Keep on being persistent as you wait

Jesus taught the disciples to keep on praying persistently, while waiting for the answer to their prayers. He had told them:

“So I say to you, Ask and keep on asking and it shall be given you; seek and keep on seeking and you shall find; knock and keep on knocking and the door shall be opened to you. For everyone who asks and keeps on asking receives; and he who seeks and keeps on seeking finds; and to him who knocks and keeps on knocking, the door shall be opened.”

‭‭Luke‬ ‭11:9-10‬ ‭AMPC‬‬

We’ll need to first acknowledge here, that no one can do as Jesus asked us to do in these scripture texts effectively, without practicing the presence of the Father persistently. The presence of the Father is where we fellowship with Him. It’s in His presence that our prayers are answered. But He wants us to persistently be in fellowship with Him; instead of just zooming in and out of His presence, as some Christians are often doing. 

They are doing this because, they are more interested in the things which has taken them into His presence; instead of fellowshipping with Him. God is never in a rush to do anything for anyone. He has all our times in His hand.

He however is interested in you spending more of your time in fellowshipping with Him, than with those things that are bothering you. Those things that you are concerned about will perish with use in the world; but the Lord God desires that His own people should get to know Him more (Luke 16:15). 

He wants you to get more intimate in your relationship with Him now, so that you may begin to have a foretaste of what eternity with Him will be like. Everything that we do possess in this world are nothing in comparison with what is awaiting us in Heaven.

That’s why the amount of time that we are spending in His presence has so much value with Him. Every moment that you are spending with Him on the earth, is being spent to prepare a place for you in Heaven (John 14:2-4).

Joshua as our example from the Old Testament treasured the presence of the Lord, as a very young man. The scriptures described to us what Joshua normally did, every time he had accompanied Moses into the tabernacle of God’s presence. 

Moses was a man like you and me on this earth, who loved to fellowship in God’s presence. And that explains why he was able to see the back side of God. Moses spoke face to face with God, even as the young man’s (Joshua’s) eyes were wide open inside the tabernacle. Joshua with his open eyes observed what was going on, as Moses talked face to face with the God of the universe. And every time after Moses had finished talking with God, he would come out of the tabernacle; but Joshua would remain behind as he was enjoying the presence of God.

It is the most beautiful place to be. No one who had ever been in God’s presence, wants to return back into the mess that we have everywhere in this world. Fellowshipping in God’s presence is like enjoying Heaven on the earth. And Joshua as a very young man had that experience.  

As a very young man Joshua was captivated by what he saw in God’s presence. He had his eye balls completely glued on God’s presence, and God’s presence transformed him. No wonder he was so full of zeal and faith for the Lord. 

The scriptures says:

“So the Lord spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. And he would return to the camp, but his servant Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, did not depart from the tabernacle.”

‭‭Exodus‬ ‭33:11‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

This was why the Lord God loved Joshua, and eventually picked him as the man to lead His people into the land which He had promised them. Joshua loved to just spend time with the Father. And you will notice that Moses never stopped him. And the Lord God never told Moses not to bring him into the tabernacle again. God is longing for all His people today, to have this same desire in them that was in Joshua for His presence in their lives.

Joshua just wanted to stay behind in the awesome presence of God. He just wanted to fellowship with Him. I could imagine him as a young man following Moses around the camp of Israel, and asking him when next they would go back into the tabernacle. Every young person today in our world would had loved to see what Joshua was seeing in the tabernacle. 

We however do not need that anymore, because God presence and His tabernacle are in the hearts of those who believe in Him today. The only thing is that a lot of Christians are walking around, without that consciousness of His very presence within them. That’s why many are walking and living in defeats, instead of every day victories. The moment you begin to fellowship with Him persistently, you will be surprised to discover how deeply God is interested in your every day affairs.

This persistent attitude in Joshua caught the attention of all of heaven. Joshua had positioned himself unknowingly in the presence of the Lord, as the next generation leader of His people after Moses. 

This example of mentorship between Moses and Joshua is very important, for everyone in the ministry today to follow in mentoring young people. It’s important that they be taught, how to get into God’s presence as a normal way of life. 

Moses allowed Joshua to see him in his weaknesses and in the strength of the Lord. Joshua knew everything about the life of Moses. Nothing was a secret before him. He knew that God Almighty was the One, who had made Moses the great leader that he was. He saw how Moses conducted himself in the presence of the Lord God, before the people of God and the ungodly. 

