The Power of Persistence in Prayer

In one paragraph

This message was the final week of a six-week series through Isaiah 62, focused on verses six and seven. Pastor Brian worked through what persistent prayer actually looks like, using two parables from Luke to ground it. The conversation moved back and forth between the congregation throughout, which is how Tribe likes to do it. Before the sermon started, the room opened up for a word from the...

Read together

1. Isaiah 62:1-12 read aloud together by the congregation as the main text of the series
2. Isaiah 62:6-7 the focal passage for the three principles of persistent prayer
3. Deuteronomy 13:1-5 read aloud to address how to test true versus false prophets
4. Luke 11:5-13 parable of the neighbor at midnight, used to illustrate shameless audacity in prayer
5. Luke 18:1-8 parable of the persistent widow, used to illustrate praying with persistence
6. Psalms 2 cited as an example of praying God's word back to him, asking for the nations
7. 1 Corinthians Paul urges believers to eagerly desire the greater gifts
8. 1 John referenced as the basis for weighing and testing prophetic spirits

What was said

• Pick one person with wide influence and pray for them by name every day this week, the way the congregation prayed for Jimmy, Taylor Swift, and Joe Rogan during the service.
• Find a specific promise in scripture that fits something you have been asking God for, and the next time you pray about it, begin with 'Lord, you said,' letting his word rather than your wishes shape the prayer.
• If there is a prayer you quietly gave up on, bring it back this week, even once, remembering Brian's point that Zechariah had apparently stopped asking before the angel showed up.
• Invite someone to the Christmas Eve service on Town Square at 6:30 PM, and keep praying between now and then that people passing through will stop and hear the gospel.
• Spend time with at least one person this week who carries genuine joy, taking seriously the word spoken during worship that the Lord's joy is contagious and meant to be shared.

Talk about it

1. Brian talked about the difference between Old Testament prophets operating mainly in foresight and New Testament prophetic expression being mainly insight through the Holy Spirit. How has that distinction changed the way you think about hearing from God in your own life?
2. The Deuteronomy passage warned that God will allow false prophets to arise as a test of whether his people love him enough to develop real discernment. Where do you personally draw the line between taking a prophetic voice seriously and testing it, and what does that process actually look like for you?
3. Brian said that telling God you don't want to bother him with your problems is not humility but pride. Do you agree with that, and has that kind of thinking ever kept you from praying persistently about something?
4. The parable of the persistent widow in Luke 18 was used to talk about praying without giving up, even when you have no tracking number on the answer. Is there something you prayed hard for at one point and quietly stopped praying about? What made you stop?
5. Brian said the promises of God are always guaranteed but never automatic, and that we are invited to place a demand on his promises by praying his word back to him. What would it look like practically, this week, to pray a specific scripture over something you are believing God for?