Category: Prayer

From the series: Will He Find Faith? — Prayer in the Last Days

_{Scripture quotations are from the New King James Version®.}
^{Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.}

One of the most damaging misconceptions in the modern Church is the belief that suffering is a sign something has gone wrong. Scripture teaches the opposite. For the believer, suffering is not an interruption to the Christian life—it is woven into it.

The apostle Paul speaks plainly:

“For to you it has been granted on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake.”
— Philippians 1:29 (NKJV)

Notice the language: granted. Suffering is not merely permitted—it is included in the calling. This truth must be recovered, or believers will continue to interpret hardship as abandonment rather than purpose.

Christ Is the Pattern, Not the Exception

Christian suffering begins and ends with Christ Himself. Jesus never promised His followers exemption from suffering; He promised participation.

“If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.”
— Matthew 16:24 (NKJV)

The cross is not a metaphor for inconvenience. It is an instrument of death. Peter explains this unmistakably:

“For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps.”
— 1 Peter 2:21 (NKJV)

Christ’s suffering was not redemptive for us alone; it was instructional for us. If the sinless Son of God suffered in obedience, His followers should not expect a path free of pain. The World Is Hostile to Christ—and Therefore to His People. Scripture never portrays the world as neutral toward Christ. It is fallen, resistant, and hostile to truth.

Jesus tells His disciples:

“If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you.”
— John 15:18 (NKJV)

Christian suffering is not random. It is relational. The hatred directed at believers is ultimately aimed at Christ Himself.

“Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.”
— 2 Timothy 3:12 (NKJV)

This is not conditional. It is descriptive. Godliness provokes opposition because it exposes darkness.

Suffering Bears Witness

Jesus taught that suffering would become a platform for testimony—not a silencing mechanism.

“But it will turn out for you as an occasion for testimony.”
— Luke 21:13 (NKJV)

When comfort is removed, authenticity is revealed. When faith is tested, Christ is displayed. Paul understood this from prison:

“But I want you to know, brethren, that the things which happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel.”
— Philippians 1:12 (NKJV)

The gospel does not advance in spite of suffering. Often, it advances through it.

Suffering Refines Faith

Scripture repeatedly compares suffering to fire—not to destroy faith, but to purify it.

“That the genuineness of your faith… though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”
— 1 Peter 1:7 (NKJV)

Faith untested remains theoretical. Faith tested becomes unshakable. This is why James says:

“My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.”
— James 1:2–3 (NKJV)

Joy here is not emotional pleasure—it is confidence in God’s purpose.

Suffering Is Temporary; Glory Is Eternal.

Scripture never minimizes pain, but it consistently places it in eternal perspective.

Paul writes:

“For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.”
— 2 Corinthians 4:17 (NKJV)

The suffering of this present age is real—but it is not final.

“If we endure, we shall also reign with Him.”
— 2 Timothy 2:12 (NKJV)

Endurance is not about survival. It is about faithfulness until Christ returns.

Why This Truth Must Be Reclaimed Now

When believers are not taught why they suffer they grow bitter, they become offended, they withdraw, or they compromise.

Jesus warned of this very danger:

“And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another.”
— Matthew 24:10 (NKJV)

Offense is not caused by suffering alone—it is caused by misunderstood suffering.

The early Church endured because it expected hardship and understood its purpose. The modern Church must relearn this truth if it is to stand.

A Call to Right Understanding

Christians do not suffer because God is absent. They suffer because God is at work.

“For whom the Lord loves He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives.”
— Hebrews 12:6 (NKJV)

God uses suffering to conform us to Christ, detach us from the world, strengthen our witness, and prepare us for glory. This is not defeat. This is discipleship.