We can ask, seek and knock for things in God’s presence as we pray. But we need to understand that, He is more interested in our time of fellowship with Him, than in those things which are bothering us. 

We also need to know that the answer to our prayers, as we are waiting for them; has a timing element with them before the Lord. We are free to do anything that we want to do in His presence. God is our Father. His presence is the best and safest playground for all His children. He wants all of us to be able to do what Joshua used to do in His presence also. 

But our persistency is crucial to the timing element with the Lord, as we are waiting in His presence with the declaration of our faith before Him. 

There are Christians who are sloppy and floppy with the profession of their faith before the Lord. They are strong with it while under a corporate anointing. But the moment when they are left alone to keep on confessing what they had started, the sloppiness and floppiness of their faith confession becomes evident. 

Oftentimes, it’s when you are allowing the enemy to target your faith confession, by getting you weary and tired of waiting before the Lord, that you will begin to get sloppy and floppy. 

But as long as we are allowing our faith to arise, to the level which matches up with our confession and God’s timing element, then something supernatural begins to happen.

This is why we are not to quit being persistent in God’s presence while waiting. The ability of a believer in Christ to pray in the Holy Spirit is crucial, for the faith of that believer to rise up into the understanding of God’s timing element. Persistency with your faith confession, will cause your faith to arise into the comprehension of God’s timing element, about what you are confessing.

This was why Jude advised us:

“But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.”

‭‭Jude‬ ‭1:20-21‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

As we are building up our most holy faith by praying in the Spirit, we do have the duty to be waiting in God’s presence for that timing element. The Lord will open your heart into understanding it, because He wants you to wait for it. And that is the essence of waiting for answered prayer. If the Lord reveals that timing element to you, and you are refusing to wait; then you obviously will end up getting nothing from Him.

By understanding God’s timing element for our lives in the spirit and by the Spirit, we will be prompted to keep on waiting for His mercy. Understanding His timing element for our lives, gives us the spiritual fortitude to keep on persevering in His presence, even as we are praying.

The more time you are spending in God’s presence, the more the abundance from His presence will be poured into your life. This was what happened to Moses after he had spent forty days and nights in the presence of the Lord God. The glory of God’s presence was reflected on his face. The people could not look at the face of Moses. 

As a result of this the Bible says:

“And whenever the children of Israel saw the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses’ face shone, then Moses would put the veil on his face again, until he went in to speak with Him.”

‭‭Exodus‬ ‭34:35‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

No wonder Joshua (as a young man) wanted to enjoy God’s presence also. If this is not what Heaven on the earth is; I wonder what else is? 

God’s presence is the most exciting place to be. It is Heaven on the earth; even though we can only imagine what it is going to be like, when we will eventually get into Heaven. 

No wonder Moses was instructed to bless God’s people in this manner by the Lord God Himself. 

“The Lord make His face shine upon you, And be gracious to you;”

‭‭Numbers‬ ‭6:25‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

In other words it’s the desire of the Father that the reflection of His face singles us out on the earth as His own people. It’s meant as a distinct mark in separating us, so that the evil one can identify and recognize us, in other for him to flee away from us (Deuteronomy 28:7). 

God’s face shining upon you sets you apart for His glory on the earth.

His Spirit and His glory are in His timing 

Your answered prayer has to be in His perfect time

The Father lives in us by His Spirit. And in understanding His timing element as we are praying, He has given us His Spirit to live within us in guiding us through it. 

This was exactly why Jesus said:

“If you then, evil as you are, know how to give good gifts [gifts that are to their advantage] to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask and continue to ask Him!”

‭‭Luke‬ ‭11:13‬ ‭AMPC

Jesus was pointing out directly for us here to understand that, our ability to be praying in the spirit and by the Spirit, aligns us with the timing of the Father; while we are praying and interceding in His presence. The gifts of the Spirit often manifests as we are praying in the spirit before the Father. 

We can pray in the spirit and in our understanding, as we are making the declarations of our faith with persistency. But oftentimes what we are being led to be declaring in the spirit, comes in the manifestation of the gifts of the Spirit. All we have to do is to learn to keep on declaring those things, as the Holy Spirit reveals them to us. 

