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Prayer Warrior from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo.

I have heard people teach that one should pray once "in faith" and never mention it again. The idea is that God has heard you and will bring it to pass when He is ready. There may be a time for that, but that is not how Elijah, Elisha, Daniel, Paul, or Jesus Christ prayed.

Now, I totally agree that if you pray for something and the answer manifests immediately, you don't have to pray about it anymore. Sylvia once came down with serious bronchitis, and she coughed for a couple of months until she had strained all of her stomach muscles and was in tears from the pain. Up all night coughing and crying. She would cough continuously until she threw up, just able to breathe. We couldn't leave the house except to go to the doctor, and we tried several cough syrups and medicines to no avail. The whole church was praying for her.

A prophet was visiting our church one Sunday night, so we went. Sylvia coughed all the way there. We sat in the back, and she coughed through the whole service. At the end of the meeting, we went up for prayer, and he laid hands on her and began to pray. At this point, the cough became very rapid and intense, and she began actually choking, doubled over, and turned bluish. Instead of giving up, the prophet kept praying and rebuking the cough, and suddenly, it left. Sylvia stopped coughing and stood straight up. Her color returned to normal, and she was completely healed. We rode home in the quiet. After months, it felt surreal. She has never had that again, and it has been over a decade. That man didn't need to pray twice because he didn't give up the first time.

I wish all prayer worked that fast, but it does not always happen instantly. So, what do we do then? What examples are in the Bible? Let's start with James:

(James 5:16 NKJV) ... The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.

The Greek word translated as 'effective, fervent' is 'energeō,' from which we get the English word 'energy.' It signifies action and effort. Therefore, this verse literally means, 'The energetic prayer of a righteous man avails much.' James continues on:

(James 5:17–18 NKJV) Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit.

Here, James gives us an example of a man like us, who prayed "earnestly," the prophet Elijah. There was a draught, and it had not rained in three and a half years when Elijah prayed for rain. Let's see how he did it:

(1 Kings 18:42–43 NKJV) So Ahab went up to eat and drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; then he bowed down on the ground, and put his face between his knees, and said to his servant, "Go up now, look toward the sea." So he went up and looked, and said, "There is nothing." And seven times he said, "Go again."

(1 Kings 18:44–45 NKJV) Then it came to pass the seventh time, that he said, "There is a cloud, as small as a man's hand, rising out of the sea!" So he said, "Go up, say to Ahab, 'Prepare your chariot, and go down before the rain stops you.' " Now it happened in the meantime that the sky became black with clouds and wind, and there was a heavy rain...

Elijah prayed for rain and sent his servant to check the sky for clouds. When the servant said, "There is nothing," Elijah prayed again. He prayed like this seven times because there were still no clouds after he had prayed six times. James used this as an example of the energetic prayers of a righteous man.

Sometimes, we are just plain old-fashioned lazy, and there isn't an energetic prayer in our bodies. Some months before the Lord put us in ministry, I had an irresistible urge to come into this room and pray. I would walk in, shut the door, put on some worship music, lay face down on the floor, and pray in tongues for one to three and a half hours. I was sweating, weeping, and praying like I was wrestling with something. It was hard, but we are in ministry today because of energetic prayer. A funny thing was that I wasn't even praying about ministry. I hadn't thought of that in years. I could have ignored His call to come aside, and it is safe to say we wouldn't be here doing this.

What if we pray and fail? Will people think we are "unspiritual" or lack faith? I say that it is better to try and fail than to let your faith lie dormant and fruitless. God never belittles those who attempt to walk in faith, and I would rather make Him proud than you. Consider this verse:

(Luke 9:26 NKJV) For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, of him the Son of Man will be ashamed when He comes in His own glory, and in His Father's, and of the holy angels.

The prophet Elisha, who inherited a "double portion anointing" from Elijah, performed twice as many recorded miracles. Yet, we can see that he worked for it:

(2 Kings 4:32–35 NKJV) When Elisha came into the house, there was the child, lying dead on his bed. He went in therefore, shut the door behind the two of them, and prayed to the LORD. And he went up and lay on the child, and put his mouth on his mouth, his eyes on his eyes, and his hands on his hands; and he stretched himself out on the child, and the flesh of the child became warm. He returned and walked back and forth in the house, and again went up and stretched himself out on him; then the child sneezed seven times, and the child opened his eyes.

I believe that Elisha was walking back and forth in the house praying, and he kept doing so until the child woke up. If, at first, you don't succeed, then try again... Jesus told parables about the importance of persistent prayer, of not losing heart and giving up:

(Luke 18:1–5 NKJV) Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart, saying: "There was in a certain city a judge who did not fear God nor regard man. Now there was a widow in that city; and she came to him, saying, 'Get justice for me from my adversary.' And he would not for a while; but afterward he said within himself, 'Though I do not fear God nor regard man, yet because this widow troubles me I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.' "

(Luke 11:5–8 NKJV) And He said to them, "Which of you shall have a friend, and go to him at midnight and say to him, 'Friend, lend me three loaves; for a friend of mine has come to me on his journey, and I have nothing to set before him'; and he will answer from within and say, 'Do not trouble me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give to you'? I say to you, though he will not rise and give to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will rise and give him as many as he needs.

Then Jesus followed that parable up with this:

(Luke 11:9–10 NKJV) "So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.

To put it together in context, He meant to ask, ask, ask until you receive an answer, keeping in mind that "No" is an answer and also a complete sentence. Seek, seek, seek until you find it. Knock, knock, knock until the door opens. Pray, pray, pray until your situation changes. That is what the Apostle Paul did:

(2 Corinthians 12:7–9 NKJV) And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

Paul prayed once but heard nothing. So he prayed a second time but heard silence. Then he prayed a third time and heard a "No." Ouch!

Sylvia and I have an inside joke about prayer. At church, if the pastor prays for you and you don't get healed, then it must be your weak faith. And if you pray for them to be healed and they don't, it must still be your weak faith!

The truth is that even Jesus Christ sometimes ministered to people more than once:

(Mark 8:22–25 NKJV) Then He came to Bethsaida; and they brought a blind man to Him, and begged Him to touch him. So He took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the town. And when He had spit on his eyes and put His hands on him, He asked him if he saw anything. And he looked up and said, "I see men like trees, walking." Then He put His hands on his eyes again and made him look up. And he was restored and saw everyone clearly.

Jesus didn't tell the man, "You must have weak faith..." Look at what the Lord Jesus Christ did while praying in the garden on the night of His arrest:

(Matthew 26:42–44 NKJV) Again, a second time, He went away and prayed, saying, "O My Father, if this cup cannot pass away from Me unless I drink it, Your will be done." And He came and found them asleep again, for their eyes were heavy. So He left them, went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words.

Now, I am sure there were many times when Jesus only had to pray once, but that night, He prayed the same prayer three times.

Oh yes, faith is important. Believing that God is listening is why we pray to begin with! You are exercising your faith when you pray. The very act of praying is a sign that you have faith. So let's pray until it becomes real.

You can pray this with me if you like:=

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You so much for another day! I love You, Lord. Please help me pray with renewed energy, shake off the slumber, wake up, and take this seriously. I want to be an overcomer and make You proud! In the name of Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen!