Be A Witness For Christ

 The Importance Of Christian Witnessing

NOTICE: Dear Brethren, we have no article for this week, however, please be blessed by reading again through our encouraging witnessing article. Remember, businesses are buying and selling daily to remain economically viable, likewise, Christians need to witness daily to save souls from HELL and God's pending Judgment. VERY IMPORTANT: JUST READ THE FOLLOWING PORTION OF SCRIPTURE BELOW!

"Yet when I preach the gospel, I cannot boast, for I am compelled to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! If I preach voluntarily, I have a reward; if not voluntarily, I am simply discharging the trust committed to me" (1 Corinthians 9:17 NIV).

This an introduction to Witnessing. We have further explored the subject and shared more in Witnessing Part I, Witnessing Part II and Exuding Good Fruit While Sharing The Gospel articles on this website.

Humility and Obedience: Marks of a Witness

Many Christians have already "packed up" to leave for Heaven, but work must continue for some of us and we encourage you to work, work. The end is not yet; it is still daytime, so we must work in the Lord's vineyard.

As a prelude to this article, it is said by world leaders, some religious groups and the one world religion advocacy groups that all faiths point essentially to the same God. Our Lord Jesus Christ categorically states: “I am the Way, and the Truth and the Life NO ONE (emphasis mine) comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6 NIV). One of the most significant endorsements of this eternal Truth is our Lord’s throne on the right-hand side of God the Father as our Advocate and Intercessor (Colossians 3:1; 1 John 2:1). Do any of the other faiths have a representation of God? I know of none.

We will briefly examine a few approaches to witnessing and possible hindrances. We base our teaching on a collective experience of more than 10 years involving more than 15 people and lately less than five people. During this time, the Lord acted as a “Coach” on a personal level to each one of us. Some of us needed more encouragement through rebukes, while some were commended by the Lord Jesus Christ as being faithful witnesses. If one is appraised as being a faithful witness by the Lord, since we know the Lord’s testimony is higher and valid, it therefore would mean the individuals concerned had consistently and obediently witnessed at every opportunity.

At the beginning of our witnessing assignment, many of us did not know how to witness, as this was a new experience for our prayer members whom the Lord called into witnessing. Fortunately, I had been involved in witnessing as a sole witness a few years earlier, so this served as an encouragement.

Honestly, we did not like and welcome the idea of witnessing especially at night, we reasoned through a deep conviction that if we do not go and witness in obedience to the Lord, we might as well forfeit our salvation. Yes! You heard correctly, forfeit our salvation because serving the Lord means being OBEDIENT even if it caused inconvenience. We could not bear the condemnation of our conscience, this was the Lord Jesus Christ speaking and commanding. There are numerous Biblical examples of people who went through the severe test and life-threatening situations to obey God (Genesis 22:1-18; Exodus 3:1-22; 2 Corinthians 11:22-33). We were confronted by a similar choice, that of obedience. The week before we went witnessing, I boldly announced to the team of my wife and I’s determination to go witnessing even if it meant just the two of us.

Consequently, from a team of 14 people that prayed with us only four volunteered to witness with my wife and I. As for the others, they offered all kinds of excuses and left. We relied on some of these brethren who left to transport us. Since the distance from our house to the area designated by the Lord was about 2 Kilometres away. This was very discouraging, but we were determined to obey the Lord and He graciously provided us with transport. The Lord does not take kindly to excuses, one sister was rebuked by the Lord for her love of excuses and this made us cautious. He expects His children to respond in obedience (Matthew 21:28-31).

Scripturally, we have evidence that the Lord rewards FAITHFULNESS and Him being the Faithful Witness and Shepherd of the Flock, He promised to be with us until the end of time (Matthew 25:21; Matthew 28:20; Revelation 1:5). The Lord, in His sinless nature, concerned Himself more on doing the work of our Heavenly Father (John 4:34-35). He did not seek to do His own will but He was faithfully obedient to the Father (Matthew 26:39; Philippians 2:6-11. With this in mind, we are admonished to have the same attitude as that of our Lord Jesus Christ — that of unquestionable obedience (Philippians 2:5).

While it is good and acceptable to learn from the experiences of others, especially if we are being edified, Biblical examples of obedience should be our benchmark (1 Corinthians 10:11). The Lord has purposely provided a written record of teachings and His dealing with people so that all future generations can learn and obey. As a follower and believers in Christ Jesus, we have an obligation to witness. The scriptures address you and me as an individual, and we will be judged individually (Romans 2:6; Matthew 24:14). So your response should be to obey!

