Make Your Voice Heard in Heaven by Barry C. Black

Author:Barry C. Black [Black, Barry C.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: RELIGION / Christian Life / Prayer, RELIGION / Christian Ministry / Discipleship
Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.
Published: 2018-01-09T05:00:00+00:00

As Elijah stood there, the LORD passed by, and a mighty windstorm hit the mountain. It was such a terrible blast that the rocks were torn loose, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake there was a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire there was the sound of a gentle whisper.[7]

Perhaps this is why God admonishes us in Psalm 46:10: “Be still, and know that I am God!” It is perhaps not coincidental that when God spoke to the boy Samuel, the child was resting on his bed.[8] Find a solitary place to pray. Your prayers will be more effective, more likely to bring an answer.

A second way to deal with unanswered prayer is to let our words be few—as Jesus taught his disciples.[9] Prayer involves listening as well as speaking. Unfortunately, too many people, when they pray, stay in “transmit” mode. Eli the priest told the boy Samuel, “Go and lie down again, and if someone calls again, say, ‘Speak, LORD, your servant is listening.’”[10] Too many of us reverse this sequence and declare, “Listen, Lord, for your servant is speaking.”

When Jesus prayed in the garden of Gethsemane, as he headed toward Calvary, he repeatedly uttered a focused and sustained prayer: “Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.”[11] The greater the number of words, the greater the probability of uttering something that is not sanctified. We should heed the wisdom of Proverbs 10:19: “Be sensible and keep your mouth shut.” Jesus challenged his disciples not to pray with verbosity or repetitiveness, but with brevity and power.

After we structure our prayer life around solitude and brevity, what should we do when God remains silent? Keep on praying. As 1 Thessalonians 5:17 enjoins, “Never stop praying.” Matthew 7:7 resonates with this notion: “Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you.” Persistence and perseverance are the keys to breakthrough: continuing to pray even when it seems God is not listening.

We see Elijah’s persistence on display in 1 Kings 18:41-45. The prophet wanted an end to a drought that had lasted three and a half years. He prayed and then sent his servant out to see if there were any clouds in the sky. When the servant returned and declared he had seen nothing—no sign of rain—Elijah persevered in prayer. He continued to pray and to send his servant to look for a cloud . . . not two or three or five or six times, but seven times. Upon his return the seventh time, the servant declared, “I saw a little cloud about the size of a man’s hand rising from the sea.”[12] When the sky filled with black clouds, Elijah knew that his perseverance had paid off.

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