Always...Pray, Not...Faint
By W. C. Moore
Jesus taught that men ought always to pray, and not to faint (Luke 18:1-8). Abraham had to wait years in faith believing, before Isaac was born. It is said that Jacob was 97 years old before he prayed through and God changed his name to Israel. Joseph held on for many years, through dungeon and sorrow and misunderstanding before his God-given dream came true. Hannah prayed for years before her prayers were answered and Samuel was born.
God blessed Abraham through the years while he waited in faith for Isaac to be born. God blessed Jacob through the years while he, too, was fitting into God's program, so much so that Laban learned by experience that God blessed him (Laban) for Jacob's sake (Gen. 30:27). The same was true of Joseph: God blessed him and gave him favor through the years, though he was rejected by his own brethren and sold into slavery.
So, today, the blessings of God are upon His humble people. But the Word of God says, we have need of patience (cheerful endurance) that after we have done the will of God, we might receive the promise, and we are told to cast not away our confidence (Heb. 10:35-36).
Patience
Since the Scriptures tell us plainly that we have need of patience (cheerful endurance), we can be very sure that God will provide everything necessary along the line of conditions, delays, environment, happenings, etc., in order that we come not short in this grace also – the grace of patience! Praise the Lord!
It seems that we humans must of necessity get to the place where it just simply has to be God before it is either safe or wise for God to fully bless us. Otherwise we would fall into the snare of boasting about what "I" – "we" did.
Abraham was "as good as dead" before God's time came for Isaac to be born (Heb. 11:8-12). Jacob had his thigh thrown out of joint, and went with a limp before God saw fit, in His wisdom, to change his name to Israel. Joseph could not be trusted to have his father and his eleven brethren bow down to him until Joseph himself had gone through the humbling experiences of the years – and it was God who brought the dream to fulfillment.
There is always danger that an Ishmael shall come on the scene causing untold trouble and suffering if we lose patience and think that, after all, we must indeed do something that God has not told us to do – to help God out! Let us be "followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises" (Heb. 6:12).
"The husbandman waiteth...and hath long patience...until he receive the early and latter rain" (Jas. 5:7). Then follows a command: "Be ye also patient" (Jas. 5:8).
God gave Joseph a dream (Gen. 37:5-11). Through the years of testing – while God was preparing Joseph for the fulfillment of this dream – Joseph had ample occasion to grow in grace and to exercise patience – cheerful endurance.
Attend to God-given Duties
Some have been waiting for years for the mighty, promised outpouring of the Spirit of God promised in the Book of Joel and in other Scriptures. They have gone through testings, God knows, but we know that all things work together for good to them that love God (Rom. 8:28), and not only so, God is preparing a humble people for the reception of the fullness of the "last days" outpouring of the Spirit.
We find through the Scriptures, that Abraham was not idle during the years he waited for God to fulfill His promise concerning an heir. He went ahead, doing the duties that came to hand. Jacob also was a working man. Joseph could not build a shrine to himself and get the eyes of the people on him, and sentimentally "wait" around for God to come and bring to pass His promises to him. No! Joseph attended to his duties. When in prison he attended to his prison duties.
So today, as we pray for revival, as we ask for (spiritual) rain (Zech. 10:1), we are not to fiddle away our time and strength in a hazy sort of longing for great things. We are to attend to whatever duties God places upon us, and to faithfully perform our daily tasks "as to the Lord, and not unto men" (Col. 3:23). "Not slothful in business" (Rom. 12:11).
We should be faithful in our home duties, in our business affairs, putting our heart into our work, however humble it may be, doing the very best work we can, by the help of the Lord, knowing that every one of us must give account to God (Rom. 14:10; 2 Cor. 5:10). The eyes of the Lord are over us (1 Pet. 3:12). (See Col 3:23, Eccl. 9:10). "He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much. If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?" (Luke 16:10-11).
Withal and in all and always – keep in an attitude of prayer and faith and expectancy and humility. Jesus, the Son of God, the Head of the church says, "Watch ye therefore, and pray always..." (Luke 21:36). He has not given us an impossible command. We can and should keep in an attitude of prayer always.
There have been many revivals down through the centuries. There have been many outpourings of the Holy Spirit through the years. How encouraging this is as we await, long for, look for, pray for, believe for – the Harvest Rain, the fullness of the latter rain, the outpouring of God's Spirit upon all flesh (Joel 2:18-32).
And precious truth, encouraging fact – the outpouring of the Spirit for which thousands of God's brokenhearted, tried, humble people worldwide are praying – this great outpouring of the Spirit, will be all the more astounding because of the accumulated and as yet unanswered prayers of faith of multitudes of God's Blood-bought people!
God's Word Will Be Performed!
The Harvest Rain will come! God's Word will be performed! And the Harvest Rain, the Latter Rain promised by God Himself, will come with that explosive fury which must accompany the sudden answer to thousands of accumulated heart-prayers – prayers of actual faith from God's people in these last terrible days! "Shall not God avenge His own elect, which cry day and night unto Him, though He bear long with them? I tell you that He will avenge men speedily" (Luke 18:7-8).
Delay is not denial! God will pour out His Spirit on all flesh – just as He has promised to do! This outpouring of the Spirit has not yet come in its fullness, although God is moving by His Spirit in the earth today. When a deluge comes, and a flood is sweeping through a town, no one has to argue the case and attempt to prove that it is so. The flood itself sweeps all opposition before it! If you are satisfied, Brother, Sister – so was Laodicea (Rev. 3:14-22). But as for myself, I am hungry, I am thirsty – for God to come down (Isa. 64:1-7) – for the Lord to go among us (Ex. 34:9).
It would be practically impossible to gather all the saints who today are praying for God's great revival into any one "upper room" or anywhere else. Multitudes of God's people are praying for something – many hardly realize what they are praying for, but the Spirit maketh intercession with groanings which cannot be uttered (Rom. 8:26). And God, who is stirring His people to pray – is faithful to answer every real prayer of faith.
It will not be one great John the Baptist who will prepare the way for the Second Coming of the Lord, but rather a "John the Baptist Company" of humble, hungry believers worldwide, who pray through till God comes and rains righteousness upon them. Then they go forth in the mighty power of the Holy Spirit to do the revival work which precedes the coming of the Lord! John the Baptist was one man. The church today is one body, the Body of Christ, but it is made up of many members (Rom. 12:1-5; 1 Cor. 12:12-27; Eph. 1:22-23).
"Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the Lord: His going forth is prepared as the morning; and He shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth" (Hos. 6:3).
"It is time to seek the Lord, till He come and rain righteousness upon you" (Hos. 10:12). "Until the Spirit be poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness be a fruitful field, and the fruitful field be counted for a forest" (Isa. 32:15).
