Day 117

Perseverance

“You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what He has promised” Hebrews 10:36.

I had written a note in my Bible beside our key passage that I'd like to share with you: “Persevere, stick with it until either your prayer is answered or the burden is lifted. We can intercede for others when the sufferings of others become so painful so us that we plead for them as if we are pleading for ourselves”.

Has God given you a burden for your own situation or such a strong burden for someone else that you plead with Him on their behalf as if you were pleading for yourself or a loved one? Now that is a demonstration of real love.

I have been awakened in the middle of the night with a burden for either a family member or for someone else and have not been able to get back to sleep until I prayed and searched the Scripture on their behalf until God released me. When we pray we may never know what was going on in the person's life, but your intercession may have saved their lives, allowed them to get through a very hard time or may have prevented a tragedy. We hear testimonies about that sort of thing happening.

I often find that I awaken between three to six in the morning which is called the fourth watch. In Matthew 14: 23-26 we discover that Jesus went to the disciples in the storm in the fourth watch. He also arose a great while before day to pray and, on one occasion, led Peter, James, and John to a high mountain as you can read in Matthew 17:1.

Since I am a late night person I don't like getting up early and really fight to get back to sleep if awakened in the middle of the night, but if Jesus felt it important to pray in the fourth watch maybe we should also. It's a time of quiet and peace when we can arise undisturbed to communicate with Him in the still of the night. Next time you awaken at that hour, turn to His Word and pray for the burdens He lays on your heart