When I need to persevere on behalf of others
You may have wondered if your prayers are effective. We have all felt, at times, as though we were trying to persuade a reluctant God to intervene in a situation that He’d prefer to leave alone. Yet God has made prayer an integral part of His activity in this world. In fact, through Scripture He gives us the impression that His activity in the affairs of men is somehow contingent on the prayers of intercessors. If we don’t pray, He doesn’t act. It is His plan for us to ask; when we don’t, we violate His plan.
Has the Holy Spirit prompted you to pray for someone? You must follow through on it! His prompting was not superfluous; He is efficient with His directions, and He would not have led you unless your prayers were an essential aspect of His intervention. We must continue in our prayer assignments until God’s work is done. When His Spirit assures us that our prayers are complete, we may move on to others—but not before. His plan may hinge on your pleadings. Plead however—and whenever—He leads