INTERNATIONAL HOUSE OF PRAYER ATLANTA

THE GLORY OF INTERCESSION SEMINAR

SESSION 04 –PERSEVERING PRAYER

I. Perseverance in Prayer

Luke 11:5-13 And He said to them, "Which of you shall have a friend, and go to
him at midnight and say to him, 'Friend, lend me three loaves; 6 'for a friend of
mine has come to me on his journey, and I have nothing to set before him'; 7
"and he will answer from within and say, 'Do not trouble me; the door is now shut,
and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give to you'? 8 "I say to
you, though he will not rise and give to him because he is his friend, yet because
of his persistence he will rise and give him as many as he needs. 9 "So I say to
you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be
opened to you. 10 "For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds,
and to him who knocks it will be opened. 11 "If a son asks for bread from any
father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give
him a serpent instead of a fish? 12 "Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a
scorpion? 13 "If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your
children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those
who ask Him!"

A. In this parable, Jesus tells the story of a friend who comes to your house
in the middle of the night, desperately in need, hungry for three loaves of
bread. This friend might represent the lost, the sick, the broken, or one with
an urgent need who comes to you looking for help, for answers, for
provision, for a miracle.

B. The first revelation that any disciple of Jesus must come to when they
are in this position is: I don’t have anything to give in and of myself. As
intercessors, we must live in the place of poverty of spirit. We must live in
the awareness of our barrenness, our lack, our inability to produce anything
good within ourselves.

1. Many times when we face one with a genuine need, we refuse to

admit our inability to provide the answers that they need. We pretend
that we have bread when we really don’t. Because many of us have a
‘Messiah complex,’ we try to become the bread of life for other people.
We try to fix their problems, to become their Savior. We believe we
have something in and of ourselves to offer them and instead we just
put a Band-Aid® on their gaping wound.

2. Other times, we will pretend as though we don’t hear the knock.

Aware of our own inability to give anything, we ignore the desperate
knocking of our friend. Because we don’t want to face the pain of our
own poverty and the humility required to look our friend in the face and
tell him that we too are broke and in need, we deny that anyone is
knocking at our door.

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3. The response that we must have is to acknowledge our friend’s

need and to admit our impotence to meet that need. We must allow
ourselves to feel the pain of our friend and to take his burden upon
ourselves. We must bind ourselves to our friend and let his lack and
our need drive us to knock on the door of our Father who has plenty of
bread to offer.

4. The world doesn’t need more counselors to arise; the world needs
more disciples who will boldly proclaim, “I don’t have anything to give
you.”

C. As intercessors, we find ourselves living Luke 11 over and over again.

A friend comes to us in need and we have nothing to offer, nothing to give.
However, we have a Friend who has given us a standing invitation to come
to Him at any time, for any reason, and He’ll give us everything that we
need.

D. You don’t have any bread to give him, but you have another friend who
owns a bakery and he’s told you that he’ll give you bread anytime you need
it. You assure your friend that you will get the bread that he needs and you
both journey to the house of the baker. You approach the baker’s door with
great confidence knowing that your friend is about to have his needs met.

1. We have all been in those times of prayer where we boldly look at

the one in need and say ‘Come with me. I am going to take you to the
One who can meet your need.’ As intercessors, we have stories of
the time where we were so filled with faith that we just knew God was
going to give us what we asked of him, and give it to us right away.

E. However, after knocking, you hear the voice of your friend, the baker,
and he answers abruptly saying, ‘Do not trouble me. The door is shut. I am
in bed. I have my children with me. I cannot rise and give you anything.’

1. We confidently take our friend who needs bread to the Lord and
much to our surprise, the Lord does not respond in the way that we
thought He would.

2. With His response, we hit five brass ceilings, five inescapable

realities. Instead of doing what He promised He would do, rise and
give us bread, He turns us away. Pain increases in our heart. We
assured our friend that his needs would be met.

a. Don’t trouble Me.

b. The door is shut.

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c. My children are with me.

d. I am in bed already.

e. I can’t rise and give you anything.

3. It is here that the disciple of Jesus encounters a new revelation of

Him: The God who Bears Long, The God who Resists You. You are
vulnerable. You need a breakthrough. You need God to come
through for you and yet He seems to resist you.

4. This becomes a turning point in the story. All believers come to

this place on the journey and the response determines the outcome of
that believers’ destiny in God. This is a pivotal moment in the life of
the intercessor. What will you do when God seems to resist you?
What will you do when God says, ‘No?’

