The Power Of Persistent Prayer

Tks. to Jeff Stride for this sermon

The Power of Persistent Prayer

Daniel 10:1-10:14

ILLUS: There’s a supposedly true story of a Welsh woman who lived in a remote valley in Wales. She went to a great deal of trouble and expense to have electrical power installed in her home. However, after a couple of months, the electric company noticed she didn’t seem to use very much electricity at all.

Thinking there might be a problem with the hookup, they sent a meter reader out to check on the matter. The man came to the door and said, "We’ve just checked your meter and it doesn’t seem that you’re using much electricity. Is there a problem?"

"Oh no" she said. "We’re quite satisfied. We turn on the electric lights every night to see how to light our lamps and then we switch them off again."

A. Why didn’t this woman make more use of her electricity?

1. She believed in electricity

2. She believed the promises of the electric company

when they told her about it

3. She went to a great deal of trouble and expense to

have her house wired for it

4. BUT - she didn’t understand the potential of

electricity in her home.

AND SO, she used it’s power sparingly

B. There are people who use prayer very much the same way.

1. They believe in prayer

2. They know of the promises God has made

3. They’ve even read and heard stories about

answered prayers

4. BUT they use prayer’s power sparingly…

Many People look at prayer in 1 of 2 ways!

1. They either believe:

a. God’s gonna do, what God’s gonna do anyway –

so why bother!?

2. OR--they regard prayer as a last resort after all of

their other efforts have failed.

3. Sort of like “Hail Mary” pass in football. They throw

it up in the air and hope it reaches the desired

destination.

4. They’ll pray a little bit.

5. They’ll throw up occasional appeals…

But in their heart of hearts, they don’t view prayer as making that big an impact on the decisions they make every day.

But Daniel didn’t pray that way

• 1. Daniel prayed 3 times every day

• 2. He prayed in his room

• 3. He prayed in the lions’ den

• 4. He prayed for wisdom

• 5. He prayed for guidance

• 6. He prayed that God would forgive the sins of His

people Israel and return them to their home.

But NOW, we find Daniel struggling in prayer for 21 days because he’s troubled by a dream he’s had.

Many Christians would have trouble praying for 21 days for anything.

Luke 18:1-7-- 1Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart, 2saying: “There was in a certain city a judge who did not fear God nor regard man. 3Now there was a widow in that city; and she came to him, saying, ‘Get justice for me from my adversary.’ 4And he would not for a while; but afterward he said within himself, ‘Though I do not fear God nor regard man, 5yet because this widow troubles me I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.’”

6Then the Lord said, “Hear what the unjust judge said. 7And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them? 8I tell you that he will avenge them speedily.

Jesus taught us - we should always pray and not give up

ILLUS: We should be like the 3-year-old boy (that Paul Harvey told about) who went to the grocery store with his mother. Before they entered the grocery store she said to him, "Now you’re not going to get any chocolate chip cookies, so don’t even ask."

She put him up in the cart & he sat in the little child’s seat while she wheeled down the aisles. He was doing just fine until they came to the cookie section. He saw the chocolate chip cookies & he stood up in the seat & said, “Mom, can I have some chocolate chip cookies?” She said, “I told you not even to ask. You’re not going to get any at all.” So he sat back down.

They continued down the aisles, but in their search for certain items they ended up back in the cookie aisle. “Mom, can I please have some chocolate chip cookies?” She said, “I told you that you can’t have any. Now sit down & be quiet.”

Finally, they were approaching the checkout lane. The little boy sensed that this may be his last chance. So just before they got to the line, he stood up on the seat of the cart & shouted in his loudest voice, “In the name of Jesus, may I have some chocolate chip cookies?”