by Dr. R. L. Hymers, Jr.
A sermon preached at the Los Angeles Baptist Tabernacle
Lord’s Day Night, August 23, 2015
In the Gospel of Luke Jesus emphasized “praying without ceasing” – that is, praying for a certain thing until you get it, even if you have to pray a long time before the answer comes. That is what it means to “pray without ceasing”. Dr. John R. Rice said:
When we talk about “praying without ceasing” we are talking about a Christian who takes his prayers to God and waits on God until he gets his prayers answered…We may never have the guarantee of God’s will, that He will give us certain things, unless we hope in God…Notice some Biblical examples of persistent prayer…Nehemiah fasted and prayed incessantly over the sad condition of the desolate city of Jerusalem held captive by its enemies. He said, “I sat and wept, and mourned for some days, and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven” (Nehemiah 1:4)… He besought God… His prayer was his. The heart of the king was moved, and God sent Nehemiah again to build the walls of the city…because he prayed without ceasing…
The Jews fasted and prayed for God to spare their lives during the time of Queen Esther in Persia, and for three days and nights they prayed without ceasing and the Jews had salvation and then revenge from their enemies.
The inhabitants of Nineveh fasted and prayed and God their great city, and .
In the New Testament the same way. of Pentecost…the disciples prayed without ceasing…
In the twelfth chapter of Acts, from verses 1 to 17, we see how a group of Christians met in the house of Mary…and they prayed without ceasing until the Apostle Peter was released from prison by an angel. . That was a long and continuous prayer, with a broken heart. And that is the example of New Testament Christians everywhere (John R. Rice, DD, Prayer – Asking and Receiving, Sword of the Lord Publishers, 1981 reprint, pp. 203, 206-209, comments by Dr. Hymers’ in parentheses).
Jesus gave two examples of praying without ceasing in the Gospel of Luke. The first is recorded in Luke 11:5-8. Please stand up and read these four verses out loud. They’re on page 1048, in the Scofield Annotated Bible.
“He also said to them: Which of you who has a friend goes to him at midnight and says: Friend, lend me three loaves, because a friend of mine has come to me on a journey, and I have nothing to put before him; and that one, answering from within, says: Don’t bother me; the door is already closed, and my children are with me in bed; I can’t get up, and give them to you. I tell you, even if she does not get up to give it to him because she is his friend, yet because of his importunity she will get up and give him whatever he needs” (Luke 11:5-8).
They can sit. Notice verse 8. This is the key verse,
“Because of your importunity he will rise up and give you whatever you need” (Luke 11:8).
The word “importunity” is no longer used or understood in modern language. It means “pressing, insistence”. Dr. Rice said: “The passage evidently refers to the power of waiting. A Christian has a right to go to God and beg for the bread of life for others…Bread for sinners is only given to those who learn the secret of “importunity”…A Christian who wants the supernatural, miraculous power of the Holy Spirit has a right to hope in God,” (Rice, ibid., p. 209).
“For his sake he will rise up and give him whatever he needs” (Luke 11:8).
Once again, Jesus taught us to pray without ceasing in Luke 18:1-8. Please stand up and read those eight verses out loud. They’re on page 1058, in the Scofield Annotated Bible.
“Jesus also told them a parable about the need to pray always, and not lose heart, saying: There was a judge in a city, who neither feared God nor respected man. There was also in that city a widow, who came to him, saying: Give me justice for my adversary. And he didn’t want to for some time; but after this he said within himself: Although I neither fear God, nor have respect for man, nevertheless, because this widow is bothering me, I will do justice to her, lest by continually coming, I wear out my patience. And the Lord said: Hear what the unjust judge said. And will not God do justice to his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he take time to answer them? I tell you that he will soon do them justice. But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” (Luke 18:1-8).
They can sit.
The main point of this parable is to pray without ceasing. That point is made in verse one,
“Jesus also told them a parable about the need to pray always, and not lose heart” (Luke 18:1).
We must “pray always and not lose heart.” “fainting” means “give up”, “stop”. We must always pray and not give up or stop. That means that when we start praying for something, we should keep praying for it until we receive it. Don’t stop, don’t give up, until you get what you’re asking for.