5. At this point, there are three responses:

a. Sheepishly hang your head and turn away, believing God

does not love you, did not mean what He said when He invited
you to come and ask Him for anything you need. You apologize
to your friend, give up on God and determine not to pray
anymore.

b. You get offended at the response of God. You turn and walk
away, smiling on the outside, but on the inside, you are
confused, angry, and disappointed. A part of your heart
becomes hardened. You lose faith. You keep the same
language, but internally your heart pulls back. You determine
not to ask for that sort of thing again.

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c. The third response is that of a confident child or an intimate

lover: Unoffended and undeterred by His response, you knock
longer and louder. He told you to go away, but instead, with
resilience in your heart, you ask and you keep asking. You
knock and you keep knocking. You say, ‘No! Umm, I know You;
and I know what You said. You said I could come to you at
anytime and ask you for anything that I need and You would give
it to me.’ You love me. My voice moves your heart. I am Your
son and you love giving good gifts to me. It brings You pleasure
to give me the kingdom. If earthly fathers know how to give good
gifts, how much more You, the Glorious Father? You gave me
Jesus; and I know you won’t deny me anything else. (1 Jon
5:14-15) I will not relent. I will not stop asking. You said,
‘Everyone who asks receives.’ Everyone. You are no respecter
of persons.

6. God allows us to encounter this new revelation of Him for multiple

reasons. He wants us to become assured of His goodness, confident
in His love, and established in the knowledge of His will. He wants to
deliver us from orphan mentalities and broken mindsets of who He is
as a Bridegroom. He wants to expose our tendencies to get offended
with Him. He wants to test our motives. He seeks to form our
character. He desires that we would be filled with might in our inner
man. Our God is the God who wrestles with His people. He is looking
for the one who will not take ‘no’ for an answer, who will wrestle until
he get the blessing, who will not faint or quit no matter how hard the
battle gets. He is looking for those who will violently take the Kingdom
by force.

7. Because of our wrong paradigms and broken ways of the thinking,

so often when we reach this point on the journey, we wrongly assume
that God is angry with us, that He has abandoned us, that He doesn’t
really love us, that He doesn’t want to answer our prayers. He is not
that kind of lover! He’s not that kind of friend! He’s wooing us to the
depths of intimacy. He hides Himself so we will come after Him (Psa
10:1, Isa 45:15).

F. After denying his request in no uncertain terms, the friend makes what
appears to be a presumptuous move. Instead of doing what most would
do, apologizing for being a bother and walking away, with boldness in his
heart, he knocks again. Far from being offended, the Lord is delighted at
this response. Audacious faith, confident love, and unrelenting persistence
brings great pleasure to the heart of the Lord. (Refer to Mat 8:8-10 and Mat
15:22-28.)

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1. After explaining this parable, Jesus gives further insight into the
initial request His disciples made of Him, ‘Lord, teach us to pray.’ He
admonishes them to come before the Father with great boldness, to
ask (and keep asking), to seek (and keep seeking), and to knock (and
keep knocking). He assures us that everyone that asks receives, that
everyone that seeks finds, and that everyone that knocks will have
the door opened for him (Mat 7:7-8).

2. Jesus gives us confidence in prayer by reminding us of the heart of

our Father. He links answered prayer to the nature of the Father. He
is a good Father! He will not lie! His promises are ‘Yes!’ and ‘Amen!’

3. In this passage, Jesus uses an explicit a fortiori argument, (an

argument with the form, “If this, then how much more that?”). He
compares wicked fathers to the Father of Glory. He reminds us that
even broken, evil fathers will give good things to their children. No
father would give his son a rock when he asks for bread, nor will he
give him a scorpion to eat instead of an egg. If earthly fathers give
good things to their children, how much more will God give you His
beloved son or daughter, good things when you ask Him!

II. Encountering the God Who Resists

A. In Genesis, 32:22-32, Jacob has a life-changing encounter with God. At

the River called Jabbok, when Jacob was all alone, gripped with fear and
offering feeble prayers to God for deliverance from his brother, the Man
(Pre-Incarnate Jesus) meets with Him. It is here that Jacob encounters
God in a new way. God doesn’t show up as He has previously. At Bethel,
the heavens were opened and he saw angels ascending and descending
down a ladder. He saw the Lord standing above the ladder. God spoke
destiny over Jacob, gave him massive prophetic promises, and assured him
that He would always be with him and would always protect him until Jacob
was brought into the fullness of his destiny.

