Keep on Praying
1 Samuel 1:1-20
Milford Baptist Church, 11 May 2003
(Mothers' Day)
A. Kelly
A little while back I read an article about a young teenager called Kelly.
Kelly was just about to start her final year of high school. But three
weeks before the end of the holidays, she was involved in a terrible car
accident. The car in which Kelly was travelling crossed the centre line
and struck another car head on. Kelly suffered massive head injuries.
The doctors told Kelly's mum that Kelly would die. Her mum looked down at
her daughter, her head all smashed up, tubes coming out of her, the
machines keeping her alive. She thought to herself, "What I would give
right now to have you say to me in the way that you do just one more time,
'mum'." And Kelly's mum decided to start praying that Kelly would get well
enough to call her 'mum' at least one more time.
Well, despite the doctors' predictions, Kelly didn't die. In fact, she was
discharged from hospital some time later. But the girl who had been the
captain of the soccer team, now couldn't wash herself, dress herself, or
feed herself. And she couldn't talk. Her days were spent sitting in a
wheelchair staring at the TV or listening to music between sessions of
physical therapy. But her mum kept praying that Kelly would get well
enough to call her 'mum' just once more.
Then, almost two years after the accident, out of the blue, Kelly suddenly
called out one word, 'mum'. Kelly's mum looked at her daughter and Kelly
gave her a huge smile. Over the next three weeks, Kelly kept calling out
'mum, mum, mum!' and smiling warmly at her mother. Do you know, in two
years 'mum' was the only word that Kelly ever spoke.
Three weeks later, she was admitted to hospital with brain seizures, and
she died. But not before God had answered the persistent prayers of a
desperate, sometimes discouraged mother.
B. Hannah
Let me tell you about someone else who was desperate and discouraged.
Someone else who longed to be called, "mum." Her name was Hannah.
Hannah, with her husband, Elkanah, and Elkanah's other wife, Peninnah,
were making their annual trip to the town of Shiloh to worship God there.
Now Peninnah - Hannah's great rival - was a mum several times over. For
her, Mothers' Day was a lucrative affair. But for Hannah, Mothers' Day was
the worst day of the year. She longed to be a mother. She ached to have a
son. But she couldn't. And her rival, Peninnah knew it. So this year, as
she did every year, Peninnah taunted and humiliated Hannah all the way up
to Shiloh. "Hey, Hannah, where are they? Where are the kids you've been
praying for? I'm amazed that Elkanah bothers with you! Obviously God's not
pleased with you; he's not listening to you. Your prayers aren't being
answered. Face it, it'll never change."
As usual, by the time she got to Shiloh, Hannah was a write-off.
Inconsolable. Not even Elkanah, her compassionate and loving husband,
could console her. She cried and cried. She wouldn't even eat. She had
been aching - and I guess praying - for a child for years. (Verse 7 says
that "year after year" Hannah went to Shiloh without any children.) And
now, the passage says, she was miserable. She was desperate and
discouraged.
Do you know what that's like? Do you know what it's like to ache for
something, to hope for something, to pray for something for a really long
time, but see no change?
Hannah did. But she didn't give up. After the others had eaten, Hannah
slipped away and went into the temple. There, once more, she prayed to the
Lord - or, as some Bibles say, she presented herself before the Lord. God
was present there with Hannah as she poured her heart out to him. And she
prayed with such emotion that Eli, the priest, thought she was drunk. What
happened? Was Hannah's prayer heard? Eli was sitting in the doorway to the
temple - not far away. He was watching her mouth, watching her lips move.
And he didn't hear anything. "Her voice was not heard" - that's what v.13
says.
But then, how does the story finish? Hannah went back to her home in
Ramah. She slept with her husband, and (v.19 says) "the Lord remembered
her." So "in the course of time," (or "in due time", at the right time)
Hannah conceived and gave birth to a son. And what did she call him?
Samuel. Which means? "Heard of God". Hannah was heard. God heard her
prayer, God remembered her prayer, and God answered her prayer at the
right time.
C. Miracle baby
That story has a modern echo of sorts.
I know a woman who got married when she was 27. The years flew by, and
life was good for her and her husband, except for one thing: their
"quiver" remained empty. They had no kids. They wanted to have kids. And
they prayed and prayed for kids. For twelve years they kept praying. No
change.