Why Should I Witness and What is My Message?

We should witness because of the CROSS and to warn and save souls from going to HELL! (John 3:16-18; Romans 6:23). Man’s greatest need is to be forgiven of his sins. Believers or witnesses GO out presenting the gospel of salvation with the sole purpose of warning people that God the Creator, is also Judge, and He will hold us accountable if we do not Repent of our sins and accepts Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour (Acts 3:19; Romans 10:9-10). We also witness to tell people “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23 NIV). As humans, we have a sin problem and sin brought guilt, guilt points to an offence and an offence awaits judgement (Romans 3:11-12). While the points considered below are not exhaustive accounts, they list among the most basic and serious. We, therefore, witness to:

• Tell people, we all have sinned and need a saviour “We have redemption through His blood….” No BLOOD No FORGIVENESS of sins (Colossians 1:14; Romans 3:23; Hebrews 9:22).
• Warn people that God is going to Judge us and hold us accountable for things we have done and said and if guilty ultimately result in Hell and a lake of fire punishment (Romans 2:6-11; John 3:17-18; Revelation 20:12-15; Hebrews 9:27).
• Point people to a Saviour and so escape God’s Judgement (John 3:18; Romans 10:13; Acts 16:31).
• Teach and correct people to lead a life of obedience in Christ (Matthew 28:19; 1 Timothy 4: 11-16; 2 Timothy 3:16).
• Proclaim to people that we will receive the crown of eternal life and immeasurable Heavenly rewards for believing in and obeying Christ Jesus (John 3:16; Revelation 2:7, 10, 26).

This is a basic presentation of the gospel truth and whatever is built here upon is faith, obedience and a new witness.

The Individual Believer as a Witness

Furthermore, our witnessing was not just confined to our official calling to witness in areas designated by the Lord; He also admonished us to witness to our own families, colleagues and people in our immediate vicinity. In short, we live a witnessing lifestyle. Right now, my wife and I just arrived from visiting a widow who lost her husband recently. We took some gospel tracts and went witnessing on our way to her. We derive pleasure and joy from witnessing. This is our happiness, not the world or its material wealthy. Souls for the Kingdom of God are our business. We encourage you to do likewise. Beloved brothers and sisters, YOU DO NOT NEED THE CHURCH OR THE PASTOR’S PERMISSION TO WITNESS IT IS YOUR INDIVIDUAL CALLING AND RESPONSIBILITY TO BE A WITNESS.

I am stressing this because many, many believers are discouraged by their pastors not to witness. The command to witness has to come from them, this is wicked and unscriptural. God is calling you and the Scriptures are addressing you as an individual and not just the church leadership. They do not have a different Bible. We all get our instructions from the same Bible. I do encourage the unity of purpose and as a body, we collectively participate in all Church activities, but we are equally called as individual members who have a responsibility to witness, pray and bear fruit (Matthew 20:1-16). I am not encouraging rebellion here. You must witness. When the earlier church was persecuted, they did not wait for the apostles to give them a command to witness wherever they were scattered, but they witnessed for they had the word of truth with them and signs followed (Acts 8: 4-8). I was once labelled as having an independent spirit when I went out witnessing with a few friends on a Saturday afternoon. One pastor, instead of sharing my joy told me he would have rebuked me if he knew I took some of his members with me to witness. We went out not as against the Church, but as witnesses (Mark 9:40). In his thesis to the Catholic Church, Martin Luther – the reformer, loosened the grip of bondage the Church had over the conscience of the individual believers and preached a gospel of saving grace through personal faith.

Kindly allow me to add this. Today, certain scriptures are being used to bind believers into submission to church rules. Those scriptures apply to the unity of service as a body of believers (Hebrews 13:17; 1Thessalonians 5:12-13), and not as much as a general rule. This is for collective unity and “until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining…” (Ephesians 4:13). Likewise our Lord Jesus also said: “A student is not above his teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher” (Luke 6:40). Hold on! I am not done yet, we are to submit in obedience while we are being taught until we ‘reach unity in faith' and ‘be like our teacher’. This then is not a life-long submission unless you have chosen to remain an infant in the faith and ‘bury your talent’ (Matthew 25:17-18). I HAVE WARNED YOU! Before I conclude kindly allow me to stress this point; I know of many ineffective brethren who are still waiting for a ‘Word’ from the Lord before they witness. Let me tell you, you do not need a calling from the Lord to testify about your faith. This is your natural answer to those ‘who ask you to give the reason for the hope that you have…’ (1 Peter 3:15). This is your testimony, and you must GO and “tell how much God has done for you” (Luke 8:39). Heaven is populated through the testimony of individual believers who respond in obedience and go out witnessing (Acts 8:4).

