The Power of Persistent Prayer Pt. 1

Prior to the fall of man, Adam and Eve enjoyed face-to-face communion with God. When they sinned, however, that direct communication between God and man was severed (Genesis 3:8). In fact, the Bible reveals that Adam and Eve hid themselves from God, because they were ashamed of their nakedness (Genesis 3:7-10). Yet, God in His infinite love did not want to castrate humanity from Himself. Thus, from the foundation of the world, the Godhead devised a plan of salvation that would rescue man from his self-devised destruction (Revelation 13:8). Jesus, God the Son, had decided to give his life as a ransom for fallen humanity (1 Timothy 2:6). Our Savior took the penalty of sin, death, and redeemed man so that His creation could live with Him for eternity (Romans 6:23).

As a part of this plan of salvation, Jesus has taken on many roles. Not only is He our Creator, but He was the propitiation for our sin (Romans 3:21-26), and right now He is working as our High Priest in the heavenly sanctuary (Hebrews 7:25). Soon, this atonement that Jesus is performing in the Most Holy Place of the heavenly sanctuary will be complete, and He will reclaim the kingdoms of this earth (Revelation 16:17; 19:11-16).

Let us, however, zero in on the work He is performing right now on our behalf. Part of Jesus’ obligation as High Priest is to present our prayers to the Father. Second Timothy 2:5 declares, “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;”. This means, that despite the sin tainted characters that humanity has, Jesus bridges the gap sin has created which separates us from God (Isaiah 59:2). Therefore, while we cannot see the face of God the Father right now, because of Jesus’ work as High Priest, we can communicate with God through prayer. Through that medium, Jesus takes our requests and presents them to the Father. This is evident, as Jesus tells His disciples that they pray to the Father (Matthew 6:8,9), and that “no man cometh unto the Father but by [Him]” (John 14:6).

In light of this, the gift of prayer is directly connected to the plan of salvation. Presenting our prayers to the Father is one of the tasks that our Savior faithfully performs, as we seek to live holy lives before the God. For prayer is the precursor to restored face-to-face communion with the Father.

Now, that we understand the significance of prayer, we will then examine Biblical scenes where prayers were answered.

God bless and have a prayerful day!