Monday, September 14, 2015

Formula 409

Formula 409 was created in 1957 by the Rouff brothers, three scientists from Michigan.  The brothers worked for Gem Products, an industrial cleaning solution manufacturer.  The Formula 409 name is actually a tribute to the tenacity of the brothers who were determined to formulate the greatest grease-cutting, dirt-destroying, bacteria cutting cleaner on the planet.  Creating the ultimate cleaner doesn’t just happen on the first try.  And it didn’t happen on the 101st or the 301st.  It wasn’t until batch number 409 that they were finally satisfied.  And so the name stuck.

What if we applied the Formula 409 principle to our prayer life? Never giving up when we’re praying on a situation, or interceding for a family member or a friend.

In 1Thessalonians 5:17 TLB, Paul commands us: “Always keep on praying.”  There are many instances in the Bible, where persistent prayer paid off not only for the person praying, but for entire nations.

Moses prayed for forty days and forty nights, seeking God’s grace for the rebellious Israelites.  “As for me, I stayed on the mountain in the Lord’s presence for forty days and nights, as I had done the first time. And once again the Lord listened to my pleas and agreed not to destroy you.” (Deut. 10:10)
 
In Luke 18, Jesus taught His disciples, through a parable, “that they should always pray and not give up . . . And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly”. (Luke 18:1-8)

Hannah, the wife of Elkanah, was barren.  Elkanah’s other wife, Peninnah, would taunt Hannah year after year because Hannah had no children.  Each year as they traveled to the Tabernacle, Hannah would be reduced to tears from Peninnah’s taunting. But Hannah kept praying, pouring her heart out to the Lord. So much so, that Eli the priest thought she was drunk. Hannah declared that she was ‘praying out of great anguish and sorrow.’   The scripture tells us that, ‘The Lord remembered her plea, and in due time she gave birth to a son.’ (1Samuel 1:1-20)

Don’t live your life offering the Lord only crisis and emergency prayers.  Be persistent in prayer, and pray believing that you will receive.  “I tell you, you can pray for anything, and if you believe that you’ve received it, it will be yours.” Mark 11:24

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