Who Should We Witness To?

“Therefore GO and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19-20). This gospel is for all people everywhere and all believers are called to witness. We show no fear or favour when presenting the message of faith. The apostle Paul in his zeal to take the good news to people, targeted every kind of group, and religious belief (Acts 17; Acts 18:4). Some believers get discouraged to witness to some denominational groups within the Christian sect. While I recognise that it is somewhat very difficult to witness ‘religious’ people, we must not be discouraged to present the gospel to them. The Holy Spirit convicts all people (John 16:8). There are dozens of testimonies about people who either followed a cult or some other religion who got saved through witnessing and testimonies.

Our first witnessing assignment from the Lord was to go into our own community and immediate neighbourhood. Like the disciples, we witnessed door-to-door with gospel tracts. If we found no one home we would leave a tract in their mailboxes or by the fence. I strongly encouraged our witnessing team not to allow anyone to pass without us being a witness to them. Some church folk labelled us ‘mad’, but if it is to save souls, Praise the Lord! I have no problem being called names. This was our ‘Jerusalem’ (Acts 1:8) and soon after we finished our community, we thought our work was completed, but the Lord now sends us to our neighbouring towns and suburbs.

Being based in South Africa as a multiracial society, the Lord sends us to all racial and religious groups. The language was not a problem as most South Africans speak and read English. We also have witnesses who are fluent in more than one language and this serves as a great advantage to our message. If you go out as a sole witness, target your language group. God is sending you to those who understand you.

Testimony

the Lord once gave Charis a vision about a friend I knew personally; in fact, I drank with him when I followed the pattern of the world. This friend’s family adhered to the old apostolic teachings. He had no idea about the doctrinal differences churches have, he just believed in the God of the Bible. I witnessed him on many occasions. If you wish to read more about this way of belief please go to Google and search “Old Apostolic Church - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.”

Anyway, I went up to this friend and told him what the Lord has shown Charis, he was convicted and believed the warning (to stop smoking marijuana, drink alcohol and accept Christ as Lord and Saviour). He gave his heart to the Lord. I subsequently blessed him with a Bible and encouraged him to attend church, and to read and pray daily. Because he was chronically sick, he stopped indulging in addictive habits. The Lord promised to heal him and He gave me a message through Charis to preach about “healing in Christ.” His sister, who is a strong follower of this sect, vehemently opposed him so he decided not to attend our meeting. I was deeply discouraged and we asked the Lord what we should do to get him to our meetings, the Lord responded by saying that we must not be discouraged and we should just continue to pray for him. I also continued to encourage this brother to seek the Lord in obedience. The Lord in His Faithfulness touched this brother and we witnessed his health improving drastically as he started putting on weight. Unfortunately, He got involved with his old friends and went back to his former habits, some three (3) months later he suddenly died fulfilling the prophetic vision the Lord showed Charis.

In conclusion, why wait? So pray and take your Bible and a few gospel tracts or CDs and GO! Starting first in your neighbourhood or witnessing to colleagues, friends and immediate family members can be a great start, they will reject your message ridicule and discourage you, but confidence and faith grow through these tests (Acts 7:1-60).

Witnessing Resources

• Witnessing - Part I article
• Witnessing - Part II article
• Exuding Good Fruit While Sharing The Gospel 
• Fellowship Tract League: They provide free tracts and they send them faster if you donate a small donation to cover the shipping/postage costs.

Conforming To Worldly Lifestyle

 Worldly Christians

"Don’t become like the people of this world. Instead, change the way you think. Then you will always be able to determine what God really wants—what is good, pleasing, and perfect" (Romans 12:2 GWT).

Vision by Brother Glenn (20/10/2022)

I received a vision from the Lord just before I woke up for prayer on the above date. I got up with a vision, I was alerted to an object that an artist was busy painting. Upon a closer look, I noticed that the paint canister could spray out words. The first words were, like a hymn of praise as if to encourage Heaven to speed up our redemption (Revelation 6:10). 'Heaven, Heaven come down' and as I moved closer to get a better view, someone appeared while looking smilingly at me and said, 'Heavenly Father, we must love our Heavenly Father'. End. Brief interpretation, The Lord is NEAR!

