.

 

1.He is the head person of the trinity and is in charge over the whole intercession process.  Jesus said that His Father is Lord over heaven and earth (Lu. 10:21) and that He is greater than all (Jn. 10:29).  Jesus also said in John 6:57 that He lives because of the Father.  This does not mean that the Father gave Him existence (Jesus has always existed); however, it means that His special life of power and authority was…

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The Results of Praying with Importunity

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Stephen Nielsen's avatarPrayer A to Z

 

The one obvious result, of course, will be that we will see more answers to prayer, and we will experience the great joy in the Lord that follows (Jn. 16:24).  But there are also other results.  Here are three things that I can think of:

Importune Prayer will become Easier

The more you pray with importunity, the easier it will be to continue to pray with importunity. Not that importune prayer is ever easy, but the first few experiences of it will tend to pave the road and make the way smoother for more and more importune prayer.  For when you have that prayer experience behind you, you will have gained the insight that makes your prayers more importunate.

Accordingly, with this experience, you will pray with more patience and strength, and with more ability to press on in prayer, even when it seems hopeless.  You will have developed…

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How to Pray with Importunity – 4 Points

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Stephen Nielsen's avatarPrayer A to Z

There is so much we could say here.  I think the following four points will give you a lot to work on.

Start by building up your faith

Since true importune prayer is aroused and energized by the Holy Spirit, it makes sense that if you want to pray with importunity you must be filled with the Spirit and walk in the Spirit. You can begin to do this by meditating on the Word.  When you get to know the God of the Word you will learn to trust Him and wait on Him in prayer.  Soon you will not yield to discouragement and weariness when you pray.  Likewise, you will say to God, “O my God, I trust in You” (Ps. 25:2).  And you will keep praying persistently for as long as it takes to gain the answer.

Strengthen your friendships

Since friendship is a great motivating factor in…

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The Great Demand for Importune Prayer

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Stephen Nielsen's avatarPrayer A to Z

 

From what I have discovered from my study, there seems to be two main aspects of importune prayer: it is urgent, and it has a dogged persistence.  Each of these has their own demands.  Urgency is demanded because of great needs.  Persistence is demanded because of the time factor—the fact that it takes time for prayer to be answered.

The Demand for Urgency

In every importune prayer there is a demand for urgency.  In the parables and stories we saw that there was always a great need, which required urgency.  The man who went to his friend for bread (Lu. 11:5-10) had a great need for bread.  The woman in the parable in Luke 18 had a great need for justice.  The Canaanite woman had a daughter who had an urgent need to be healed (Matt. 15:21-28).  And the blind man had a great need to see (Lu. 18:35-43).

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The Importune Prayers of Elijah and Daniel

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We will continue our study of Importunity in prayer with two more holy men, Elijah and Daniel.

 

Elijah’s Prayer, 1 Kings 18:41- 45

 Now Elijah said to Ahab, “Go up, eat and drink; for there is the sound of the roar of a heavy shower.” 42 So Ahab went up to eat and drink. But Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; and he crouched down on the earth, and put his face between his knees. 43 And he said to his servant, “Go up now, look toward the sea.” So he went up and looked and said, “There is nothing.” And he said, “Go back” seven times. 44 And it came about at the seventh time, that he said, “Behold, a cloud as small as a man’s hand is coming up from the sea.” And he said, “Go up, say to Ahab, ‘Prepare your chariot…

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Being Glad in My Weaknesses

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Paul had what he called “a thorn in his flesh.” He said that it was a messenger of Satan to keep him from exalting himself. We don’t know what it was. Some say it was his poor eye sight.

I’m sure you know your weakness. That thing that torments you, that keeps you from doing your best. But that weakness can be the very thing you can be glad about, because Christ will perfect His power through that weakness—so that we can be content with our weakness.

2 Cor 12:9-10

And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. 10 Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.

The Importune Prayers of Two Holy Men, Abraham and Moses

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In this blog post we will take a look at the importune prayers of two holy men—Abraham and Moses.

Abraham’s prayer, from Genesis 18:22-33

 Then the men turned away from there and went toward Sodom, while Abraham was still standing before the Lord. 23 And Abraham came near and said, “Wilt Thou indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? 24 “Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city; wilt Thou indeed sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous who are in it? 25 “Far be it from Thee to do such a thing, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous and the wicked are treated alike. Far be it from Thee! Shall not the Judge of all the earth deal justly?” 26 So the Lord said, “If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city…

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