Then Jesus said to them, “Suppose you have a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have no food to offer him.’ And suppose the one inside answers, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is already locked, and my children and I are in bed. I can’t get up and give you anything.’ I tell you, even though he will not get up and give you the bread because of friendship, yet because of your shameless audacity he will surely get up and give you as much as you need.” (Luke 11:5-8)
Last week, someone rang our doorbell. It was a teenager from the nearby high school trying to sell coupon books to raise funds for the school’s baseball team. I knew I would not use those coupons at all, so I did not intend to buy any. Yet the boy begged so earnestly that I finally gave in and purchased one to support them. This exchange reminded me of the above passage. When we bring our needs to God, we should be persistent and never give up on asking. Based on Jesus’ teaching, as well as my own personal experience, I am certain that God never takes our supplications lightly and that He always grants us what we need.
More than ten years ago, a sister and I made a 40-day covenant with the Lord. This sister and her husband were good friends of mine at church during our high school years. Years later, they left church and we fell out of touch. Upon rekindling our friendship, the wife had recommitted herself to the Lord and was very anxious about her husband’s salvation. Therefore, we agreed to embark on a 40-day covenant to pray for her husband together. Inspired by my senior pastor’s preaching on fasting, I also fasted during those 40 days by skipping a meal each day. We prayed earnestly, but the husband kept resisting the Lord. We did not see any way out and could only walk through those 40 days with fear and trembling. When it got close to the end of the 40 days, God miraculously used their former high school teacher to approach him and lead him to receive Christ.
Reflection Questions:
- What did you experience through your 40-day covenant with the Lord?
- Did you get to know Him more?
- Did you come to a better understanding of His grace and power to answer your prayers?
- Have you experienced any miracles or God’s amazing provision when you prayed?
The 40-Day Impact Challenge will come to an end today, but your closer walk with the Lord has just begun. May you treasure the moments when the Lord touched, encouraged and comforted you during these 40 days. May you have more and more 40-day covenants with Him in the days to come.