Reminder: Brethren, we encourage you to pray very hard for Europe, the Lord says a great storm is brewing and it is going to start there which is going to have a devastating effect around the world. This world needs our diligent, consistent, and daily prayers. 

Not so long ago, I stepped into a shopping mall and was assisted by a very friendly young man. After I was done shopping, we went outside and my attention was distracted by the many tattoos he had on his arms. The wording on his arms was attracting attention as he was expressing his love and appreciation for God.  As it was, not only did his arms glorify God Almighty, he gave a good confession too. However, based on the content of our conversation, I perceived that the young man did not have a relationship with God in the born-again type of experience which I immediately introduced to him. At the same time, I pointed him to the scriptural reference that forbids body tattooing (Leviticus 19:28) which is what he wasn't aware of. 

Does it mean God, would reject him? Not at all, the Lord revealed to us that the following scripture applies to all people who did things in ignorance and who made a decision to follow the Lord Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 7:20-24). In addition, we need to emphasize thought that the repetition of the thing we repented from constitutes willful sinning (Romans 6:2; 1 John 3:9; Hebrews 10:26-31). 

Furthermore, if you are in a Church that encourages or allows worldly living and you follow because your pastor or the band or worship leader dresses inappropriately or wears make-up, you are being deceived, the Bible is your guide to a good, clean Christian living and not the opinion of your pastor or leaders (1 Peter 3:3-4). Now, just as the law (in any given country) forbids certain behavior and punishes those who violate a certain provision, likewise the Lord will use scriptural evidence to remind us of our disobedience and not so much the opinion of our pastors or teachers. 

In conclusion, let us live in obedience leading our lives in submission to the Lord's will.

Blessed Grace

Brother Glenn

Christian's Should Not Be Vengeful

“Friends, do not avenge yourselves; instead, leave room for His wrath. For it is written: Vengeance belongs to me; I will repay, says the Lord” (Romans 12:19).

Being Vengeful Issues From A Hateful Spirit

Naturally, the spirit of revenge is well embedded in all of us. We are often driven by a desire to receive some remedy for some pain or loss we suffered. Biblically, it is not wrong to desire justice (Deuteronomy 16:18) since God established this principle. It is true, our response against someone who have acted wrongfully against us is often motivated by our own sense of how justice should be meted out, and often our own biasness will deny the offending person a fair opportunity to receive a just punishment. As it is, when we seek justice for ourselves against a cause or someone, our appreciation for justice is influenced by our feelings which may give rise to injustice against the other person. Now briefly, and for example, as part of the due process of law, most courts carefully examine all available evidence in a bid to establish the truth before drawing a conclusion and awarding a decision for or against an accused or an accuser. While our human courts are limited in establishing the truth fully in most matters of dispute, their decisions still play a crucial role in society in enforcing positive actions while discouraging self-motivating negative reactions. Therefore, the role the governing authorities play in discouraging arbitrary actions in society helps in maintaining some order and solving some disputes (Romans 13:1-5).

Biblically, God commands us not to pursue revenge against someone who has wronged us (Leviticus 19:18; Romans 12:17). Instead, He commands us to overcome evil with good (Romans 12:21). Meaning our response should not be to inflict harm which would render us guilty before God. Understandably, when we are wronged, we argue in our defense and often our motive is to mete out what we think or believe is due revenge. By commanding us not to seek revenge, the Lord knows that hateful feelings are what motivates us, which is evil. At best, revenge is an expression of intended hateful feelings to cause harm. If we act from revenge we leave no room for corrective action, mercy and forgiveness and these are some of the remedies God gave in human society (Matthew 18:32-35).