I receive several Christmas cards each year from the men and women who were my Sunday School students fifty years ago at the First Chinese Baptist Church. I distinctly remember praying for each of them until they were converted. It gave me joy to see that they are good Christians fifty years later. I saw many of them at Dr. Murphy Lum’s funeral a few weeks ago. What a joy it gave me to see that they are still good Christians!
During my years in that Chinese church, during the 1960’s, I was concerned about the need for revival. Dr. Murphy Lum reminded me a few years ago that whenever he prayed publicly in church, he prayed for revival. Even when I was asked to pray before a church meal, he would pray for God to send revival. And I often prayed for revival in the church in my private prayers. Others were praying for this as well, but I can honestly say that I was very overwhelmed, even consumed, with the need for revival. I prayed deep and long for God to move in that way. And in the summer of 1969 God began to give a revival that continued for four years. At a meeting in that church forty young people came forward with tears, crying, after I had preached at an evangelistic service on August 29, 1970 (“To God Be The Glory,” 20th Anniversary Booklet, FCBC, March 1972 , page 28).
For a church of about 150 people to have 40 respond was enough of an event to be listed as one of the “highlights” of that church’s first twenty years. I see from the church record that all forty of them were baptized in a short period of time, in two great baptismal services (“To God Be The Glory,” p. 29). Their names are on the registry. Almost all of them are Christians today. I saw several of them at Dr. Lum’s funeral earlier this month. God answered persistent prayer as we prayed unceasingly for the mighty revival that came to the First Chinese Baptist Church in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Before it was over, hundreds of young people had entered that church.
In a white church on the East Coast in the 1990s, I once again felt deeply the need for revival. I fasted and prayed all day. I went trembling to the pulpit and preached a simple message of salvation. The pastor’s son, the associate pastor of the church, came forward in tears, saying that he was lost and needed to be converted. The invitation lasted until after 11:00 PM. More than 75 people came crying to the altar. An old man crawled on his hands and knees screaming, “I’m lost! I’m lost!” Teenagers who had been in the church all their lives came forward, crying. Dr. Ian Paisley’s son, Kyle, was standing next to my wife and children. He whispered to my wife, “I’ve never seen anything like it!” In the next three months more than five hundred people came, all of them very serious, many crying, some even screaming. The pastor later baptized hundreds of them in a short period of time. I recently heard a famous fundamental Baptist preacher say that he has never seen revival like that. I thank God that I have seen two revivals – in answer to persistent prayer. If we pray great prayers, and drop the “decisionism” nonsense, I believe God would send a revival again – as He did in ancient times.
I know that God answers us when we pray without ceasing. My own mother was 80 years old and she was not yet saved. She had a stroke that could have killed her. She would have gone to Hell. But I had prayed for her salvation for forty years, literally every day. Finally one day I knew in my heart that she had prayed without ceasing. I was preaching in New York. I called Dr. Cagan, and asked him to go to her and lead her to Jesus. He was afraid to go because she had made it very clear to him before that she didn’t even want to talk about “being saved.” But I told Dr. Cagan that I had prayed without ceasing, and I knew in my heart that she would be saved that day. Dr. Cagan went to her room that afternoon – and it was so easy! My mother was instantly saved. I baptized her that year on the 4th of July at Dr. Waldrip’s church, in a combined baptismal service. My mother was a new creature in Christ Jesus from that moment, converted at the age of 80.
I know you can pray endlessly for individuals to be saved! I know you can pray endlessly for revival, and get what you ask for, in a local church. I know that you can pray endlessly for a lost friend in church. And you will know it too – if you start praying for some lost soul that comes here, and continue to pray for that person, and don’t lose heart, until God gives you what you ask for! Amen!
We will fast and pray again next Saturday. If you can join us in fasting, please don’t eat after dinner on Friday until we come here to church and have a meal together at 5:30 on Saturday evening. Here again is a list of things to read while praying and fasting on Saturday. The list is given at the end of this message. We will give you a copy to take home.
I am so proud of you! They are wonderful! I believe many young people will be saved as you fast and pray for them! Dr. Chan, please guide us in prayer.
1. Do your fast secretly (as much as possible). Don’t go around telling people you’re fasting.
2. Take time to read the Bible. Read some parts of the Book of Acts (especially near the beginning).
3. Memorize Isaiah 58:6 during the Sabbath fast.
4. Pray that God would give us 10 or more new people to stay with us.
5. Pray for the conversion of our unsaved youth. Pray that God will do with them what…