Worth Fighting For

Some things in life just don’t come easy.  And when they don’t, we find out some things about ourselves.  Are we a fighter or are we a fainter?  Sometimes we have a great need and we pray about it once or twice, then quit if we don’t get an answer.

We need a job.  A child is out in the world, away from God.  Or we have financial problems, physical problems, or relationship problems (or all the above!). It’s when things come that we have no control over that we find out if we’ll fight…or if we’ll faint.

Let’s look at the Scripture that talks about a woman that was a fighter:

1 And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;

2 Saying, There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man:

3 And there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary.

4 And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man;

5 Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.

6 And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith.

7 And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them?

8 I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?

Luke 18:1-8

We should always pray, and not faint.  Do you pray…do you fight…or do you faint?

The Lord finished up this passage with the question, “When the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth.”  It takes faith to fight and to continue fighting in prayer.  Though the unjust judge wouldn’t answer the widow’s request “for a while,” yet that didn’t keep her from “troubling” him with her request.  She continually went to him, asking, pleading.

I’ve prayed continually about small things and I’ve prayed continually about big things…and God has answered, as I cried to Him day and night.

(Now before I go on, I want to assure you that I know God doesn’t answer “yes” to every single prayer I’ve prayed.  I’ve gotten many “no” and “not now” answers too, but God knows I want His will in my life more than anything and if He answers “no,” then I know that’s best for me.  Today I wanted to talk specifically about some answers to prayers that God said “yes” to and I wanted to encourage you to continue praying…and not to faint!)

Last year, not long after my mom passed away, I lost my set of keys at a mall.  Waaahhh!  Since its pretty expensive to replace computer chip keys and key fobs, I refused to do it…and we prayed…and prayed…and went to the mall’s many lost and founds to see if the keys turned up…and we prayed.  And you know what???  Three months after I lost my keys, my sweet daughter went and checked once again at the mall’s lost and found and later walked up to me with MY KEYS in her hand!!  Praise the Lord for answered prayer!  I have to wonder if He would have given me my keys back if I would have quit praying after a few days and went and paid for a new set…He might have, but I wonder…

Praying for my keys wasn’t an earth shattering deal, like praying for an unsaved loved one or for someone that is battling a terrible sickness…but it was praying nonetheless and pray we did…and God answered by our continual coming to Him with our request!

Have you had God answer a “small” personal prayer like that?  A missionary wife of long ago said, “The things that make God dear to us are not as much His great big blessings as the tiny things; because they show his amazing intimacy with us; He knows every detail of our individual lives.”  I mean, how amazing is it to know that the God in Heaven, Who made the universe, heard our prayers about keys (keys!!!) and He, in His lovingkindness, had someone take them to the lost and found 3 months later!  What an awesome God!

So if He cares about these little things, you know He cares about the big ones too, don’t you?!  Sometimes we lose an earring that means a lot to us and we pray and later that day we find it.  But sometimes our requests require a lot more than that…and that’s when we find out if we’re going to fight or faint.

I’ve had some things in my life that required a whole lot of praying and weeping before the Lord…and I was praying and weeping for months.  And even years.

Did I get weary?  You bet I did…but I didn’t stop praying!

Did I sometimes feel like my praying wasn’t doing any good?  Yep!  But I kept praying!

I even felt faint sometimes; when it seemed that what I was praying about got even worse…and worse…but God held me up and strengthened me and helped me not to faint.

One of the specific things I was praying about several years ago continued to get worse, then it got a little better, then it got even worse still, and stayed that way for quite a while – and I want to share with you something that really helped me during that time.

Several years ago someone showed us a video on YouTube.  Maybe you’ve seen it before, but that was the first time I had ever seen it, and as I watched it I was literally struck with the thought – This person that I’m praying for: the devil wants nothing more than to defeat them and drag them off and destroy them!  Am I willing to fight (in prayer) for them?!!

Now, so you can understand and follow my thoughts on this, I’d like to you go watch the short video here…then come back and I’ll share with you what the Lord taught me through it.

Wasn’t that amazing???  I watch it and still get goosebumps!!  🙂

At the time I first watched this video, I was praying and fasting a lot for someone dear to me, so after watching the “Battle at Kruger,” it lit a fire in my soul and it gave me more direction on how I was going to “fight.” Let me try to explain it to you…

Watching the lions crouching in the weeds, looking for an opportunity to attack one of the buffalo, I pictured the devil crouching in the weeds, just waiting for an opportunity to attack my loved one that I was praying for. A couple of the adult buffalo cautiously went over to the lions to try and to scare them off, but the enemy is not so easily run off. Right away, the lions jumped up and run after one of the younger buffalo and drag them down into the water, while all the other buffalo go running off. (several lions against one young buffalo?? That’s not fair! But the enemy never fights fair. Never.)

I was so saddened for the baby buffalo as I watched all the other buffalo run off! I was thinking, “Wait! Don’t leave!! Stay and fight!” Oh, but things were happening in the background that were about to unfold, and it was going to get really exciting…but first it’s going to get worse for the young buffalo. Not only is he attacked and mauled by the lions…we are suddenly jolted by a big splash in the water as a crocodile (or alligator?) attacks the buffalo from the other end! Yikes!! Now it’s a tug of war and it’s sure not looking good for the baby, is it?! Oh my!

After the brief tug of war, the lions win and they drag the poor baby buffalo away from the water and continue mauling on him.

Wait!  What’s that??

The camera zooms out and we can see…Reinforcements?!! Woo Hoo!! Looks like every buffalo in the whole area has been summoned to come help with this seeming catastrophe!

“Why bother,” they could have thought. “It’s just one buffalo. What can we do anyway?!”

But no! They are going to fight! And did you notice that one buffalo seems to be leading the pack?! I sure did! and I must say, I’m thinkin’ it’s the Momma!!! And I just have a sneaking suspicion that it was Momma buffalo that charged forward and flips that lion right up into the air!

Go Momma!!!

Cheers!!!

And what’s that?! The baby struggles to his feet and stumbles into the herd, and they surround him, as some continue to chase off the enemy! What a miracle! The baby was still alive! Wow! So amazing!!

Whew! A happy ending…I love happy endings…

But we both know that those lions didn’t slink off and decide to never try to catch another buffalo again. Not on your life! I’m sure there was another animal that day that became dinner for those lions…and another one the day after, and the day after that. The enemy never stops. Never.  (did I say that already?!  😉 )

But Momma buffalo wasn’t going to let the enemy get her baby!! She was going to fight for him and nothing was going to stop her.

Are you like that Momma buffalo? Is the enemy after someone dear to you? Maybe the enemy already has them in their jaws…and to make matters worse, another strikes up out of the water and your loved one or dear friend is being pulled this way. How awful it is to watch this happen.

Its easy to despair as you watch the enemy drag someone off, with the intent of destroying them. I know.

Perhaps you feel paralyzed at first. You stand there, numb, not knowing what to do. You’ve said all you can say, you’ve done all you can do…now what?

First of all – keep praying!!  Keep fighting!!  And don’t quit!  No matter what.

And like the Momma buffalo, go get reinforcements! Yes!! Go to your praying friends, your pastor, anyone that you know will pray with you about your urgent request. Don’t give up if all looks lost! If the Momma buffalo had run off and not come back, the lions would have enjoyed their little snack. But she didn’t give up and not only that, she brought others to help her! I love that!

I don’t know why, but it seems we just give up too easy. We watch something happen and just resign ourselves to the end result, which is usually not good.

Don’t quit praying!  Don’t quit fighting!

Bear your heart to the Lord!  Plead with Him!

Ask Him for some verses in His Word that will help you pray.  He has done that for me over and over again.  Oh how sweet to read and pray and plead with the Lord using His Word.  So sweet.

And the loved one I was praying for for years?  God worked a miracle in their heart and after years of praying, they are now saved and living for the Lord!

Don’t stop praying, my friend!