You who remind the Lord,
take no rest for yourselves;
and give Him no rest....
Isaiah 62:6-7
Does God really want us to wear Him out with our prayers?
When we read Isaiah 62, we see that God is giving Israel a promise for the future.
For Zion’s sake I will not hold my peace,
and for Jerusalem’s sake
I will not rest,
until her righteousness
shines out like the dawn,
and her salvation
like a burning lamp.
Isaiah 62:1
God demonstrates His commitment to restore Israel by saying that He will not rest. After He gives more detail of what that restoration will look like, He says this,
I have set watchmen on your walls, Jerusalem.
They will never be silent
day nor night.
You who call on Yahweh,
take no rest,
and give him no rest,
until he establishes,
and until he makes Jerusalem
a praise in the earth.
Isaiah
62:6-7
The watchmen He describes are crying out to God on Jerusalem's behalf. They do not sleep and they don't let God rest. They are instructed to keep His attention until He fulfills His promise. This is an example to us of how to petition God.
When our prayers are in agreement with God's will, we must stay alert as watchmen and pray fervently without giving up. The key, of course, is to be sure that our prayers align with God's will and that our hearts are pure. At that point, we can be confident that He will hear and answer our prayers according to His will and in His time.
Having then a great high priest,
who has passed through the heavens,
Jesus,
the Son of God, let’s hold tightly
to our confession.
For we don’t have a high priest
who can’t be touched
with the feeling of our infirmities,
but one who has been in all points
tempted like we are,
yet without sin.
Let’s therefore draw near
with boldness
to the throne of grace,
that we may receive mercy,
and may find grace
for help in time of need.
Hebrews 4:14-16
Jesus addressed this kind of petition in Luke 18:1-8 when he describes an unjust judge and a desperate widow. The widow persisted in her pleas to the judge until he finally said, “Though I neither fear God, nor respect man, yet because this widow bothers me, I will defend her, or else she will wear me out by her continual coming.” Jesus finished this story by saying, “Won’t God avenge his chosen ones, who are crying out to him day and night, and yet he exercises patience with them? I tell you that he will avenge them quickly. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”
Did you notice the question He ended with? “Will he find faith on the earth?”
The Bible has a lot to say about faith, indicating how important faith is to God. In fact, Hebrews 11:6 says, “Without faith it is impossible to be well pleasing to him, for he who comes to God must believe that he exists, and that he is a rewarder of those who seek him.”
James 2 describes faith as going beyond the basic belief that God exists, and reminds us that even the demons believe in God's existence and shudder in fear. Our faith must be put into action (James 2) and fervent prayer is part of that expression of faith.
Confess
your offenses to one another,
and pray for one another,
that you may
be healed.
The insistent prayer of a righteous person
is powerfully
effective.
James 5:16
After we have confessed our sins to God and received His cleansing and forgiveness, walking in obedience to Him, we can now pray with confidence, knowing that He hears us and rewards those who seek Him. As we wait for His perfect answer, in demonstration of our faith, we add gratitude.
Continue
steadfastly in prayer,
watching therein with
thanksgiving;
Colossians 4:2
As we seek God continually with prayer and thanksgiving, let us press on in faith and not give up. We can walk in confidence, knowing that God is good and will reward us according to His promises. He is faithful and trustworthy.
Rejoice always.
Pray without ceasing.
In everything give thanks,
for this is the will of God
in Christ
Jesus toward you.
Don’t quench the Spirit.
Don’t despise prophesies.
Test all things,
and hold firmly that which is good.
Abstain from every form of evil.
May the God of peace himself
sanctify you completely.
May your whole
spirit, soul, and body
be preserved blameless
at the coming
of our Lord Jesus Christ.
He who calls you is faithful,
who will also do it.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-24
All Scripture quotes are in the public domain - World English Bible (WEB) .
