Always Praying

"Men ought always to pray, and not to faint" Luke 18:1b

Faint here is Ekkakeo (Strong's G1573) and it means to opt out of bad or fallen things. Not evil things but results of man's fallen nature.

Some could see prayer as a way of opting out... instead of acting in an overt way we pray instead.

But, God prescribes prayer in action and in seeming inaction. It is not meant to be a substitute for action. It is the undergirding of all action. Praying engages our will and entreats God's will and participation. The praying person is listening to God and speaking to God. The issue at hand is not being swept under the table. Prayer brings people and circumstances into the light of divine reality. It offers up our perception and surrenders it to God's and His knowledge of the circumstance. It is an act of will and devotion.

Have you ever prayed amiss? You got the name wrong of just plain misread the circumstance? Have you prayed for problems that have long since been resolved but you had no information to stop your prayers? I have. Even in our misinformation there is engagement and faith and God is pleased by our faith.

This same word, Ekkakeo, is used in several other places.

"For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we FAINT not." Galatians 6:8-9 KJV

"Nevertheless when it shall turn to the Lord, the vail shall be taken away. Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord. Therefore seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we FAINT not" 2 Corinthians 3:16-4:1 KJV

"For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God. For which cause we FAINT not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal." 2 Corinthians 4:15-18 KJV

Prayer pits the eternal against the temporal. It brings glory into gloom. It petitions God to bring the freedom won for us by Christ and make it a reality in situation or a person's life.

"For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another." Galatians 5:13 ESV

If we use our liberty to opt out of communion and intercession something else will fill that void. Our soul cleaves to the dust unless they is a higher dynamic at work.

The throne of Grace is just that. A throne of grace. A place where grace reigns. A place free from striving for acceptance. Jesus sits there at God's right hand interceding for us and loving us. He is engaged in our lives and what really matters in the World matters to Him. What a privilege it is to be one with the heart and mind of that throne.