B. This time however, God doesn’t show up on a glory cloud with a

company of angels. He doesn’t come with a prophetic word nor does He
remind Jacob of that which He’d previously spoken over him. This time
God comes in a wrestling uniform. He comes to fight. Without a word, He
puts Jacob in a headlock. Jacob begins to fight back with intensity.

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C. It is here that God seeks to test Jacob’s tenacity. He is pulling the

wrestle out of Him. Jacob, who once cowered at the thought of meeting
Esau, terrified that his brother would attack him, is now fighting with God.
When God saw that Jacob wasn’t going to relent and that He could not
prevail against him, He dislocates Jacob’s hip. But this doesn’t stop Jacob.
Then God cries out, Enough, Jacob! Let me go, it’s morning.’ Jacob, said
‘No, I will not let You go unless You bless me.’

D. Much like the Friend who was approached in the middle of the night by
a friend seeking three loaves of bread for someone else, God didn’t really
want Jacob to let go; He was really testing his heart. He wanted to know if
Jacob would persevere or give up. He wanted to know if he’d desperately
pursue that which he was longing for or if he’d surrender without a fight. He
wanted to know whether or not Jacob would believe the promises He’d
formerly spoken over His life and presume upon His faithfulness.

E. He inquired of Jacob’s name and in a moment changed not only his

name, but his identity and destiny as well. Because Jacob struggled with
God and prevailed, he went from being a deceiver to a prince with God. He
wasn’t content with only a new name. He wanted to know the name of the
Man with whom He wrestled. He wanted to know the name, the nature, and
the character of God. As he cried out for the knowledge of God, he
received the blessing he longed for. It was in that moment that he realized
he had indeed come face-to-face with God and actually lived.

F. Oh the lessons that Jacob learned that night as he wrestled with God!

1. Sometimes we must become the answer to our own prayer. Jacob

had the prophetic promises, yet he didn’t have faith to believe that
God would come through for him. God did not show up and remind
Jacob of the words He’d previously spoken over him. God came to
fight. He wanted to form might and tenacity in Jacob’s inner man. At
the end of the night, Jacob realized that if he could wrestle with God,
he needn’t fear his brother.

2. God warned Jacob that if he wouldn’t let go, he would wound him.
Many times in the wrestle of intercession, there comes a wounding. In
the night of intercession, God will allow us to become wounded in
order to develop might in our inner man and perseverance in prayer.

G. God again warned Jacob to let Him go. However, once again Jacob
refused. He said, ‘I know You, and I know what You promised me, now I
am not going to let You go until You bless me.’ Faith, courage and
persistence arose within the heart of Jacob. He had entered into the spirit
of unrelenting prayer.
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H. As Jacob inquired after the knowledge of the Man, He was blessed. For
it is in Him, all the fullness of God dwells (Col 2:9). In Him, all the treasures
of wisdom and knowledge are hidden (Col 2:3).

I. In the wrestle, Jacob came to see God face to face. In the wrestle,
Jacob got a new name, a new walk, and a new confidence in the ability of
God to answer prayer.

Psalm 24:6 “This is Jacob, the generation of those who seek Him, who
seek Your face.”

J. In Psalm 24, David prophesies of a whole generation of men and women

like Jacob who will arise at the end of the age. This generation will be
characterized by their aggressive pursuit of God. They will be those that
relentlessly seek the face of the Lord in persistent prayer. Intercession at
the end of the age will be distinguished by perseverance and faith.

III. The Fainting Spirit: The Enemy of Persevering Prayer

Luke 18:1-8 “Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray
and not lose heart, saying: “There was in a certain city a judge who did not fear
God nor regard man. Now there was a widow in that city; and she came to him,
saying, ‘Get justice for me from my adversary.’ And he would not for a while; but
afterward he said within himself, ‘Though I do not fear God nor regard man, yet
because this widow troubles me I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming
she weary me.’” Then the Lord said, “Hear what the unjust judge said. And shall
God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He
bears long with them? (NIV—And will not God bring about justice for His chosen
ones, who cry out to Him day and night? Will He keep putting them off?) I tell you
that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes,
will He really find faith on the earth?”

A. Luke 18 must be understood in the context of the chapter that precedes

it, Luke 17. In Luke 17, Jesus gives us an exposition on the end-times and
the nearness of His return. With this as our backdrop, the strong
admonition of Luke 18:1 comes forth, calling men to pray always. Night and
day prayer is in context to the return of Jesus and will arise all over the
earth prior in the end-times.

