Prayer Bowls
In 1 Thessalonians 5:17, we are told to “Never stop praying.” Jesus tells a parable about a persistent window in Luke 18:1-8 which has the same message.
But how long are we to keep praying when no apparent answer to that prayer is forthcoming?
There’s a concept that Dutch Sheets talks about that we believe provides an answer to that question: prayer bowls. Revelation 5:8 speaks of bowls in heaven that contain our prayers. Dutch suggests that our prayers continue to fill those bowls until they are filled and ready to be poured out, which releases God’s power on earth.
We can’t see into the bowls, of course, so we have no idea how full any particular bowl is. Thus we’re told to pray, pray without ceasing, and just keep praying.
This is as good an explanation as we’ve seen for stories like:
* someone awakening from a coma after a full year of prayer
* someone accepting Jesus after 20 years of prayer
* Susan and I were “prayed into” our church after more than 2 years of prayer by others.
So how long do we keep praying? Until the prayer is answered or it can no longer be answered. God is often working in many lives at once and much of that work remains behind the scenes to us. Trust Him. Who knows–that next prayer you send up could be the one to tip the prayer bowl and release God’s power.
–Joe Vigliano
February 20th, 2008 at 7:42 pm
Great concept. Really powerful. Thanks.
October 10th, 2008 at 4:38 pm
This is true. Sometimes our prayers are answered after death. My mother kept praying for me,but it wasn’t answered untill the bowl was filled up and tipped over after her death.