He said, "In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected man. Luke 18:2 (ESV)

        How much more will the gracious, righteous and just God fight for His children? Our text is the second verse in a story designed by the Spirit to teach us to persist in prayer. I think the Lord, knowing how easy it is for us to be intimidated by worldly characters, is wanting us to know that even one who cares less about God is subject to pressures of persistence. We’ve seen this truth manifested through out history. In our own country, suffrage and civil rights are cases in point. People are susceptible to continual pressure.

        Father God need not be irritated by our persistence for us to gain our requests. The facts are that there are spiritual issues afoot! Recall how Daniel’s prayers had to break through demonic opposition for 21 days. Paul admitted that he was thwarted by the devil on more than one occasion. All things being cleared out, we should be able to come boldly to the Mercy Seat and receive from Abba. The reality is, if it takes more than one request and if there is peace in your spirit that your request is approved by God, the unsettledness of lack of a favorable answer needs to prod us into warfare and persistence.

        Behind the scenes in the story (our text) was the obvious reality of an opponent that this woman was in a contest against. So easily I forget that each "wrestling match" is NOT against flesh and blood. Prayers that are aimed at "controlling" another person’s will (even our kids) are not admissible in the court of intercession. A reminder of the Apostle Paul’s prayer requests was that he never asked for someone’s will to be circumvented but that his preaching would be with power. Winsome words but not controlling conduct. Free will is rarely overruled by God prior to the ultimate and final judgment. Keep praying, the unrighteous blockages will be broken down by your persistence!

Bruce Montroy

www.SpearMinistries.org         P.O. Box 161, Prescott, AZ 86302           smi@SpearMinistries.org

Unless otherwise noted all Scripture references are from the New American Standard Bible, The Lockman Foundation. Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1987, 1988, 11995. Used by permission. Abbreviation, NASB.