B. The parable of Luke 18 is given to encourage intercessors to prevail in

prayer. In verse one, we are told that “men always ought to pray and not
lose heart.” The phrase “lose heart” is also translated “never give up” (NIV,
NAS, NLT), “never quit” (MSG), “never lose hope” (NCV), “not become
discouraged” (HCS), and “not to faint” (KJV, Darby, YLT).

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C. In verse one, we see the great enemy of intercessors and one of the
greatest hindrances to prayer that produces breakthrough—the fainting
spirit. I believe there is a demonic spirit that seeks to prevent intercessors
from prevailing in prayer. This spirit causes them to become hopeless in
intercession, convinces them that their prayers are not effective, and they’d
be better off quitting.

D. The fainting spirit calls the goodness of God into question as it

convinces intercessors that God doesn’t hear their prayers, doesn’t see
their tears, and isn’t responding to their cries. This spirit convinces
intercessors that they care more about the issue than God and that He is
simply indifferent (Zech 1:12). Though the accusations vary, the end result
is always the same—to get the intercessor to quit praying prematurely.
What if Daniel would have quit fasting and praying in Daniel 10 because the
breakthrough was delayed?

E. When the answer to our prayers doesn’t come in our time frame, we
tend to lose hope in prayer. We doubt the promises of God and call the
goodness of His heart into question. In our discouragement and frustration,
we receive the counsel of despair and as a result we lose faith in the ability
of God to hear our prayers and release justice on our behalf. For a season,
we will continue in faithless prayer; however, in time, we will quit praying all
together. When we surrender to resignation in prayer, we yank all the
seeds of intercession we sowed into the ground, refusing to wait on them to
mature and ultimately bear fruit.

F. Jesus emphasizes the importance of devoting ourselves to prayer and

not growing weary in so doing. He promises us that He will release justice
to us if maintain a life of perseverant prayer that is filled with faith.

Galatians 6:9 “And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due
season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.”

G. Components of the Luke 18 Parable

1. An unrighteous judge who doesn’t fear God or care about people

(v.2)

2. A widow who has no one to fight on her behalf (v.3)

3. A cruel adversary that is oppressing this widow (v.3b)

4. Justice delayed as the judge refused (was unwilling) to respond to

her for a while (v.4)

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5. Persistence in the widow’s cry that troubles the judge and

eventually releases justice as she continually comes and makes her
plea before him (v.5)

H. The parable given us in Luke 18 is an implied a fortiori argument. A

fortiori arguments draw on the listener’s confidence in one conclusion to
express a second conclusion for which there is stronger evidence than for
the previously accepted conclusion. They usually take the form: “If [A], then
how much more [B]?” Jesus frequently uses a fortiori arguments in His
sermons (Mat 6:30, Mat 7:9-11, Luk 11:5-8).

1. There are three a fortiori arguments that Jesus makes regarding

intercession. These are important and must be explored in detail.
Each of these arguments provide stark contrasts that give us greater
insight into the nature and character of God.

a. Matthew 7:9-11: An evil father who gives good gifts to his

children when they ask versus the Father of Glory who loves
how to give good things to His children when they ask Him.

b. Luke 11:5-8: A friend who won’t get up at midnight versus the

Friend that sticks closer than a brother.

c. Luke 18:1-8 An unjust judge who releases justice to a widow

because of her perseverance versus the Just Judge of the
Universe who releases justice to His bride when she cries out
with perseverance.

I. In this parable, the a fortiori reasoning is simple: If a wicked judge will get
justice for a widow that annoys him because of her perseverance, how
much more will God, the Righteous Judge of the whole earth get justice for
the bride that He loves because of her perseverance.

J. If we fail to see the a fortiori reasoning in this parable, we will approach

intercession with a wrong mentality. We must understand that we are not
widows, with no one to fight on our behalf, approaching an unjust judge who
doesn’t care about us and doesn’t have time to be bothered with our
concerns. We are the bride of Jesus and as we approach our Husband,
who happens to be the Righteous Judge of the whole earth, He deeply
cares for us and is moved by the burdens of our heart. Our voice is sweet to
Him and our face is lovely (Song 2:14). We don’t have to pester Him or
twist His arm to move on our behalf; He longs to release justice to us (Isa
42:1-4). He will answer our requests and He will not put us off. However,
we must not quit asking. We must not lose heart, though there be delay.
The waiting is purposeful and forms our hearts into the likeness of Christ.

