There was an engaging sermon on Sunday by Bishop John Tan. He touched on the topic of praying with perseverance. As he has put it, it's a difficult topic because the topic itself is a mystery. However, he has put it in such an illustrations-filled manner that he has made his view clear to the audience.
He said that sometimes we have to pray many times, over a long period of time, maybe even over years for some circumstances before our prayers are being answered. Sometimes, we don't even seem to get the answer. That maybe because that is then already the answer given by God. We will never know what God has intended for us and God is sovereign. However, Bishop John Tan gave reasons on why sometimes, sometimes even Jesus has to pray several times or sometimes only the prayers of certain people (righteous people) are effective.
He said when we pray, it's actually a way of releasing the power of the Holy Spirit in us. Sometimes, we may not have prayed sincerely, whole-heartedly. So we didn't really release the power of the Holy Spirit in us. Sometimes, because the matter that we pray for requires more power to be dealt with and praying just once may not have released enough power. We have to keep on praying and allow the power from each prayer to be accumulated so that we have gathered enough power to deal with the matter.
He brought out a very clear illustrations for this release of power. He said that our prayers are like the ingredients for making a chemical, for example water, H2O. You must have enough molecules, two molecules of Hydrogen and a molecule of oxygen before a molecule of water can be formed. If we do not pray enough, there are simply not enough ingredients to cause the chemical reaction to take place. But when we have the right ingredients and the right quantity, the chemical reaction can then take place in heaven and the power of the Holy Spirit can be released through us (Revelation 8:3-5).
Bishop pointed out that our God is present, He listens and He cares, that's why we pray. Our prayers are being stored in "golden bowls" (Revelation 5:8) in heaven. They are highly valued. Every prayer counts. God also looks at the quantity of our prayers and it sometimes requires a certain level of quantity for prayer before God answers.
In fact, Bishop John Tan has given a lot of examples in the Bible and explained them clearly. I really think that it's valuable to check it out. A record of the sermon should be out on the COR website in a couple of days, I think.
He said that sometimes we have to pray many times, over a long period of time, maybe even over years for some circumstances before our prayers are being answered. Sometimes, we don't even seem to get the answer. That maybe because that is then already the answer given by God. We will never know what God has intended for us and God is sovereign. However, Bishop John Tan gave reasons on why sometimes, sometimes even Jesus has to pray several times or sometimes only the prayers of certain people (righteous people) are effective.
He said when we pray, it's actually a way of releasing the power of the Holy Spirit in us. Sometimes, we may not have prayed sincerely, whole-heartedly. So we didn't really release the power of the Holy Spirit in us. Sometimes, because the matter that we pray for requires more power to be dealt with and praying just once may not have released enough power. We have to keep on praying and allow the power from each prayer to be accumulated so that we have gathered enough power to deal with the matter.
He brought out a very clear illustrations for this release of power. He said that our prayers are like the ingredients for making a chemical, for example water, H2O. You must have enough molecules, two molecules of Hydrogen and a molecule of oxygen before a molecule of water can be formed. If we do not pray enough, there are simply not enough ingredients to cause the chemical reaction to take place. But when we have the right ingredients and the right quantity, the chemical reaction can then take place in heaven and the power of the Holy Spirit can be released through us (Revelation 8:3-5).
Bishop pointed out that our God is present, He listens and He cares, that's why we pray. Our prayers are being stored in "golden bowls" (Revelation 5:8) in heaven. They are highly valued. Every prayer counts. God also looks at the quantity of our prayers and it sometimes requires a certain level of quantity for prayer before God answers.
In fact, Bishop John Tan has given a lot of examples in the Bible and explained them clearly. I really think that it's valuable to check it out. A record of the sermon should be out on the COR website in a couple of days, I think.
Anna
