REVIVAL PERSISTENCE

REVIVAL PERSISTENCE
In Luke 18:1-8 Jesus gives a parable of a widow that had a need that troubled her greatly. In her distressed she made her request to a judge, over and over again, until it exhausted the judge.
1 And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint; 2 Saying, There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man: 3 And there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary. 4 And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man; 5 Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me. 6 And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith. 7 And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them? 8 I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?
In this parable we notice three very important thoughts to keep in mind as we pray for revival.
I – Be Patient in your prayers
Luke 18:1 And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;
The word “always” means evermore. The word “Pray” means to offer prayers. And the word “Faint” means to be weary or spirit list.
Every believer falls into one of two categories in this parable:
1) THE FAITHFUL SOUL
Be a faithful soul. Be faithful to a time of prayer. We get up in the morning at a certain time. We eat breakfast at a certain time. We go to work at a certain time. We exercise at a certain time. We all live by a schedule. Be sure prayer is included in your schedule. Have a prayer partner, whether it is your mate, a child or a friend. This is what is meant when Jesus says, “Men ought always to pray.”
“Praying always” is not being on your knees 24-7. But, it is always being in a state or prayer. That means, never let sin separate you from fellowship with God.
If you fall, immediately go aside and renew your fellowship with the Lord.
Claim First John 1:9. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
Obey Ephesians 4:26. “Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath.”
Why should we immediately renew that fellowship?
1) Prayer is the greatest power in the universe. It touches God’s heart that controls His hand. His hand lifts up kings and sets them down.
2) Prayer moves God to soften hard hearts and to open blind eyes.
3) Prayer is more important than breathing. How long would you want oxygen to be cut off from your lungs? Would you like to be under water a minute, or two or maybe three minutes? Your answer is probably, “I don’t want to be without oxygen for ten seconds.” Then don’t allow sin to separate you from God any longer than you would want to be without air.
Patiently praying is a major key to revival. It was the key in every major revival ever experienced in any church and in the world.
The word “pray” or “prayer” is found 451 times in the Bible and that doesn’t include the scriptures where people cry out to God in prayer, or call upon His name or ask of Him.
Look at a few Scriptures about prayer:
I Thessalonians 5:17, Pray without ceasing.
I Thessalonians 5:23, And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
I Thessalonians 5:25, Brethren, pray for us.
Second Timothy 3:1, Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may have free course, and be glorified, even as it is with you:
2) THE FAINT SOUL
Be a faithful soul. Don’t be a faithless soul. The Lord said, “not to faint.” That means "don’t lose heart" or "quit." Don’t grow weary or give up. Don’t give in to evil or to turn coward. We must resist the human tendency of growing weary in prayer. We have a duty as God’s royal priesthood to pray.
Prayer is our power. It is our privilege. It is our means of taking the control of our family and friends out of the hands of Satan, and putting that control into the hands of God.
There are several major causes of losing heart or fainting:
1 – Defilement: The defilement of sin kills interest in the spiritual exercises of prayer. Sin does not promote a good prayer life. In fact, it will stop it dead in its tracts. King David wrote, "If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear" (Psalms 66:18).
2 – Doubt: Praying with doubt is fatal, making one’s prayer useless. Doubting God’s promises or believing a false doctrine such as Calvinism hinders prayer. Hyper Calvinism teaches that God has ordained some people for heaven and others for hell and there is nothing man can do about it. That is a heretical teaching.
Paul wrote, “I will therefore that men pray every where, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting” (First Timothy 2:8). Prayer and faith go hand in hand, so unbelief and prayerlessness goes hand in hand.
We are to witness for Christ, but the one who softens the harden heart and opens the blinded eyes and gives hearing to the spiritual deaf is Jesus Christ.
3 – Danger: Prayer must sometimes be done at dangerous times. Danger weeds out the coward from the courageous. Daniel faced real danger in praying, but he kept on praying, even though it led to him being thrown into the lion's den (Daniel 6).
Today, our dangers are varied, but the danger of embarrassment or mockery or losing friends, often affects people more than danger of physical harm.
4 – Distractions: Satan is a master of causing distractions, especially during prayer time. Probably every saint has experienced his mind wandering, causing him to think about everything except what he should be praying about.
That is why it is good to have a prayer list, a prayer time, a prayer partner and some prayer Scriptures.
5 – Delays: Few things cause us to lose heart in praying more than delays in answers to our requests. Jesus uses this parable to teach us that, though answers sometimes appear to take a long time in coming, we should be patient and not grow weary in praying to God.
If you pray, then you know that prayers for provisions or protections seem to come much more quickly than prayers for people. The reason may be due to the earnest and sincere request for souls must come from a heart truly in tune with God.

