persist in prayer

And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart.

Luke 18:1

Some of the most difficult work in spiritual growth and maturity is found in prayer. Jesus told the parable of the persistent widow to remind us that prayer must be constant. We must keep at it just as the widow refused to stop bringing her injustice before the judge who was reluctant to move her up the docket. Her constant requests eventually got her hearing. So we must often keep praying and asking God for the same things over and over... day after day... sometimes year after long hard year.

It isn’t because God is distracted or unconcerned that we pray so persistently and wait so long. The reasons why we must not lose heart in prayer are many. Here are just three that come to mind from my experience:

1) We battle sin in our own hearts and easily succumb to giving up. We must constantly fight the battle to stay at prayer with persistence.

2) We live in a complex world of sinners whose sinful choices and actions complicate relationships and life situations. It is easy for us to give up because the matter seems insurmountable for which we need to be praying.

3) We are bound by time and feel the urgency of ticking clocks in our mortality. And God is living from the perspective of eternity. We give up praying sometimes because we cannot adjust to God’s cosmic scale of good work that He is bringing about all things for our good and His glory.

Lord,

I want to be persistent in faithful prayer. There are situations I’ve been praying for that are ongoing... for years... with nothing seeming to change. I confess I get disheartened by these expectations too easily! Forgive my lack of faith and persistence! I will take Your courage to not lose heart in mind as I pray. Help me to persist in prayer.

Amen