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K. In the end, Jesus promises to release justice speedily to all those who
are crying out to him by day and by night. Yet, when He returns, will there
be a faithful company who hasn’t forsaken the place of prayer? Jesus
desires His bride to intimately know His heart and understand His ways. He
longs for a people to pray with faith and to never give up until the answer to
their prayer is realized in its fullness.

L. Perseverance must take root in the heart of intercessors. We must pray

with faith until breakthrough comes. In the delay, we must trust in the
goodness of God and rely on the greatness of His love for us. We must cry
out day and night until justice is finally made manifest.

IV. The Delay of Intercession

A. In intercession, there are times that God waits before releasing the full
answer to our prayers. In so doing, He is being gracious to us (Isa 30:18).
The delay in intercession is not because God is deaf or blind to the cries of
the intercessor; it is not because He needs to be persuaded; it’s not
because He doesn’t care; it’s not even that we have to first prevail upon His
heart. The prayers of the righteous are His delight (Pro 15:8). The reason
we have intercessory burdens is because He shares His burdens with us.
We only care because He cares. Our voices are sweet to Him; We move
Him with the slightest glance of our eye (Song 4:9).

B. The delay in intercession is essential for the intercessor. The delay

becomes the furnace of transformation for the intercessor. In the waiting,
we learn how to lean upon the Lord. As we wait for the answer to our
prayer, humility and meekness are formed in our hearts. In the delay, our
true motives are exposed. Our hearts are refined as the dross of pride and
arrogance are removed. If we are going to continue in prayer, we have to
continually embrace our own poverty and inadequacy.

C. In the delay, the enemy will call the goodness of God’s heart into
question. He will accuse God to us and us to God. “God, didn’t really
promise you that? God won’t really do that? He is not listening. He doesn’t
care. He doesn’t love you.” “If you were righteous, He would answer your
prayer. Your sin keeps God from answering your prayers. You need to fast
more. You need to pray more. Your prayers are pathetic.” The accusations
go on and on and in time they wear on us. If we are not rooted and
grounded in the love of God for us, if we do not know His heart and
understand His ways, if we do not have revelation in the knowledge of God,
we will lose heart and abandon the place of prayer.

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D. In the waiting, we learn to wage war, to tear down strongholds in our

minds that are opposed to the knowledge of God, to take captive thoughts,
to resist the enemy, and to renew our minds according to the truth of the
Word. And having done all, we learn to stand, immovable, unshakeable,
unafraid and without offense towards God in our hearts.

E. In the waiting the intercessor learns to love hiddenness. The intercessor

learns to love the secret place where divine mysteries are revealed,
enigmas are disclosed, and intimate secrets and confidential information is
shared between friends. In the delay, the intercessor enters into his identity
as a child, a friend of the bridegroom, and the bride of Christ. In this place,
he begins to desire to be known by God and is content being overlooked
and forgotten by men. In the waiting, the intercessor enters into true
meekness. He no longer desires glory for himself and is content to allow
someone else to get credit and honor for what he himself did.

F. In the waiting, we learn to withdraw from people and their praises and
fall in love with One. Intimacy is cultivated in the waiting. In the waiting, we
are whittled down. We are reduced to love. When the answer to the prayer
finally manifests, we won’t forsake the place of prayer, for we’ve come to
love that familiar place and the One that we encounter there. God uses
intercession as an instrument to form our hearts into the likeness of His
Son.

G. In the waiting, we get a ‘history in God.’ Faith is cultivated in our hearts

as we hope for things that are not yet seen (Heb 11:1). In the waiting, we
enter into what the ancients experienced, as we believe in promises that
have not yet been manifested in the natural realm (Heb 11:2). As we wait,
we grow in confidence and become assured that the answer to our prayers
will be realized in time. It is in the waiting that we enter into our identity as
strangers and pilgrims in the earth, as we look to the promises of God, and
seek a homeland to come (Heb 11:13-14)

H. In the waiting, we go from simply praying prayers to becoming prayer.

In Psalm 109:4, David says of himself that he has become prayer. There is
a place where we go from intercession being something that we do to it
becoming the sustaining issue of our lives. Prayer must persevere within
us; it must prevail upon us. It must become like the air we breathe. We no
longer pray to ease our consciences or to fulfill our scheduled
responsibilities. In the delay, we come to revelation that our prayers are
filling bowls in heaven (Rev 5:8). We become convinced that the answer will
come; and that it’s just a matter of time. When the bowls of intercession are
full, they will tip and the answer will manifest.

