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PRESSING TOWARD THE MARK

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4. Fight for God by praying alertly with all perseverance.

A. PRAY ALERTLY!

As I said, the word in Greek is a participle, which is dependent on the command, “Stand firm” (6:14). Paul is saying, “Stand firm against the enemy by being alert to persevere and pray for all the saints.” The word means to be awake and vigilant. Jesus told the disciples in the garden (Matt. 26:41), “Keep watching and praying that you may not enter into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” As you know, they promptly went to sleep! But before I condemn them, I’ve got to admit that I’ve often done the same!

This word, be alert, ties in with the military analogy. You’re a sentry on duty. You must watch for any signs of infiltration by the enemy and go immediately to prayer. Do you see a person who is suffering? Pray that Satan might not get their eyes off the Lord and devour them in their trial (1 Pet. 5:8-9). Do you see someone who is depressed or discouraged? Pray that she will put her trust in God and His salvation. Do you see a husband and wife who are having conflict? Pray! Do you hear of church members at odds with one another? Be alert and pray!

B. PRAY PERSEVERINGLY.

This is one of the aspects of prayer that I find most difficult. We are to pray with “all perseverance.” Jesus told the parable of the widow who kept pestering the hardhearted judge, until finally he relented just to get her off his back. Jesus assures us that God is not uncaring like that unrighteous judge, but He will bring about justice speedily for His elect who cry out to Him. Jesus’ reason for telling that parable was, “to show that at all times [we] ought to pray and not to lose heart” (Luke 18:1).

And yet, Paul’s word about perseverance, not to mention our experience, shows that Jesus’ promise of God answering speedily must be interpreted by God’s view of time, not ours. The verb form of this Greek word translated perseverance is often linked with prayer (Acts 1:14; 2:42; 6:4Rom. 12:12Col. 4:2). It means to devote yourself constantly to it. You don’t give up when you don’t see immediate results. You wait on the Lord (Ps. 27:14).

I can’t give you a rule for when to go on praying and when to conclude that God isn’t going to answer. I have prayed for one request for over 35 years now, and at least part of my request cannot be answered now. So, I modified the request and keep praying. I have scratched some people off my prayer list after years of praying with no visible results. If God brings them to mind, I’ll pray, but I don’t pray for them regularly anymore. When I do stop praying for someone, it’s not because I doubt God’s ability to answer. Rather, after years of praying, it just seems that God is not going to answer and so I leave it with Him and His sovereign will.

So, we fight for God by praying with all kinds of prayer, at all times, in the Spirit, and by praying alertly with perseverance. Lastly,

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