Persistence in Prayer
Recently I heard a pastor talk about being persistent in prayer and how God likes a complainer. A complainer? What? The pastor didn’t mean someone who is ungrateful, crabby, and whinny. He meant someone who reminds God of His promises and comes boldly to God’s throne asking for His favor. This morning I read Luke 18:1-8. It’s the parable of the persistent widow.
Again I was reminded of persistence in prayer.
Essentially a widow in Luke 18 comes to a judge asking for help. At first the judge doesn’t bother with the woman, but she is determined. Eventually he reasons, ‘I don’t care about God or people, but I will help this lady so she stops bugging me.’ Jesus says in verse 7 (NKJV):
And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them?
Is there something you are waiting for? A promise God has given you that hasn’t been fulfilled? Remind him of the promise and call on His name! The Bible tells us it is the Father’s good pleasure to give His children the kingdom (Luke 12:32). We are also told in Hebrews 4:16 (AMP):
Let us then fearlessly and confidently and boldly draw near to the throne of grace (the throne of God’s unmerited favor to us sinners), that we may receive mercy [for our failures] and find grace to help in good time for every need [appropriate help and well-timed help, coming just when we need it].
Go boldly to His throne. Ask Him for your heart’s desire! You may feel unworthy or as if you can’t ask God for something because you don’t deserve it, but the Bible tells us otherwise. Although we are all sinners we can call on His name and be saved, healed, delivered. My prayer is that you would find His favor and remind God of what He promised you. Tell Him you want His full blessing and I know you won’t be disappointed!
Remember when Jacob wrestled with the angel and said he won’t let go until God blessed him? Be bold, be courageous. Ask and you shall receive.
Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes!!! God has so much in store for us and EVERY blessing is unmerited… it’s all given because of His great LOVE for us! And He loves when we ask 🙂
Great post!
Not to refute any of this – but what if what youre asking for is not God’s will for you? Or, how can you tell whether or not God has actually promised you something as opposed to you simply wanting it? And what happens if you keep asking God for something that is not his will – would He give it to you anyway (as he did with the Israelites who wanted a king, despite God’s instruction that He would be their king)? Is there anything wrong with only asking God to make your desires conform to His – or does he want us to ask for other things too? When i pray for “wants” I generally only ask God to make what He wants become what I want. But I never know whether or not He wants me to ask for other things.
That is a great question! I’m not sure of the answer. I agree you may not always get what ‘you want.’ However, there are promises that I believe God has promised everyone. Psalm 37:25 says I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging for bread. If you are having financial trouble I believe you say claim that verse and pray asking for God’s favor in your finances. It doesn’t mean he won’t ask you to change something, but I believe he will meet your need. Again, maybe not in the way you initally thought. His ways are higher than our ways (Isaiah 55:9) and His timing is often different than ours. But either way He is able to give us unspeakable joy, amazing grace, and a peace that passes all understanding.
i LOVE your perspective on this! I never though of prayer this way, and now I will have a deeper understanding to ongoing prayerful requests. Thank you! Refreshing and lovely insight!
Lauren- this is a beautiful message of hope! I love the thought of being persistent though the world sometimes teaches that persistence becomes nagging – you clearly point out the ignorance in that and back it up with Truth! Thank you 🙂
Thanks for the powerful post. I am walking through a tough season in my life and I needed to be reminded that I need to be persistent in my prayer life. Come by and visit me sometime at inspiredbooksguide.com.