Faithfulness in Prayer

When in Taipei, Taiwan, for a short family visit, the main burden the Lord gave me was to spend more time with my family, especially with my brother-in-laws'. Every time I prayed my heart was towards my brother-in-laws. During my whole stay, I could only spent three sessions each lasting about and hour or so. But before all these could transpire, I wasn't sure if I could discharge my burden at all. And that led me to pray faithfully and intercede for them, even with fasting and prayer.

My first meeting was all centered on the burdened of eating of the tree of life and living by the tree of life; not to live by the knowledge of good and evil, right or wrong. As I ministered on life and the Spirit, I enjoyed being ministered to in return by the Lord through my own speaking. However, meeting his better-half was almost out of question. But left the matter to the Lord and continued to pray for them.

Suddenly, on our last Lord's day in Taipei, in the afternoon, my wife received a surprise call from my brother in law that we would meet up somewhere in Tainan. My innate response was, though we had another appointment for dinner lovefeast with a coworker's family in Taipei, to agree to the impromptu dinner fellowship taking it as the Lord's answer to the prayers offered. And we did enjoyed few good hours of fellowship, again with much emphasis on enjoying the Lord by eating Him in the Word and drinking Him in the Spirit. The Lord is always faithful in answering our prayers, more faithful than our own faithfulness in prayer.

To me, we are no longer brother-in-law but brother-in-the-Lord. Though this experience seemed trivial, it indeed was an experience of faithfulness in prayer for the very burden the Lord had imparted.

This incident was reminded to me as I read the word in Daniel concerning Daniel's faithfulness in prayer.

Daniel 6:

4 Then the chief ministers and satraps sought to find a ground for accusation against Daniel from the perspective of the kingdom, but they could find no ground for accusation or fault, inasmuch as he was faithful, and no negligence or fault was found related to him. 10 Now when Daniel came to know that the writing had been signed, he went to his house (in his upper room he had windows open toward Jerusalem) and three times daily he knelt on his knees and prayed and gave thanks before his God, because he had always done so previously.11 Then these men assembled and found Daniel making petition and supplication before his God..13 Then they answered and said before the king, Daniel, one of the captives from Judah, has not respected you, O king, or the edict that you have signed, but three times daily makes his petition.18 Then the king went to his palace and spent the night fasting; and no entertainment was brought before him, and his sleep fled from him.

Daniel's faithfulness in prayer was tested even at the risk of his own life; he was faithful unto death in prayer. Even his opponents openly confessed that Daniel was a man of prayer for they all knew about it and plot an evil against it. However, whatever the decree, he was faithful in prayer at all costs. The adverse effect was, even the king could not sleep that night Daniel was persecuted for his faithfulness, instead he spent the night fasting.  

There are times one need to fast and pray faithfully. Certain spiritual warfare need such fasting prayer. And for the many burdens the Lord pleased to bestow me with, I trust the Lord's grace to be faithful in prayer.