II – Be Persistent in your prayers
2 Saying, There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man:
3 And there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary.
4 And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man;
5 Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.
A judge would often sit in the gate of a city. People could freely present their request to the judge. Some people would come once or twice and maybe three times, making a request, and then never return. The judge would know that their request was only an emotional request or one of little importance to them. He could also, detect if the request was sincere or selfish.
But, this widow woman came every day and probably twice a day, day after day, and week after week. Every day she had the same request, “Your honor, avenge me of mine adversary.” “Your honor, avenge me of mine adversary.” What was her major problem?
A – HER CRY
Day after day, “Your honor, avenge me of mine adversary.” “Your honor, avenge me of mine adversary.”
This little lady did not have a husband and it may be that she had no children or maybe her children did not care enough to help mom out. Or maybe she was wise enough to know that she should go to the most powerful man in the city and that is what she did.
She did not let her unfortunate and difficult condition keep her from the highest authority in the land. She went straight to the top.
Her prayer was equivalent to, “God do for me, what I can’t do for myself.”
This little lady had an adversary that was causing her woe. Have you ever had an adversary causing you trouble? What did you do?
Well, you can worry. Most people do this. You can cry. That is also an option. Then, you can complain, or you can pout, or you can get mad and quit, or you can find someone bigger than you, who will take care of your problem.
This little lady knew she had an adversary but she knew something else. She had an advocate. She had someone stronger and mightier that she. She had someone stronger and mightier than her adversary. Know this: Satan is mighty, but our God is Almighty!
Rather than fighting a battle she knew she could not win, she went to her advocate. She went to the judge.
Christian, are you listening?

B – HER COMPASSION
One thing you don’t see, nor is it addressed in this passage, but it is implied throughout the Scriptures and that is her compassion.
Read James 3: 17 But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.
I believe this lady’s heart was pure. I believe she was at peace with everyone, especially the judge. I believe she was gentle and easy to talk to. I kind of think, that the judge might have been a little ruff and gruff with her at first. But, her quiet spirit and her kind presentation moved the wicked judge’s hard heart.
I believe the judge sense that she had no guile or revenge in her own heart, but simply wanted him to do for her what she was incapable of doing.
What can’t you do? You can work. You can fix things around your house. You can do many things, but you can’t save a soul. You can’t make a backslid Christian get right with God. You can’t turn this nation around for God. You can’t revive this church. You can’t even revive your own heart. Only God can do all of this.
C – HER CONCERN
What was her request? The Lord leaves that open for you to put your greatest concern there. We all have the same adversary. His name is Satan, but he attacks each of us different ways. He is the accuser of the brethren, but greater than that, he blinds people’s minds to what is most important in life. Maybe the adversary hits you with certain sins, doubts, worry, fear, discouragement, pride or a thousand other things. Go to your advocate and pray.
Think for a moment, “If you go before God every day and you say, “God I need more money, or God I wish you would give me this job, or God I hope one day I might have this.” God sees that request as the greatest desire of your heart.
Now, if on the top of your prayer list is the salvation of a soul or another great spiritual need, God sees that as your greatest need. Then your sincere and earnest prayer is heard.
When God ask Solomon what he wanted in life, Solomon could have asked for prosperity, peace and power, but he asked for wisdom to lead God’s people. His request was so selfless and so Biblically correct, that God not own gave him wisdom, but God gave him prosperity, peace and power.

