It is a liability, living where we do.
Orange county - money, Disneyland, doctors, food (plenty of it), and more.
That necessary sense of desperation that should accompany the Christian's prayer life is not common today. Occasionally we encounter deep troubles that bring us humbly to our knees: family issues, health, accidents. But, it seems that part of the ordinary life of the ordinary believer should include a sort of trust and confidence in God that isn't regularly present for us. I don't mean the sort of trust we usually think of; I mean looking to Him continually in gratefulness, and a weighty acknowledgment that without His blessing, the whole thing would fall apart.
This desperation, tempered almost paradoxically with the confidence we have from the Gospel, must be present in us when we go to God, to truly call our brand of prayer "good." What about the millions in Orange County who have no notion of the coming judgment, no idea of the free grace available in Jesus? Who feels desperation in prayer for them in the same way that the Apostle Paul did for his kinsmen in Romans 9:1-3; 10:1?
The topic of this blog from Kevin DeYoung is prayer and its attributes: desperate, continual, comforting and necessary.
PASSIONATELY PLEADING WITH GOD IS A GOOD THING!
Guest Blogger: Jason Helopoulos
Do you passionately plead with God in prayer? Pleading is a good and necessary part of our Christian lives. We understand adoration, confession, supplication, and thanksgiving are good marks of a vibrant prayer life, but pleading is often neglected.
What is Pleading?
Pleading with God is that part of prayer (a subset of supplication) in which we argue our case with God, as Isaac Watts wonderfully says, “in a fervent yet humble manner.” It is not just petition, but petition well-reasoned. It is not just requesting, but passionately appealing. In pleading, we are making our case before God as to why He should grant our prayer request.
At first, this can seem awkward or inappropriate. Yet, we all would readily acknowledge that there is a natural impulse to plead our case. I never taught my children to do so, but they know how! It is natural to our persons and natural in our relationship with God. He doesn’t desire restrained requests. God is not looking for dispassionate, catatonic, listless disciples. And what is true of His disciples is also true of their prayers–He desires our passionate pleadings.
The Psalmist says, “Pour out your heart before him” (Psalm 62:8). He then offers these comforting words, “God is a refuge for us” (Psalm 62:8). We can pour out our hearts and need not shrink back in fear.
Pleading is biblical
The Syrophoencian woman does not hesitate to plead with Christ and she is rewarded with His merciful answer (Mark 7:24-30). Jeremiah cries out to the Lord, “Righteous are you, O Lord, when I complain to you; yet I would plead my case before you” (Jeremiah 12:1). Joshua pleads the case of the Israelites and the disgrace their annihilation would bring upon the name of God (Joshua 7:6-9); and God responds with His grace. Hezekiah pleads for his own life, “For Sheol does not thank you; death does not praise you; those who go down to the pit do not hope for your faithfulness. The living, the living, he thanks you” (Isaiah 38:18-19); and God grants him extended life. Our Lord tells the parable of the persistent widow and ends with the question, “And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night?” (Luke 18:7). This is just a small sampling. Passionate pleading occupies a real place in our prayer lives.
Read the rest of the article here: Passionately Pleading with God Is A Good Thing!