And oftentimes the Holy Spirit will lead you into the interpretation of those things, that you are uttering in the spirit as you are praying. This is where many had often failed in their ability to yield to the Holy Spirit. 

The mind that is not being renewed with the word of God, will make you think that it is weird. But the mind that is renewed has no problem at all in yielding to the Holy Spirit.

Such moments are crucial to our ability in receiving the answer to our prayers. This is because the gift of faith (for example) is often in operation at such times. And proper timing is important for us before the Lord God, so that we are able to function effectively with this supernatural gift of the Holy Spirit. 

If you let that moment go away without yielding to the Holy Spirit, you may have to tarry longer than needed. The good news is that the same Holy Spirit who brings His gift into your life, will always prompt you to respond to it. You will always need to release your faith in yielding to the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

That’s why we need to be ready to yield to the leading of the Holy Spirit at any time. Spiritual things has time elements attached to them. Praying in the spirit and by the Spirit helps us to remain sensitive, and alert to the timing of God. 

The Lord God does this to prepare us for what is unseen to us. As timing is important to you, it is also important to the devil also. The scripture says:

“Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time.”

‭‭Revelation‬ ‭12:12‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

The devil knows what timing is all about concerning everything that we are doing in the spirit, as we are praying. That’s why he will do anything to disrupt your prayer life. It’s crucial for us to be ready and available to do anything at any time in yielding to the Spirit. 

The timing of all things however are eternally in God’s presence. But when we are praying in the spirit, we are speaking His mysteries about the unseen things.

As Paul said:

having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him.”

‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭1:9-10‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Our understanding into the mystery of God’s perfect will, is in the dispensation of the fullness of His perfect timing. The Lord will not reveal those things to us, until we have been well prepared to receive them. He will never allow us to understand certain things until we are ready for them. 

That’s why Christians need to be careful about saying anything about, what the Lord has not supernaturally revealed to them. By judging others you are actually setting the stage for your own judgement (Matthew 7:1-2).

We therefore need to know that whenever the Lord gives us any promise, it always comes with a timing for it to manifest. That’s why we wait.

Be spiritually harmonized with His timing 

Get harmonized in His will and timing

Waiting on the Lord is related to the time element with God, in getting us into harmony with Him and His perfect will for our lives. You don’t want to be out of the will of God. The moment a Christian steps out of God’s will, such a person is automatically in the will of the enemy. 

The devil will exploit and do everything possible to manipulate you out of the will of God, even though you are in God’s presence. We must not forget that he is our accuser in the presence of the Father. He has access to the presence of the Lord just like us (Revelation 12:10).

But your ability to be praying in other tongues, makes it difficult for him to understand you and your Heavenly Father (1 Corinthians 14:2).

David once said as he waited before the Lord for the right time to ascend the throne of Israel:

“But as for me, I trust [confidently] in You and Your greatness, O Lord; I said, “You are my God.” My times are in Your hands; Rescue me from the hand of my enemies and from those who pursue and persecute me.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭31:14-15‬ ‭AMP‬‬

David surrendered his timing completely into the hand of the Lord. He knew that his enemies were trying to get him out of harmony with God. But he had trusted completely in the Lord to deliver him from the hands of his enemies. 

And if you are aware about the history of David very well, he had to face his enemies at every turn of his life; even while he was hiding in the wilderness. 

He was anointed, but there was a timing element attached to the full manifestation of that anointing upon him. And the reason why he had so many enemies, was because of the anointing that he was carrying. 

If you are truly anointed by the Lord, but you are waiting for the fullness of time to come for the manifestation of that anointing; there will be all kinds of attacks against you from every direction. The devil knows who you are, and he will do everything possible to stop you from getting into your fullness of time. 

That is why you must never be in a hurry about anything. Stand your ground by fighting the good fight of faith in defeating all your enemies. But understand that the more you are fighting and defeating them, the harder they will keep coming after you. 

The devil will unleash all types of demonic attacks on you, with the purpose of hindering the flow of that anointing in your life. He knows that he can’t stop you, but he will do everything to hinder you. 

His aim is to get you off track, and in disharmony with the Lord. Keep on waiting, as you are fighting the good fight of faith. The mere fact that they are against you from all directions, is a good sign that you are victorious. 

They had seen you in the victory from the realm of the spirit. Your enemies do have certain information about you in the spirit; which you may not yet have access into. That’s why they are against you from every angle. You must remain steadfast and faithful in your prayers and confession of faith. 

God’s timing is always perfect for us. That’s why it’s important to be watchful and waiting in His presence. He knows us more than we often think that we do know ourselves. He will never allow us to get into situations that will do us any harm. 

And as long as you are waiting with patience in His presence, He will prepare you for anything, that the devil may be planning ahead of you.

Remember that Jesus had to wait for the perfect timing of the Father, before starting His Own Ministry on the earth. He grew up in the city of Nazareth, just as many of us had grown up before getting into our different ministries today. 

As a young man Jesus knew the call of the Father over His life. But He had to wait until His cousin (John the Baptist) was revealed to His world, as the preparer of the way for His manifestation to Israel. 

The scriptures had to be fulfilled in John the Baptist, so that Jesus may be manifested to the world. It was not until after being water baptized by John, that He (Jesus) received the Holy Spirit (Matthew 3:16). 

Power came upon Jesus to accomplish what He had been waiting for, after this encounter with John. That was the perfect timing of the Father for His manifestation to Israel. He had waited for it long enough. 

Thirty years was a long time to wait, but He knew that it was the perfect timing of God. Jesus waited, because He knew that He had to be in harmony with the Father and His timing.

The Bible says after His encounter with John:

“Now Jesus, full of [and in perfect communication with] the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And He ate nothing during those days, and when they ended, He was hungry.”

‭‭Luke‬ ‭4:1-2‬ ‭AMP‬‬

By watching and waiting for the perfect timing of the Father, Jesus positioned Himself in perfect communication with the Holy Spirit, during His encounter with John. He needed to had waited that long, so that the Holy Spirit could start leading and directing Him, to do all that He did on the earth.

Jesus learnt to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit, just as we often have to wait for His perfect timing in all things. The Spirit led Him into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. He fasted for forty days during the temptation. 

You also may have to encounter enemies all around you. But remember that just as the temptation was not easy for Him, yours may not be easy also. 

Jesus never promised you that the Christian life will be easy to anyone. In fact He said:

“Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.”

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭7:13-14‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

It’s interesting to see here that even the devil knows the effect of proper timing. He had to wait for forty days, so that Jesus would be very hungry before tempting Him. 

But Jesus was well prepared for him. He knew that He had to pass the temptation, which Adam and Eve had failed. And at the end of it all, the scriptures says:

“Then Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and news of Him went out through all the surrounding region. And He taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.”

‭‭Luke‬ ‭4:14-15‬ NKJV

His ministry fully began as He emerged from the temptation. He was full of the power of the Holy Spirit because He had waited for the perfect timing of the Father.

No one is exempted from God’s timing 

We are all in His time

As Paul said:

“But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.”

‭‭Galatians‬ ‭4:4-5‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Everything about the ministry of Jesus as the Son of Man on the earth, had to do with the perfect timing of the Father. And we are without any exception also. 

Everything with God has its own timing element (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8). And His timing is always perfect. God is always on time and on target in everything that He does. That’s why we are to always wait on Him. 

Some had not waited for their perfect timing, and they had made a wreck of their faith in the calling of the Lord over their lives. 

Our own timing of things are always wrong, because we are always looking for the signs, based on the things that we are seeing around us on the earth. But in the timing of God, He sees us in His eternal purpose for the salvation of the world. We are part of God’s big puzzle to save the world. And that’s why we have to be waiting on Him. 

If you want to be in harmony with the Lord in the things which He has committed into your hand, waiting is very important before Him (Amos 3:3). 

Our ability to wait marks us out as the legitimate children of God. Oftentimes, those who can’t wait are just being disobedient to the Lord. They want things done in their own way. But a Christian with the heart of a servant will always wait. 

As Jesus said:

“And be like men who are waiting for their master to return home from the marriage feast, so that when he returns from the wedding and comes and knocks, they may open to him immediately.”

‭‭Luke‬ ‭12:36‬ ‭AMPC‬‬

Are you prepared to open your heart for the Lord when He knocks? The Body of Christ today is waiting on the Lord Jesus to return. How are you waiting? Are you watching while waiting? Or are you waiting without being prepared for Him? Choose to wait on Him, even as you waiting for His return!

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