So finally, discouraged, the woman had some medical tests. The results
were grim. The specialists said that she was physically unable to ever
have children. They said if she ever wanted to have children, she'd have
to adopt. So she and her husband did that. They adopted two little babies
who were in need of a great home.
And then, guess what? Four years later, out of the blue, 16 years after
she was married, at the age of 43, this woman who was physically unable to
ever have children, gave birth to a child. That child was ... me. God
heard my parents' prayers. He remembered my parents' prayers. And he
answered my parents' prayers, in his time, at the right time.
D. Ask and keep on asking
In Luke's Gospel (11:9) Jesus says, "Ask and it will be given to you." You
know it's interesting. A more accurate translation would be: "Ask, and
keep on asking, and it will be given to you." Jesus is saying, "Persevere
in prayer. Keep going. Don't stop. Keep on praying." Jesus taught a lot
about prayer. If his teaching on prayer and intercession could be
summarised by a single word, it might be "persevere." He told story after
story about people who would just not stop asking: there was the stubborn
widow who kept nagging a corrupt judge until she got justice; the needy
neighbours who wouldn't stop banging on the door until they got some food;
the small children who were quite adamant that their daddy would answer
their requests. All those pictures point in the same direction: if
persistence pays off on the human level, where we have to overcome
resistance and apathy on the part of those we approach, how much more
should we continue to approach a heavenly father whose love, wisdom and
power far exceed our wildest dreams?
But of course the Bible doesn't promise that God will answer our every
request as we want, when we want. Just as well. A man called William
Culbertson said, "Keep praying, but be thankful that God's answers are
wiser than your prayers!"
I've heard it said that when we pray God will answer either, "Go," "Grow,"
or "Slow" or "No." "Go" is "Yes, here you are, now." "Grow" is "Not yet. I
want you to grow through this struggle first." "Slow" is "Yes, it's
coming, but not just yet. Keep praying." "No" is "No! It's best that you
don't have what you're asking for." That was the answer God gave Jesus
when he asked his Father to keep him from suffering and dying on a cross
at Easter. It was just as well that God said "no." The outcome of Jesus'
death was eternal life for all who choose to follow Jesus.
God does hear our prayers, he does remember our prayers, and he always
answers our prayers, as and when he knows best. When you've been praying
and you see no change, how do you know God's not saying, "Yes, it's
coming, but not just yet. Keep praying."?
E. Chopsticks
Has anyone ever heard of the great Polish pianist Paderewski? Once he was
once scheduled to perform at a great concert hall in America. In the
audience that evening was a woman who had brought her 9 year old son. She
hoped that he would be encouraged to practise the piano if he could just
hear the great Paderewski perform.
Well the little boy got tired of waiting for the concert to begin - he
didn't really want to be there anyway - and he squirmed restlessly in his
seat. Then, as his mother turned to talk with friends, the boy slipped out
of his seat and down the aisle, strangely drawn by the big black grand
piano sitting majestic and alone in the centre of the huge stage. He sat
down on the leather stool, placed his small hands on the black and white
keys, and began to play ... "Chop Sticks".
The hall fell silent. Everyone stared up at the little boy on stage. Some
people began to shout, "Hey, get off. Somebody get that boy off the
stage!" Now backstage, Paderewski heard the uproar and the sound of the
simple tune. When he saw what was happening, he hurried onto the stage.
Without a word to the audience, he walked up behind the faltering lad,
reached his arms around either side of him, and began to improvise a
counter-melody. As the two made music together, the master pianist kept
whispering in the boy's ear: "Keep going. Don't stop. Keep on playing ...
keep on playing."
Today, like Hannah, are you a little desperate and discouraged? Have you
been aching and praying for something for a really long time? Something
really important. Something impossible - something that only God can do.
Maybe you've been praying for someone you love, that they might respond to
Jesus and say, "Yes, Jesus." Maybe you've been praying for someone whose
sick, that they would get better. Maybe you've been praying for our
church, or some part of our church life. Maybe you've been praying for a
job. Whatever it is, you've been asking God to do it for a long time. And
it seems like there's been no change.
Listen, God has heard your prayers. God remembers your prayers. God will
answer your prayers, in the right way, at the right time. He's saying,
"Keep going. Don't stop. Keep on praying ... keep on praying."
|
|
|
|