Jeremiah 29:12 “Then when you call upon me and come and pray to me, I will hear you.” Today's episode reminds us how important it is to continue to pray, even when we feel like our prayers aren't being heard. It reassures us that God is listening, He promises in this verse that when we call upon Him, He hears us. Music:"Adding the Sun" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Don’t Stop Praying
Jeremiah 29:12 “Then when you call upon me and come and pray to me, I will hear you.”
I heard this song on KLOVE this morning called Don’t Stop Praying by Matthew West. I was wondering if I should use it for my podcast this morning, and then I saw on Facebook the verse above, and I figured it was the Holy Spirit telling me you should use it. A week ago today, I did an episode about how we don’t have to fear and we don’t have to despair because God is always there for us. He will bring us back from faraway places, and He will bring our children back, too. I know this brought people some comfort as they are really struggling right now and that episode was definitely words of encouragement for them.
This morning, when I heard this song, I thought that it goes well with the episode about not fearing as Jesus hears our cries and answers our prayers. He tells us this often: I think we just struggle to either hear Him or maybe we just struggle to believe Him. I am not sure which, but I think this song can help build us up especially if we are feeling down this holiday season. If this is your first holiday season without a loved one, then you are probably trying to figure out how to navigate feeling so many emotions at one time. Feeling happy for the holiday season with the family you do have but sad you can’t share it with the ones you have lost. Feeling angry that they are not still here with you and yet grateful they get to be with Jesus. There can be so many other emotions as well.
I thought this song seemed to touch on a lot of the things we may be feeling right now, so I wanted to share it with you. The song starts off by saying:
What's your impossible? Your "I need a miracle"
What's got you barely hanging by a single thread?
What looks so hopeless now? What weighs down your heart with doubt?
What is your impossible? What is that thing you are praying for that you just can’t see a way out? You can’t see a way through. You can’t see any solution, and yet you really need a solution. What is that thing that you are looking at and saying, “I need a miracle.” What has you barely hanging on by a single thread? What are you so upset about that you are ready to give up? You are trying not to; you are trying to hold on, but it is getting too heavy, and you are afraid you will have to let go. What looks so hopeless, and what is weighing your heart down? We all have things in our lives that we struggle with. I do believe some have it harder than others, but none of us have it easy. We all have something we struggle with. We all have heavy burdens; some are just heavier than others.
The song goes on to say:
You beg for a breakthrough, but no sign of breakthrough yet
When you've cried, and you've cried 'til your tears run dry
The answer won't come, and you don't know why
And you wonder if you can bow your head even one more time
If this is you, know you are not the only one. God’s timing can take a really long time sometimes. We beg for a breakthrough, and yet we don’t see any signs of any movement in the situation. God is working in your situation; you just haven’t seen it yet. It reminds me of the story of Bamboo. A Chinese bamboo tree is planted, watered, and fertilized daily, but there are no visible signs of growth for the first four years. In the fifth year, the bamboo tree grows rapidly, reaching heights of up to 90 feet in just six weeks. Sometimes, our breakthroughs are like that: there is no progress, and then all of a sudden, we have a huge breakthrough.
Have you been crying and crying so much that you feel you can’t cry another drop? Have you looked for answers, and yet they don’t seem to come? Do you feel like you can’t pray anymore? Like you can’t even bow your head just one more time? Do you try to pray, and yet no words come? You are not alone. If this is you, don’t give up. As the song says:
Don't stop praying
Don't stop calling on Jesus' name
Keep on pounding on Heaven's door
And let your knees wear out the floor
Even when all seems pointless, even when you feel like your prayers aren’t being heard, don’t stop praying. Don’t stop calling on Jesus’s name. Jesus promised us that whatever we ask for in His name will be given to us so that His Father in Heaven will be glorified. So, don’t stop asking. We are told over and over again in the Bible: ask, and you shall receive. We don’t know when, where, or how we will receive, but God promises us when we ask, we shall receive. I love how it says, “Keep pounding on Heaven’s door and let your knees wear out the floor.” This paints the picture of someone who is desperate for their prayers to be answered. How badly do you want your prayers answered? Are you asking the Lord every now and then, or are you pounding on Heaven’s door and letting your knees wear out the floor?
