Proper 24 (2025)

Paris Otterbein

*Opening Prayer

*Call to Worship

(based on Psalm 121)

Leader: I lift up my eyes to the hills—where does my help come from?

People: Our help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.

Leader: The Lord watches over us; He will not let our feet be moved.

People: The One who keeps Israel neither slumbers nor sleeps.

Leader: The Lord is our keeper, our shade at our right hand.

People: The Lord guards our going out and our coming in, from this time on and forevermore.

Leader: Come, let us worship the God who is ever present, ever faithful, ever near.

People: We lift our hearts in trust and thanksgiving to the Lord of our journey. Amen

Hymn #51 Guide Me O Thou Great Jehovah

Scripture Reading

Genesis 32:22–31 - Dana

Genesis 32:22–31 NIV

That night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two female servants and his eleven sons and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. After he had sent them across the stream, he sent over all his possessions. So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak. When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man. Then the man said, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.” But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” The man asked him, “What is your name?” “Jacob,” he answered. Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome.” Jacob said, “Please tell me your name.” But he replied, “Why do you ask my name?” Then he blessed him there. So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, “It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared.” The sun rose above him as he passed Peniel, and he was limping because of his hip.

Sharing of Joys and Concerns

Hymn #433, v. 1 Sweet Hour Of Prayer

Silent Prayer

Pastoral Prayer

Lord's Prayer

Children's Message

Scripture Reading

Luke 18:1–8 NIV

Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought. And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’ “For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come and attack me!’ ” And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. 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. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”

Sermon The Prayer of Persistence

One of the dangers of a preaching series on the subject of prayer is that someone will hear “I need to pray more.” And maybe you do. But I’m not challenging anyone here to wake up at 3:30 and pray for 4 hours in order to prove they are a “real” Christian.

You see, if you measure the length of time you pray rather than the quality of the prayer you pray, you have already lost the battle. You are placing more value on the amount of time you spend than the quality of the relationship.

But having said that, I want to say, we can also give up praying too quickly. In other words, it’s possible to pray too little for something to happen. Which is why Jesus tells the parable we find here in Luke 18.

Now, the story itself is pretty straightforward with only two characters. The judge who is described as neither fearing God or caring what people thought and the widow who had in some way been wronged.

Notice, Jesus doesn’t explain if the “wrong” was to this widow a major or minor infraction but she believed she deserved justice. So she went to the one who could give that to her.

Now, pause there for a minute. When we experience some type of wrong or infraction. When something doesn’t seem fair, do we go to the one who can give us justice? Or do we try to handle it ourselves? This widow goes to the judge.

And not just once but over and over. Making her plea to him. Grant me justice. Grant me justice. Grant me justice. And because of her persistence, the judge grants her request and gives her the justice she is seeking.

Now, there are two aspects of this parable that are strikingly different in our day to day lives. First, this judge was described as “uncaring”. Our judge, God, is the complete opposite of that. And secondly, the widow was persistent in her request. I wonder if the same can be said about us? Or maybe we tend to ask God one time for something and then that’s it.

Again, this isn’t about time spent in prayer but the persistence of your prayer. I want to share with you the story of a man named Rees Howells. Rees Howells was a Welsh coal miner who lived in the early 1900s. He came from a humble background — not a preacher by training, not a man of wealth or position — but a man who learned what it meant to walk with God in prayer. During the great Welsh Revival, he experienced a deep work of the Holy Spirit that changed his life completely. From that point on, he became what many would call an intercessor — someone who stands in the gap for others through prayer until God gives the answer.

He later founded the Bible College of Wales, where students learned not only Scripture but also the power of prayer and faith. During World War II, he and his students became known for their daily intercession for world events — praying specifically for battles, leaders, and nations — believing that prayer could move history. But Rees’ greatest lessons didn’t begin on a world stage. They began quietly — in small rooms, with small needs — where he learned to listen to the voice of God, to take on another person’s burden, and to pray until heaven responded.

One of the earliest and most powerful examples of this in Rees Howells’ life came when God asked him to pray for a dying man named Mr. Lazarus. It wasn’t a simple prayer request — it was a call to stand in faith until God gave an answer. Rees would later say that this was the moment he truly began to understand what it meant to pray through — to keep praying, not out of desperation, but out of obedience, until the Holy Spirit witnesses that the victory is won.

Let me share that story with you. It began quietly enough — just another visit to a man on his deathbed. Rees Howells had been ministering among the poor in Wales when word came that a believer named Mr. Lazarus lay gravely ill. The doctors had given up hope; his family was preparing for the worst. But as Rees prayed for him, something stirred deep in his spirit. He sensed that God was not finished — that this was not a call to prepare a soul for death, but a summons to prayer.

Still, Rees didn’t rush in. He had learned that true intercession isn’t simply asking God for what we want; it’s waiting on Him until we know His will. And so, he began to seek the Lord — day and night — asking not merely for healing, but to know the mind of God in this situation. It was a struggle. He prayed until his strength failed. He wrestled in the Spirit until he felt he could do no more. Yet still, no assurance came. He was learning the cost of standing in the gap — of identifying himself so completely with another person’s need that he could carry it as his own. Finally, after days of prayer and fasting, the breakthrough came. In the stillness, the Holy Spirit spoke to his heart: “I will heal him.”

At that moment, the burden lifted. Faith flooded his soul. It was done — not in hope, but in certainty. Rees got up from his knees and declared aloud, “The victory is won! Mr. Lazarus will live!” Those around him were hesitant to believe; after all, the man was still on the edge of death. But Rees had no doubt. The matter, as he would later say, was settled in heaven. And sure enough — within days — Mr. Lazarus began to recover. His strength returned, the fever broke, and to the astonishment of everyone, he rose from his bed completely healed.

From that day, Rees Howells understood something he would carry for the rest of his life: “Intercession,” he said, “is not just praying for someone; it is standing in their place until the answer comes. It is the Holy Spirit living His own prayer life through us.” This event became a turning point for Rees. From then on, his whole understanding of prayer changed. He no longer prayed in general terms or out of emotion. He sought to know what God desired — and once he knew it, he would pray until heaven and earth agreed.”

Do you pray until heaven and earth agree? Or do you simply say a prayer, throw it up to God and hope it gets answered? Again, this is not about spending hours and hours in prayer. There is not a prayer pedometer that tells the number of minutes you’ve spent in prayer. The question is simply, are you persistent in the prayers you pray when the answer means an eternal difference? Persistent prayer, not measured by minutes but by faith, changes lives and aligns heaven with earth.

Praise Song Lord I Need You

Giving of Tithes and Offering

Doxology

Prayer of Dedication

Hymn #349 Trust And Obey

*Benediction

Sanctuary