We sat quietly in the hot tub not saying much till two young Millennials joined us. There is something unique about this generation. They can carry on their lives in front of you like you do not exist and this is exactly what happened. One of them started talking about why she felt like going to Sydney Australia and how work was not her priority at this time. The other said “I could go to Sydney in a heart bit.” She continued to say that she had prayed with her mother for months about it and they felt that it was not God’s timing. Then the other one jumped in and said “why do you always have to bring in God in everything you do?” Her response was “My family has come this far because of Him(God), and I know that if I walk away from this I will be denying whom I am.” I felt like a fire in my heart listening to these two young girls who work for a fast growing start up here in the silicon valley engage each in such a spirited conversation. At the end of the evening, I found myself with this question: how much do we involve God in our decision making especially when it’s something glorious and glamorous?
The common mistake many of us make in life is that of imitating others and trying to be like others when the real power in life is understanding who you are and what has brought you this far. Many of us have prayed and have seen God answer our prayers and given us our hearts’ desires. But along the way we start forgetting how we got where we are and how we will get to the next step of this ladder of life. We must remember that if we achieved something through prayer and fasting, that particular result was a spiritual birth which must be maintained, sustained and kept by prayer. Now sustained prayer has to be a life style. It is not a prayer that comes when we feel guilty of sin or failure but a prayer that is constant in ones’ heart regardless of what we are going through.
Sustaining prayer comes first from realizing who God is and has been in your life while counting your blessings and past victories. I Samuel 17:34, Saul looks at David and analyzes him quickly and wants to dismiss him thinking that he would not be a match in the fight against Goliath. David responds by reciting his past victory. These are the words of Saul to David: “Then Saul said to David, “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are but a youth while he has been a warrior from his youth.” But David said to Saul, “Your servant was tending his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and took a lamb from the flock, I went out after him and attacked him, and rescued it from his mouth; and when he rose up against me, I seized him by his beard and struck him and killed him.” Remember that there are going to be many Saul’s in your life who will tell you that you do not have the qualities needed, the right or enough education, enough skills or experience to have the job that you want. There are many Saul’s that are going to tell you why your business ideas are not worthy pursing or why you will not succeed. You must remember to remind yourself that you are well able and tell your Saul that you are able. Tell them what you have been able to do in the past and trust God to continue helping you. Like Samuel in I Samuel 7: 12, you must remind yourself-thus far the LORD has helped you.
A life of sustaining prayer comes, first from pure connection with God. Everything you do as a believer must be driven from your love for God who has first loved you. Anything that is not motivated from your love for God is shaky and unstable. Prayer is hard to sustain if your view of God is anything but that of a loving father who wants to help you continuously throughout this life.
The second thing to living a life of sustained prayer is “Responsibility”. You must feel responsible for what the Lord has given to you and take personal responsibility to maintain it through His help. When you live with a sense of responsibility, you will live differently.
The third to factor of living a life of sustaining prayer is “theology of breakthrough.” You must be convinced and believe that God is going to show up because you are praying. Hebrews 11:16 “But without faith it is impossible to please Him. For he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” Don’t go, through the motions of prayer because it’s powerless if we really don’t believe that our prayers move the heart of God. Isaiah 64 says that God “acts for those who wait for Him.” Sustaining prayer becomes easy when you really believe God will respond to your prayer. Victory must come with great breakthrough because God is a prayer-answering God. It may take a while, it may seem like God is slow, but He will answer because you are praying. Keep pressing in until it happens because you know and believe that is His character- He answers.
The fourth factor in living a life of style of sustaining prayer is “ the Prophetic.” You must know how to hear from the Lord prophetically. This will fuel your prayer life. When the Lord begins to speak to us prophetically, our lives are renewed, we get assured and energized by his words. Remember it is one thing to hear a prophetic word and yet it is other to carry that prophetic word in prayer. The Lord is calling us to gain access to another realm of authority over our lives, families, cities and Nations. Let’s give ourselves to sustained prayer to see this happen.
I believe that with every attack that comes into our daily lives, the key to succeed and overcome the schemes of the enemy is sustaining prayer.
Till next week, this is
Isabella Mwango Nyakundi-
Vessel for Honor International Ministries.