I need to point out that this is not a study in social justice, but as an observation and useful to help Christians use the authorities in society to seek remedy. As a fact, we are often told that Christians must not take people to court because the Bible says “If any of you has a dispute with another, do you dare to take it before the ungodly for judgment instead of before the Lord's people?” (1 Corinthians 6:1). Now brethren, we need to understand that the apostle Paul is referring to disputes in the church and among brethren and not matters relating to social issues in society (1 Corinthians 6:5-6). As a fact, when the Jewish religious authorities persecuted Paul he wisely used the governing authorities of the day to help him find justice and to defend his faith (see chapters in Acts 22 -26). Furthermore, kindly allow me to clarify a point: it is always good to forgive an offender unconditionally; however, we are not commanded by the Lord not to pursue justice through our courts and of course after first seeking peaceful solutions from our offenders and authorities in our communities. When we pursue a matter legally especially where we voluntarily and contractually went into an agreement, our motive should be to seek action or compliance to settle our dispute with the other person and not revenge. Legally, we allow an independent person with knowledge about certain laws governing our relations to play an arbitral role and decide a matter between us and an offender in the interest of peaceful co-habitation. There are various teachings in the Bible, which encourage social justice (Exodus 18:24-26; 1 Kings 3:16-28; 2 Samuel 15:2; Isaiah 1:17).

How Worldly Movies Encourage Revenge

In many action films and TV shows, the plot which some movie directors and producers use is revenge and often in brutal ways. They subtly provoke an evil anger in their audience by using revenge as a motive in their message. This has also contributed to desensitizing Christians on the seriousness of this sin. Now brethren, as God fearing Christians, the Lord expects us to judge our motives in the light of His Word, giving love and forgiveness to an offender and pointing them to correction (2 Timothy 3:16). For the Lord Himself taught and clarified that we should extend love and forgiveness even to our enemies (Matthew 5:38-48). While the death of saints (the righteous) is precious in the sight of the Lord as they are reunited with Him in everlasting peace (Psalm 116:15), He also takes no pleasure (or delights) in the death of the wicked; His desire is for them to repent and turn away from their wicked ways so that they may live (Ezekiel 18:23; 33:11). God loves all His children so much (John 3:16); He “causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous” (Matthew 5:45).

Allow God to Revenge and Fight Our Cause

Let me share a short testimony. A few years ago a very faithful member of our ministry was viciously assaulted and abused by evil men. This precious sister was left paralyzed with physical and emotional scars. The assault she endured left her permanently crippled in her left leg. From what we have witnessed, the abuse she suffered would provoke any person to hateful feelings and unforgiveness. However, this precious sister opted to obey the Lord and forgive her offenders without reservations. She shared with us that the night she was attacked and hospitalized, the Lord appeared to her on her bedside and commanded her to forgive the men who had abused and assaulted her and that He would punish them for what they did to her. As you may imagine she was still coming to terms with her ordeal with the wounds and pain still fresh in her mind, yet God asked her to forgive and she confessed that she was somewhat confused but not bitter and she forgave them.

It is a fact that some people find it very hard to forgive offenders immediately because some of us still need to work through it emotionally. I have personally counselled many people who found it very difficult to forgive others and some needed weeks, months and even years to work through their hateful feelings. Often, unforgiveness leads some people to curse and wish bad things on those who offended them. Some even revenge by withholding forgiveness. Their mind is focused on repaying evil and to their own loss. Beloved, like we shared in our Being Humble message, if the Lord would have come or we die while still struggling to forgive, we might be denied entry into Heaven! The Lord Jesus clearly warns us that if we do not forgive others their sins, our Father will not forgive our sins either (Matthew 6:15; Luke 11:26). Therefore, it is in our best interest to “bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you” (Colossians 3:13).

Similarly, about three years ago the Lord sent three of our daughters, between 10 and 12 years at the time to witness and share the gospel in a certain area. While they were busy handing out gospel tracts, an unknown man approached them and without warning took off his belt and started spanking them in public for no reason. Being humiliated they did not utter a word against the man; instead the Lord provided an elderly woman to rebuke their assailant. When the Lord visited Charis that evening, He said that they should forgive the man who attacked them and that He will repay the offender.

I also endured an attack and what made the situation uncomfortable is that I had to forgive and share my house with a young man who maliciously and violently attacked me. The attack left me disabled and fractured in my right hand with four (4) of my fingers badly bruised and nonfunctional. I repeatedly heard from the Lord in an audible voice, “But anyone who hates a brother or sister is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness. They do not know where they are going, because the darkness has blinded them” (1 John 2:11). Admittedly, I did harbor strong feelings of hatred and I wanted to take revenge against the young man. However, as strong as these were, I persisted in prayer daily asking the Lord to forgive me and to deliver me from those hateful feelings. How I received my deliverance was I would go pray against and resist those hateful feelings every time they came over me until the Lord set me free and replaced those bitter feelings with a compassion and love for the young man.