Closing Prayer

Father, give us understanding hearts. Teach us not to despise suffering nor to misunderstand it. Strengthen our faith, refine our love, and keep us faithful to Christ. May we endure not in our own strength, but through prayer, obedience, and hope in Your promises. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

From the series: Will He Find Faith? — Prayer in the Last Days

_{Scripture quotations are from the New King James Version®.}
^{Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.}

There is a question Jesus asked that should sober every believer:

“Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?”
— Luke 18:8 (NKJV)

This question was not asked in a vacuum. It came at the end of a parable about persistent prayer. Jesus was not questioning His ability to save. He was questioning whether faith sustained by prayer would still remain when pressure, lawlessness, and persecution increased.

Scripture never presents the Christian life as a pursuit of comfort. It presents it as a calling to witness, and often, a calling to suffer.

“For to you it has been granted on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake.”
— Philippians 1:29 (NKJV)

The believer is not left on earth because God is indifferent. We are here because there is still work to be done—and prayer is how that work is sustained.

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Prayer Comes First—Because It Changes Us First

Prayer does not begin by changing the world. Prayer begins by changing the heart of the one who prays. This is why Jesus commands:

“Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.”
— Luke 21:36 (NKJV)

Prayer is not escapism. Prayer is how the believer stands when escape is not offered. Without prayer fear grows, bitterness takes root, love cools, and faith weakens’. With prayer the heart is guarded, love is preserved, discernment remains sharp, and endurance becomes possible. This is not theory. This is survival.

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Prayer and the Armor of God

When the apostle Paul calls believers to put on the full armor of God, he does something deliberate. After naming every piece of armor, he concludes with this:

“Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints.”
— Ephesians 6:18 (NKJV)

Prayer is not listed as another piece of armor because prayer is the posture in which the armor is worn. An unpraying believer may know the truth—but will fight in the flesh. A praying believer stands in Christ.

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Elijah: A Man Like Us—Who Prayed

Scripture removes every excuse for prayerlessness.

“Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly…”
— James 5:17 (NKJV)

Elijah lived in national apostasy, corrupt leadership, widespread idolatry, He was discouraged. He was afraid. He was weary. And yet—he prayed, and God moved. Not because Elijah was extraordinary, but because God is faithful. The same God hears now.

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Why This Matters Now

Jesus warned that in the last days:

“Because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.”
— Matthew 24:12 (NKJV)

Cold love does not begin with hatred. It begins with prayerlessness. When the Church stops praying faith erodes, love cools, and endurance fails. But Jesus gives a promise to those who pray:

“Men always ought to pray and not lose heart.”
— Luke 18:1 (NKJV)

Prayer is how the believer does not lose heart.

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A Call to the Church

We are not called to predict dates. We are not called to preserve comfort. We are not called to win cultural power. We are called to remain faithful, endure in love, pray without ceasing, and bear witness to Christ.

“Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.”
— Revelation 14:12 (NKJV)

This series begins here—because without prayer, none of what follows can stand.

Closing Prayer

Father in heaven,

You have not left us on this earth by accident, nor have You forgotten Your people. You have called us according to Your purpose, and You have appointed us for this hour. Teach us to understand why we are here.

Lord Jesus, You asked whether You would find faith on the earth when You return. Keep us from a faith that withers under pressure or grows cold in the face of lawlessness. Grant us a faith that endures—rooted in prayer, sustained by truth, and anchored in You.

Search our hearts, O God. Where fear has crept in, replace it with trust. Where bitterness has taken root, restore love. Where weariness has set in, renew our strength. Guard us from prayerlessness, for we know that without abiding in You we can do nothing.

Teach us to watch and to pray. Not so that we may escape suffering, but that we may stand, faithful, sober, and unmoved. Make us a people who do not lose heart, who do not compromise truth, and who do not grow silent when witness is required.

Strengthen Your Church, Lord. Unite us in humility, perseverance, and intercession. Teach us to pray not only for ourselves, but for all the saints, and even for those who oppose us—that they too may come to the full knowledge of You.

Until the day You return, keep us faithful to the end. May You find us watching, praying, loving, and enduring—clothed in Your righteousness and trusting in Your promises.

We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and our hope. Amen.