Don't stop believing
'Cause mountains move with just a little faith
And your Father's heard every single word you're saying
So, don't stop praying
Don’t stop believing, and He will come through for you. Don’t stop believing he can move the mountain in front of you. Don’t stop believing He can fix your situation or heal your pain, sorry, and grief. Don’t stop believing He will find you that spouse you are looking for or give you that baby you are wanting so badly. You don’t need a lot of faith, just a mustard seed size, so don’t stop believing. I promise you God has heard every word you are saying. He hears you and He is working all things for your good in His timing. I know that is the hardest part, waiting on his timing, and yet His timing is perfect.
The song goes on to say:
He's close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit
The Alpha and Omega knows how your story ends
When you've cried, and you've cried 'til your tears run dry
The answer won't come, and you don't know why
And you wonder if you can bow your head even one more time
Oh, do it one more time
And don't stop praying
God is close to the brokenhearted. I have learned recently that sometimes, when you feel the farthest from the Lord, it is actually when the Lord is closest to you. You may not be able to feel Him there for one reason or another, but He is right there with you. The Alpha and the Omega knows you, He knows how your story ends and not just in a general sense. The creator of the universe knows you so personally that He knows how your specific story ends. Sit with that for a minute and realize how amazing that is. God is close to you, even when you are brokenhearted. He is with you, don’t stop praying!
Don't stop praying for the prodigal
Don't stop praying for the miracle
Hallelujah, hallelujah, and amen
Don't stop praying that addictions end
Don't stop praying for deliverance
Hallelujah, hallelujah, and amen
Oh, don't stop praying for the sickness healed
Don't stop praying for His power revealed
Hallelujah, hallelujah, and amen
No, don't stop praying for the Kingdom come
Don't stop praying that His will be done
Hallelujah, hallelujah, and amen
Don't stop praying
Wow, how does Matthew West know exactly what you are praying for? I don’t know about you, but I am praying for almost every one of the things listed here. I love this encouragement to keep praying, don’t stop. No matter how pointless it may seem at times, you are making a difference with your prayers. Keep asking the Lord to intervene. He hears all your prayers and He loves persistence. He has at least two parables about persistence in the Bible.
The verse for today’s episode says, “Then when you call upon me and come and pray to me, I will hear you.” God is promising us right here in this verse that when we call upon Him and pray to Him, He will hear us. God always keeps His promises. So, if we call upon Him and come to him and pray, then He will hear us. He will hear our prayers for our prodigal to come home. He will hear our prayers for the miracles we really need. He will hear our prayers for the addiction to end and our prayers for deliverance. He will hear our prayers for the sickness to be healed and for His power to be revealed. He will hear us praying for His kingdom to come, and His will be done. God hears your prayers; I promise you they are not falling on deaf ears, and He is not ignoring you. He is working in your situation in the perfect way and in His perfect timing. Don’t stop praying!!
Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless all those listening to this episode today. Lord, we want to keep praying, and yet we get weary sometimes. Can you help lift us up and put us back on our feet when we fall down? Lord, can you give us the strength and perseverance we need to keep praying even when we feel like we can’t even bow our heads one more time? We love you; we know you can do the impossible, and yet, at times, the voices of the world drown out those thoughts and make us think our problems are too big. Help us to see you are bigger than any problem we might have. We ask all of this in accordance with your will and in Jesus’s holy name. Amen!
Thank you so much for joining me on this journey to walk boldly with Jesus. I look forward to meeting you here again tomorrow. Remember, Jesus loves you just as you are, and so do I! Have a blessed day!
Today’s Word from the Lord was received in June 2024 by a member of my Catholic Charismatic Prayer Group. If you have any questions about the prayer group, these words, or how to join us for a meeting, please email CatholicCharismaticPrayerGroup@gmail.com. Today’s Word from the Lord is, “I surround you with my comfort. All you go through, I will use to help others. I hold your hand. I will not abandon you. Move forward. I will empower you.”