Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Faith During the Ordinary

Romans 12:12 says:

"Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer"

How easy it is to "rejoice" in hope. I know that we sometimes lose focus on the "hope that is within us" but we nevertheless know deep within who wins!

Being patient in suffering is a bit more difficult. Perhaps we easily fall into impatient frustration over our suffering at times but eventually we have no choice but to be patient or to be continually frustrated.

The last part of this phrase is intriguing don't you agree? "Persevere" in prayer? Does God know us intimately, or what? Prayer is tough; no not the simple act of praying, that's not what is tough. What is tough is to remember to pray, desire to pray, and to effectively pray.

Perseverance is "hanging in there" in spite of everything else. Do you think we would have an issue with praying if God immediately granted our every request? If we could simply make our request and turn around at see that it had happened, surely we would find praying easy and desirable.

It is the faith component that makes praying difficult and makes staying faithful to prayer a matter of perseverance.

Don't be discouraged when your prayer life seems cold. That happens to all of us. If it were easy anybody could do it; it isn't easy that's why God has called you to do it.

It's not about us being perfectly faithful; it's about a called group of believers who God has brought together to see that prayer is a constant in and in behalf of His Church and His world!

Be a part of the team!

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