As you pray, make sure your will becomes His will. Remember the story of the stone cutter hammering away at a rock a hundred times without so much as a crack showing in it. Yet at the 101st blow the rock split in two parts. I know it was not the one blow that did it, but all that had gone before.
Consider again the story of the man who invested his life’s earnings in an oil well. He dug and hit no oil. He dug deeper and still, no oil. He dug again and again and no oil. Finally, he gave up and quit. Some time later, someone bought the oil well from the man. The new owner dug but a few feet and hit oil. Never give up in your prayer life. Your answer may be only around the corner.
Florence Chadwick wanted desperately to be a great speed swimmer. At the age of six she persuaded her parents to enter her in a 50-yard race. They did and she came in last, so she practiced every day for the next year. Again she entered and lost.
When she was 11 years old, Florence won attention and praise for completing the San Diego Bay endurance swim of 6 miles in all. But she still wanted to be a speed swimmer.
At 14 she tried for the national backstroke championship but came in second.
At 18 she tried out for Olympic speed swimming team and came in fourth -- only three made the team.
Frustrated, she gave it up, married, and moved on to other interests. As she matured, however, Florence began to wonder if she might not have done better if she had specialized in endurance swimming. She began swimming distances again.
On the Fourth of July in 1951, she attempted to swim from Catalina Island to the California coast. The challenge was not so much the distance, but the bone-chilling waters of the Pacific.
To complicate matters, a dense fog lay over the entire area, making it impossible for her to see land. After about 15 hours in the water, and within a half mile of her goal, Chadwick gave up.
Later she told a reporter, "Look, I'm not excusing myself. But if I could have seen land, I might have made it." Not long afterward she attempted the feat again.
Once more a misty veil obscured the coastline and she couldn't see the shore. But this time she made it because she kept reminding herself that land was there. With that confidence she bravely swam on and achieved her goal. In fact, she broke the men's record by 2 hours!
Florence Chadwick had a cry, a concern, and a compassion that became a reality. She gave herself to that love for 23 years before victory was one. Our prayers are answered when they become the passion of our soul.

III – Be Persevering
Whereas persistence relates to one who is determined and unrelenting, perseverance refers to one who continues faithfully until a task is accomplished.
Many folks begin will, but do not finish well. Let it be said of us that we persevered till the end.
The unjust judge said in Luke 18:5, Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.
Weary in the Greek means to render black and blue. It is the idea of a fight whereby one is embarrassed by the defeat.

Now the Lord makes the application in Luke 18:6-8. 6 And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith.
7 And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them?
Cry means to use a loud, strong voice.

8 I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?
The word “avenge” means to acquit, to set free, to exonerate or vindicate. This is God’s promise to those who persevere in prayer.
Listen to the illustration on persevering: President Andrew Jackson’s boyhood friends just couldn't understand how he became a famous general and then the President of the United States.
They knew of other men who had greater talent but who never succeeded. One of Jackson's friends said, "Why, Jim Brown, who lived right down the street from Jackson, was not only smarter but he could throw Andy three times out of four in a wrestling match. But look where Andy is now."
Another friend responded, "But you said, that Jim could throw Andy three times out of four? Weren’t you supposed to be out after three times?
"Sure, they were supposed to, but not Andy. He would never admit he was beat -- he would never stay 'thrown.' Jim Brown would get tired, and on the fourth try Andrew Jackson would throw him and win."
Picking up on that idea, someone has said, "The thing that counts is not how many times you are 'thrown,' but whether you are willing to stay 'thrown'."
We may face setbacks, but we must take courage and go forward in faith. Then, through the Holy Spirit's power we can be the eventual victor over sin and the world. The battle is the Lord's, so there is no excuse for us to stay "thrown"!
The word speedily means quickly, promptly, soon.
I believe the promptness of God answering prayer is a two-way street. Though, salvation is a free gift to those who repent and receive Jesus Christ as savior, answers to prayer carry a condition and consequence.
The condition is our heart. Are our hearts clean and are they concerned about that which we are praying for? Are our motives pure? Do we pray for God’s glory or for some selfish ambition or idea that will make life easier on us?
If our hearts are pure, then the consequence or result will be prompt from God.
Remember that prayer is offered first to change us before God will change others.