Likewise, another sister in the ministry was recently emotionally hurt and offended by a relative. She found herself arguing and debating daily in her mind with this relative while harboring ill feelings towards her. The way she received deliverance was by acknowledging this as a sin before God each morning and asking for God’s help not to argue in her mind with her relative during the course of day (Psalm 50:15). Each time she would start debating in her mind, she would choose to repent, ask for forgiveness, forgive the relative, and pray blessings over her (Luke 6:27-28; 31). She did this for a few weeks until the Lord delivered her from this bondage. She no longer debates with her relative but feels peace towards her and is praying for her salvation.

As an encouragement to you our dear brothers and sisters, please don’t allow the devil to deceive you! Some of the skillful devices of the devil is to make us feel sorry for ourselves and have us think that others (offenders) are taking advantage of us especially if we choose to love and forgive them. We might be looked at as fools, but we are preciously living out the values the Lord taught and stood for.

We therefore encourage you brethren to leave room for God’s wrath (Romans 12:19) and allow him to sanctify us in His truth and will. Let us remember not to allow revenge to steal our salvation! This is not worthwhile since our years of faithful service in the Lord are about to be rewarded soon!

Whatever we do, let’s work at it with all our hearts, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since we know that we will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Jesus Christ we are serving. Anyone who does wrong will be repaid for their wrongs, and there is no favoritism (Colossians 3:23-25).

I encourage you with these words from the Lord to us recently: “I am READY to come – SOON!”

In Conclusion, have you been harboring grudges against anyone, and seeking to revenge or pay back in your own terms? Have you been trapped in anger and unforgiveness against someone who wronged you? Remember, vengeance belongs to God (Deuteronomy 32:35;43; Psalm 94:1-2 NKJV). Some great men of God like Paul and King David knew this and although they were wronged, they left vengeance up to God (2 Timothy 4:14; 1 Samuel 26:10-11). Our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ endured much hostility from sinners against Himself, yet He did not retaliate but forgave even while on the cross (1 Peter 2:23; Hebrews 12:3-4; Luke 23:34). The Bible admonishes us neither to say "I’ll pay you back for this wrong!"(Proverbs 20:22) nor to say "I'll do to them as they have done to me; I'll pay them back for what they did" (Proverbs 24:29). Therefore, please repent and pray for deliverance.

If you would like to accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, please pray this Prayer of Sincere Repentance to get you started. For any questions or comments on this article or our ministry, please contact us.

Blessed Peace,

Brother Glenn and Preparing for the Kingdom Ministry Team.

Praying Without Ceasing

Prayer Has No Ending 

“Pray without ceasing,” Paul said; “in everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. Quench not the Spirit.” (1 Thes. 5:17–19 NIV.)

 Many professing Christians are struggling to trust the Lord for their healing, deliverance, and salvation and the Lord revealed to me that the spirit of doubt enters Christians because they look at the suffering of others and doubt Him. Let me qualify this statement with this testimony, a few years we prayed for months non-stop for the healing of a certain woman who was totally paralyzed and bedridden for many, many years. We asked the Lord if should we continue to pray for her a few months thereafter and the Lord said no! Why? Because many of her closest family members had lost faith in the Lord and they were not praying for her healing and salvation (James 5:15). 

In addition, from experience, I have learned that if we stop praying daily for the healing of a sick person to recover, and for his or her salvation we forfeit the reward the Lord had in store for us (2 Corinthians 5:10). The value of intercessory prayers for family, friends, the body of believers and our governments should be any truly god-fearing Christians daily commitment (1 Timothy 2:1). 

My brethren as a point of emphasis, the Lord has burdened all born-again Christians with the task of praying for those close to you like friends, family, and colleagues. I can remember some time ago, when members of my wives' prayer group started dropping out, the Lord encouraged her saying that even if she prays alone she could pray for about 1000 people (Joshua 23:10) and I can tell you, it's been more than 10 years on my wife is still faithfully committed to her prayers in obedience to our Lord. As a gentle reminder of the Lord's Words, you are never alone nor lonely but God is with you in every prayer battle (Luke 6:12; 22:43; 2 Kings 6:17). 

Thus, in conclusion, this message is to encourage you not to fall prey to discouragement, the Lord is with you, pray on that's the passion the Lord gave you.

Blessed Grace

Brother Glenn