How many times will you ask?

[Andrew007]

Please vote before you read posts!

Heres my analogy. Say you needed to borrow from your friend their car for an afternoon. You call them up and ask them. They say yes. Do you continue to call and ask again and again? God heard you the first time. Right?

[papasangel]

I voted once. God does not need reminders of what we need. He already KNOWS our hearts desires and needs and will provide for our needs in His time. Nagging Him about it won't get it to you any quicker.

[Guest LadyC]

i can't choose from your answers. i often pray repeatedly for something. not because i need God to realize its importance to me, but because it is human nature to keep asking til we get an unmistakable answer. even if it's not the one i wanted to hear!

[Blood Stained Soul]

Fellow Saints,

Greetings and Blessings in Christ! We learn from the Lords Parable of the persistant widow and the judge who feared not God nor regarded man the imporatance of coming to the Throne of our Father. We also learn from Elijah on top of Mount Carmel praying 7 times for rain before God answered with clouds. One can look the story of Daniel talking with Gabriel where Daniel prayed for a time and God had heard on the first day but because of the devil fighting to stop it from going through it took 21 days for Gabriel to get the answer to Daniel. Remeber also the scripture in James 5:16:

"Confess your faults one to another, and pray for one another, that ye may be helaed. The effectual fervent prayer of the righteous man availeth much"

[Andrew007]

Good point, Blood Stained Soul, but it is also written where I beleive Paul... I don't know... I tried finding the vrse but I don't know where it is. But he prayed like 3 times for something and finally God said to him I heard you the first time. Someone find that verse!

[Dad Ernie]

Greetings Andrew,

Good point, Blood Stained Soul, but it is also written where I beleive Paul... I don't know... I tried finding the vrse but I don't know where it is. But he prayed like 3 times for something and finally God said to him I heard you the first time. Someone find that verse!

2 Cor 12:7-9 And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. 8 For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. 9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

The example that is consistent with the Bible's saints is one of persistence. We are to "diligently" seek God. I take example from Daniel's 21 day prayer vigil on behalf of Israel. Jacob wrestled a long time with the "angel of God", before he got what he wanted.

There have been times when God has answered me almost instantly, but most of the time, I have to almost go into travail for a long period of time before I get an answer. I believe that it is those times God wants me to understand my own heart and the sincerity of my appeal. Whenever I have gone into this type of prayer, God has never failed to answer me.

Blessings,

Dad Ernie

[Guest yod]

Good point, Blood Stained Soul, but it is also written where I beleive Paul... I don't know... I tried finding the vrse but I don't know where it is. But he prayed like 3 times for something and finally God said to him I heard you the first time. Someone find that verse!

Paul's thorn in the flesh...and God said, "My grace is sufficient for you"

but that is only one instance. Paul also mentions praying continually for various congregations.

We pray without ceasing and we petition whatever is on our heart no matter how long it's there.

There have been times when once was enough and there were times where I had to "pray it through" because every day brought a new perspective or whatever...

[Catsmeow]

Bloodstained is absolutely RIGHT! God tells us in scripture to be persistent in prayer...not because we doubt but because God simply commands it.

He wants to develop in us an heart of persistence and an attitude of "not giving up" no matter how bad things look. We wants an impassioned plea, a cry for God's favor and intervention...persistence and insistance...

We are often told to "Cry out to God" day and night...and He will hear the cries of the needy.

We aren't merely to say a simple, "God bless so and so..." but to cry out!

Make our requests known and boldly go before the throne room of God.

Now, it's NOT because we doubt God but God wants us to be persistent. This is virtue He's developing in each of us...so we don't merely give up and say, "Oh, well...if he helps us, he helps us..."...but rather a bold and daring confidence in His might.

Perhaps we can safely say there are some things we need not repeatedly beg him for...such as forgiveness. If we sin, we ask Him to forgive us and we make effort to turn away from that sin. Simple enough.

But if we are pleading for the salvation of a friend or family member, do we just pray for them one time and then give up?

I say, "no".

Remember George Muller? He was German back a couple hundred years ago but was the one who opened all the orphanages in England. He's known as one of the most "faithful" men ever to have lived. He literally lived each day by faith. His trust in God was absolutely amazing.

He prayed every single day for one of his friends to accept Christ. Well, sadly, Mr. Muller died without seeing his close friend accept Christ. He'd prayed for his friend for YEARS.

On the day Mr. Muller died, his close friend made the altar call and accepted Christ as Lord and Savior right there on the day of Muller's funeral.

So George Muller got to see his friend's conversion from a window in heaven... :a:

[eric]

Andrew, I prayed for fifteen years, regularly when my wife was ill, That he would restore her health to that she had when we were first married. He allowed her to go right up to being in 'critical care' and after four major neuro surgeries my prayers were answered beyond our wildest imaginations. Now, today she says she feels better than ever she has felt in her life at nearly seventy. I voted continually. You have to persist.

I hope you can sort it out from all the replies.

Bless you young brother.

[Guest SaintX]

I didn't vote because there are some things that I pray for on a daily basis (our troops, those in need, help with my Christian walk). It's not a "Hey! You didn't hear me the first time." or anything, it's just that I am convicted to pray for these things repeatedly.