And shall not God avenge His own elect, which cry day and night unto Him, though He bear long with them?
—Luke 18:7
When Nehemiah heard of the destruction of Jerusalem, he cried to God, “hear the prayer of thy servant, which I pray before Thee now, day and night” (Nehemiah 1:6). Concerning the watchman on the walls of Jerusalem, God said, “which shall never hold their peace day nor night” (Isaiah 62:6). And Paul wrote, “Night and day praying exceedingly…to the end He may stablish your hearts unblameable in holiness before God, even our Father” (1 Thessalonians 3:10, 13).
Is such prayer really possible? Yes. It is needed when the heart is so entirely possessed by desire that it cannot rest until that desire is fulfilled. It is possible when one’s life has come under the power of the heavenly blessing to such a degree that nothing can keep it from sacrificing all to obtain it.
When a child of God begins to get a real vision for the need of the church and of the world—a vision of the promised divine redemption, a vision of the power of intercession to bring down the heavenly blessing, and a vision of the honor of taking part in that work as intercessors—it naturally follows that he will regard his work of crying out, day and night, to God as the most heavenly thing upon earth.
Let us learn from David, who said, “For the zeal of thine house hath eaten me up” (Psalm 69:9). Let us learn from Christ our Lord, of whom these words were so true. There is nothing so much worth living for as satisfying the heart of God in His longing for human fellowship, and winning hearts to be His dwelling places. How can we rest until we have found a place for the Mighty One in our hearts and have yielded ourselves to the great work of intercession for so many after whom the desires of God are going out?
God grant that our hearts may be so brought under the influence of these divine truths that we will yield ourselves in pure devotion to Christ. May our longing to satisfy the heart of God be the chief aim of our lives.
Lord Jesus, the great Intercessor, breathe Your own Spirit into our hearts, for Your name’s sake. Amen.