“He prayed more fervently, and He was in such agony of spirit that His sweat fell to the ground like great drops of blood.” – Luke 22:44
Have you ever noticed how much difficulties play a part of life? They call forth our power as nothing else can. They strengthen character.
All nature has been arranged by God so that nothing is without work and effort. Education is developing and disciplining the mind by new difficulties which the student must overcome. The moment a lesson has become easy, the student is advanced to one that is more difficult. It is in confronting and mastering difficulties that our highest accomplishments are found.
It is the same way in our relationship with God. Imagine what the result would be if the child of God had only to kneel down, ask, get and go away. Loss to the spiritual life would result. Through difficulties we discover how little we have of God’s Holy Spirit. There we learn our own weakness and yield to the Holy Spirit to pray in us. There we take our place IN Christ Jesus and abide in Him as our only plea with the Father. There our own will and strength are crucified. There we rise in Christ to newness of life. Praise God for the need and the difficulty of persistent prayer as one of His choicest means of His grace.
Think what Jesus owed to the difficulties in His path. He persevered in prayer in Gethsemane and the prince of the world with all his temptation was overcome.
“Lord Jesus, in persevering prayer may I walk with You and learn of crucifixion. May I share in the fellowship of Your cross. Amen.”
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