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I. There is a necessary death that transpires in the waiting. If we are going

to experience the glory of resurrection power, we must first die. We must
become crucified with Christ, dead to ourselves, if we are going to truly
enter into intercession. In the delay, we wrestle with God. Like Jacob, we
get the answer to our prayer, but we lose the fight and walk with a limp for
the rest of our days, fully leaning upon God.

V. Speedy Justice

Luke 18:7-8 NIV “And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who
cry out to him day and night? Will He keep putting them off? I tell you, He will see
that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will He
find faith on the earth?”

A. If we will persevere in prayer, if we will ask and keep asking, the Lord
will not ignore our pleas and allow our cries to go unanswered. He is not an
unemotional, apathetic, indifferent God. He will promises that if we will
persist in unrelenting prayer, without losing faith and growing discouraged,
He will bring about justice for us.

B. Many times as we cry out for justice, the answer to our prayer seems
delayed. So often, when this happens, the frailties of my own frame are
exposed as my heart turns to accuse God. We become convinced that we
desire justice more than God? How could we possibly have more zeal to
vindicate the orphan, free the slave, or bring forth a baby to fulfill his destiny
than the Creator, Himself? As we pray and don’t see immediate answers,
the Accuser quickly arises to accuse God, by assuring us that He doesn’t
hear prayer. He doesn’t see injustices or if He does see them He doesn’t
care. And He surely isn’t going to do anything about them. So often, we
jump on that bandwagon and subtly believe the accusations against God,
thinking ourselves more just, more faithful, and more righteous than He.
Yet, in reality, this is the epitome of foolishness. For we only desire justice
because He has shared His desires with us (Deu 10:18, Psa 33:5).

C. You and I had to learn about justice, but who taught God the path of
justice? (Isa 40:14) Who had to counsel Him or make Him aware of the
injustices in the earth? Though men rage against Him, saying, “God has
forgotten; He hides His face; He will never see” (Psa 10:11), He has seen
and observed the trouble and grief of the oppressed and He will
bring vengeance (Psa 10:14). As the Book of Job states, “It is unthinkable
that God would do wrong, that the Almighty would pervert justice” (Job
34:12). In the delay, God is not ignoring the prayers of His people. He
hears every cry, sees every tear, and He will repay with His own hand. He
will do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed (Psa 10:18).
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THE GLORY OF INTERCESSION SEMINAR
SESSION 04 – PERSEVERING PRAYER

D. As we cry out for justice, we must remember that God desires justice
more than we do. We must remember that He loves justice! And though
the answer to our prayers seems delayed, God is excellent in power and
abundant in justice (Job 37:23). Justice is before Him and we must wait for
Him, for surely He will avenge the defrauded (Job 35:14, 1 Thes 4:6). He
will not fail nor be discouraged til He has established justice in all the earth
(Isa 42:4).

E. What will it look like when God avenges His beloved? What will it look
like when God releases justice on behalf of those He has chosen?
Consider the pent up zeal in the heart of the Lord as the cries of His
cherished bride, who has suffered grave injustices at the hands of His
enemy, have rang in His ears day after day. He loves justice (Psa 99:4,
Psa 37:28) and will see to it that His people get the justice they have longed
for, and that they get it quickly.

F. In essence, justice is the answer to all of our prayers. Justice for the lost
is salvation; justice for the sick is healing; justice for the demonized is
deliverance; justice for the poor is provision; justice for a nation is righteous
leadership; justice for the church is revival, etc. Since justice is the
foundation of the throne of God (Psa 89:14, Psa 97:2), we know that when
we pray for justice, we are praying for the Kingdom of God to be made
manifest in the earth. We have a mighty King who loves justice (Psa 99:4),
He takes great delight when we partner with His heart and cry out for justice
to be released. Jesus will not be discouraged until He brings forth and
establishes justice in all the earth.

G. Let us not become discouraged; let us not lose heart. Let us continue
steadfastly and earnestly in prayer, being vigilant and watchful, with hearts
of gratitude toward God (Col 4:2). Though the answer be delayed, we must
wait for it, because it will surely come and will not tarry. Justice will come
speedily for all those who persevere in prayer.

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