by Dan Gulley<\/p>\n
Charles Swindoll tells about a Ziggy cartoon. “Ziggy is standing, looking up at a mountain. The sky is dark, and there’s one cloud up there. Ziggy says, ‘Have I been put on hold for the rest of my life?’ ” Swindoll continues, “Sometimes prayer feels like that, doesn’t it? ‘Will You ever answer?’ As one man put it. ‘The heavens are brass and nothing comes back'” [The Tale of the Tardy Oxcart and 1,501 Other Stories: Nashville, TN, Word Publishing, a unit of Thornas Nelson, Inc., 1998; p 455].<\/p>\n
Revelation 8:3-4 assures us, in symbolic yet striking language, that God does not put us on hold when we pray. In that passage, the apostle John watched as “an angel having a golden censer came and stood at the altar. And He was given much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. And the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, ascended before God from the angel’s hand.” Earlier in Revelation 5:8, John had viewed a scene in which each of the 24 elders around the throne of God in Heaven had golden bowls, full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.” Heaven does hear when we pray! In context, these passages were assuring Christians who were suffering intense persecution that the pain and pressure they were facing and feeling did not mean God had put them on hold or that He was not listening. On the contrary, as the language of John’s vision makes clear, the prayers of the saints “ascended before God<\/em>.” Pressures on earth may hinder some Christians from praying, but the pressures and problems of life can never hinder Heaven from hearing those who do!<\/p>\n The Bible calls on us to pray. Ephesians 6:18 says “praying always<\/em>,<\/em>” and Colossians 4:2 instructs us to “continue in prayer,<\/em>” while I Thessalonians 5:17 charges us to “pray without ceasing<\/em>.” These Scriptures do not teach that the child of God must consciously pray every waking moment of every day, or that we must withdraw, hermit-like, to avoid the real world’s pressures and problems. What they do teach is that we should live with a conscious recognition of our need for God. At any moment, God is only a prayer away! S. D. Gordon said, “The greatest thing anyone can do for God and man is pray. It is not the only thing, but is the chief thing. The great people of the earth are the people who pray. I do not mean those who talk about prayer; nor those who say they believe in prayer; nor yet those who can explain about prayer; but mean those people who take the time to pray.” Heaven really does hear when we pray, so pray today!<\/p>\n “If My people … pray … I will hear from heaven<\/em>” (II Chronicles 7:14).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by Dan Gulley Charles Swindoll tells about a Ziggy cartoon. “Ziggy is standing, looking up at a mountain. The sky is dark, and there’s one cloud up there. Ziggy says, ‘Have I been put on hold for the rest of my life?’ ” Swindoll continues, “Sometimes prayer feels like that, doesn’t it? ‘Will You ever…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27],"tags":[1510],"class_list":["post-88905","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-prayers"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":60544,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/types-seen-in-the-tabernacle-and-temple\/","url_meta":{"origin":88905,"position":0},"title":"Types Seen in the Tabernacle and Temple","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 29, 2005","format":false,"excerpt":"by Michael Hatcher Taken from \"John 9:31\" in\u00a0Defender, November 2004 The physical structures of the Tabernacle and the Temple were typifying the spiritual aspects of the New Testament system (Hebrews 8-10). God gave specific instructions as to the making of these structures, and the Israelites were to follow the pattern\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":15722,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-do-you-think-about-rugged-prayers\/","url_meta":{"origin":88905,"position":1},"title":"What do you think about rugged prayers?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 18, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: What do you think about aggressive prayers or rugged type of prayers? Someone told me that there are situations that demand ruggedness, such as shouting, screaming, and crying unto God in prayer and not being silent. That this is the only way to shake heaven. That your silent prayers\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":90333,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/priests\/","url_meta":{"origin":88905,"position":2},"title":"Priests","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 10, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Terry Wane Benton In the Old Testament, only Levites of the family of Aaron could be priests in Israel. They served in duties pertaining to the tabernacle service in the midst of the camp. But that was all symbolic, pointing forward to what God really wanted in Christ. As\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":92254,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/dont-hide-behind-your-prayers\/","url_meta":{"origin":88905,"position":3},"title":"Don\u2019t Hide Behind Your Prayers","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 19, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Clay Gentry We're called to be people of prayer. Jesus Himself taught that we \"ought always to pray and not lose heart\" (Luke 18:1). However, if we are honest, sometimes our prayers are merely a pious way of being inactive. It is easy to hide behind the sincerity of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":24582,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-did-aaron-make-the-golden-calf\/","url_meta":{"origin":88905,"position":4},"title":"Why did Aaron make the golden calf?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 20, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Why did Aaron make the golden calf right after God had spoken the ten commandments to the Israelites? Answer: When confronted by Moses regarding his sin, Aaron blamed the people into pressuring him. \"You know the people, that they are set on evil\" (Exodus 32:22). He blamed Moses for\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":33547,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-do-altars-in-the-old-testament-foreshadow-in-the-new-testament\/","url_meta":{"origin":88905,"position":5},"title":"What do altars in the Old Testament foreshadow in the New Testament?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 27, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Good day, In the Old Testament, offerings were made on altars and at times God can ask someone to erect an altar as a remembrance. How do altars relate to Christians? 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