Persistence In Prayer

Luke 18:1-8 says, " Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart, saying: "There was in a certain city a judge who did not fear God nor regard man. Now there was a widow in that city; and she came to him, saying, 'Get justice for me from my adversary.' And he would not for a while; but afterward he said within himself, 'Though I do not fear God nor regard man, yet because this widow troubles me I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.' " Then the Lord said, "Hear what the unjust judge said. And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them? I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?" 

This woman was not going to stop going to the judge until he responded to her request. This parable is an excellent picture of what we can do as we prevail or persist in prayer over the issues that we face. Persistence by definition is to go on resolutely or stubbornly in spite of opposition, importunity, or warning. In other words, don't give up no matter what obstacles seem to be in your way.

In this parable in Luke 18 the judge states that "though I do not fear God nor regard man..." he decided he was going to respond to the persistence of this woman. God can be moved by the persistence of our prayers. Moses, Abraham and even Job are excellent biblical examples of persistent prayer. I want to make sure I say here that there are no guarantees that any person can give you for your persistent prayer, however, the prayers of righteous men avail much. Even if the outcome is inconsistent with what you want to happen in the situation. We grow in our relationship with God as pray, even if we don't get the answers we seek.

The outcome of your prayer is not a metric for who God is. God is God, and God God according to Psalm 100 in the Message Bible. In other words God is Sovereign. In his Sovereignty, God can be moved. We can persist to the point that we move God to respond to our prayer request. Hezekiah thought he was going to die. The word of the Lord came and said as much, but because Hezekiah cried out to the Lord, God gave him an additional 15 year. Persistent and prevailing prayer in this case availed and Hezekiah got his 15 years.

What are you praying for that needs an answer from God? How much time have you invested in crying out to God? Have you wearied him with your persistence or have you given up out of frustration? If you have something that needs an answer, get back on your knees or just open your mouth and start praying. Talk to God, and tell him. And then trust him to respond. He will!

Father, in the name of Jesus, I ask that you hear the prayers of those who read this blog post and who have a need to see you move on their behalf. As they come with their heart issues, their life issues, I pray that you will work a miracle in their life and give them a testimony of your goodness. I thank you for many answered prayers as your people cry out in faith knowing that you will respond to their prayers.