For God is my Witness, Whom I serve with my spirit in the Gospel of His son, that without ceasing, I make mention of you always in my prayers. Romans 1:9
Did you ever notice that in the midweek prayer meeting of the Assembly that one or two brothers always cover pretty much the same territory? In some cases, if a particular brother was not there, someone else could probably recite that brother’s prayer from memory. In some cases, it might not be a bad idea. There is nothing wrong with repetition in prayers, if it is done as the Apostle Paul describes here in today’s text.
Paul was telling the Christians in Rome that they were always in his prayers. Every day he thought of them and carried them before the Throne of Grace. This type of repetition is important, even critical, if we are to see God’s blessing.
A dear old aunt living in Victoria was asking one of my sisters who visited her about the different members of our family. My sister remarked that it was astonishing that this old lady could remember all our names given that we lived on the opposite side of the continent from her. Her reply was, ‘How could I forget? I pray for you all every day’. I have often wondered how much I have been blessed and preserved from because I was always in Aunt Lulu’s prayers. I am sure her prayers had no little impact!
How much impact do your prayers have? How much impact do the prayers that arise from the prayer meeting have? We will never know, of course, at least not this side of Glory. But be assured that repetitious prayers from the heart are heard by our Heavenly Father.
What requests have you crossed off your prayer list because you have simply gotten tired of repeating them? Remember that God always answers prayers, but His answers are not always the same. Sometimes, His answer is yes. Sometimes, it must be no. And sometimes, the answer is later. Unless you are confident that God has said no, don’t give up on your prayers. God’s later may be only hours away.
Our prayers may never be as effective as Paul’s. But God still wants to hear them. Daily. -Jim MacIntosh