Obstacles are sometimes hard to overcome; they can cause people to quit trying, or they can cause people to develop more determination than ever!

Mark 2:4 talks about an obstacle. A friend was sick, unable to walk and needed the healing touch of the Lord. Yet because of the throngs of people it seemed to be an impossibility to reach Him. Immediately the friends tried to find a way to reach the Lord regardless of what they had to do! Finally, they climbed up on the rooftop, removed some of the tiles, and lowered their friend down to where Jesus was . . . to receive from Him a healing touch.

"And when they could not come nigh unto him for the press, they uncovered the roof where he was: and when they had broken it up, they let down the bed wherein the sick of the palsy lay." (Mark 2:4)

Sometimes it takes determination and fervency in our requests for help of any kind from the Lord. These men, acting on their faith that Jesus would heal their friend, withstood every barrier and acted on their faith.

Probably in an attempt to gain entrance into the house, they were ridiculed (this man had been lame since birth), pushed out of the way by others anxious to receive His touch . . . they may even have been told to leave, that there was no possibility for them to get their friend inside on this stretcher. Yet, they withstood the opposition and persevered.

When you need a touch from the Lord, do you seek Him and soon give up when you are unable to "reach" Him . . . or are you fervent in your prayer? The Bible tells us in James 5:16 that "the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much." That lets us know that we may be called upon to persevere against all opposition from the enemy. Folks, we cannot cower down in the face of opposition to our prayers . . . we have to have an attitude to prevail against all odds. The Christian walk was never meant to be one of weakness . . . that's why we're told in Ephesians 6:10 to "be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might". This is a war we are in; we've been given the armor to wear and weapons with which to fight. To run in retreat would be to surrender to the enemy.

The next time you pray and feel the opposition from the enemy, remember that you are a prevailer. You are an overcomer. You are equipped to push through opposition. Stand firm and don't give up when the hindrances to prayer begin to bombard your mind. Remember that Jesus was right there for the lame man all the time. He was in his midst, He never moved -- the lame man and his friends had to push through the opposition to reach Him.

Jesus is always there to hear our prayer, to meet our needs, to give us that healing touch that we so desperately need. Press into Him until you "reach" Him!

Father, so many times I begin to pray and my mind becomes muddled with things that I need to be doing, with problems I am facing, with business that needs tended to. Help me, Lord, become that one You call an "effectual, fervent prayer" so that I won't succumb to the enemy's temptation to disregard prayer for things that distract me. Lord, help me to persevere and stand firm when I am hindered during my time with You. I thank You, Lord, that You are always in my midst; help me to remember that it is I who must move closer to You day after day, in every way! Amen!

© Jan Ross
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