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(Philippians 4:1)

Polycarpus was one of John’s disciples in Symyrna. When he was caught by soldiers that sought his life, he boldly asked for some time to pray before punishment was to be inflicted upon him. He was convicted for being a follower of Jesus; and so he was to be burned alive. His freedom could be granted, though if he would only deny Jesus. But the only words that came out of his mouth were, “For eighty two years I have served Him, and He never wronged me. How could I betray the King that has saved me?”

In the military, standing firm means refusing to leave the station no matter how tough the war can be. Just as us Christians, we need to stay put when times get tough. God didn’t promise to give us a problem-free life, but He promises to be with us every step of the way. We need to have the determination, commitment, willingness, and discipline to be able to continually soar to a higher level of faith in our journey with Christ.

Quoting from Rick Warren, “Life is a series of problems: Either you are in one now, you’re just coming out of one, or you’re getting ready to go into another one. The reason for this is that God is more interested in your character than your comfort; God is more interested in making your life holy than He is in making your life happy.” It is a pity to see how some Christians give up their goals just seconds away from their moment of victory because of challenges.

Fellow brothers and sisters, what will enable us to stay unshakable and, thus, becoming mature in Christ, is a deep relationship with Him that is based on trust of His saving grace. 

 

There’s nothing really constant in this world. Stock exchange is experiencing bullies almost everyday, the electricity goes on and off, problems come and go. But when we put GOD first in every aspect of life, then we will become an Unshakable Generation in every condition in this world.

There are 3 things that we should consider in our prayer:

 Praying with FAITH - Prayer that moves mountain

For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them. (Mark 11:23-24).

Believe that any problem that you think as big, strong, permanent and unshakable is the Rocky Mountain, suddenly can be tossed out of our life. The requirement is simple, just believe, and as the evidence of your faith is that you being able to see it happened before it really happened. A prayer with a strong faith is able to eliminate the mountain of your problem.  

Prayer with PERSISTENCE - Prayer that moves the answer closer to us

In Luke 18:1 Jesus uses a parable to the people to emphasize that they should pray ceaselessly.

Then the Lord said, “Hear what the unjust Judge said. And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them? (Luke 18:6-7). 

In that paragraph, there’s a parable of a poor widow who seek justice to a wicked judge. At that era, women were not respected enough, including in law. Moreover, she’s a widow so there’s nobody who accompany her to the court. But since she kept coming to the judge, finally the wicked judge give her justice. THe important message for us (verse 1), for us to keep praying ceaselessly. It means never loose hope, discouraged, and then we stop praying. Don’t stop praying even though the situation seems not favorable for us, just like the widow. Why shouldn’t we stop praying? Is because GOD always keep His promise, and we never know if the answer lies at the door…

Praying with COMPASSION - Prayer that moves GOD!

But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd. Matthew 9:36.

His disciples see the multitudes as trouble, always following them here and there, always trying to get their attention/care,etc. But Jesus saw them like sheep having no shepherd. Can we see people around us, even nations that haven’t heard The Gospel, like sheep without a shepherd, nobody to protect them from the devil, nobody refreshing them when they’re tired by their problems, nobody to take care of them when they’re sick, and moreover, nobody to lead them to eternity. Let’s pray for them, the unbeliever, compassionately.