God wants persistent prayers!
Luke 11:9 – “I tell you, keep asking, and it will be given to you. Keep seeking, and you will find. Keep knocking, and it will be opened to you.” (EHV)
How many tries do you give before giving up? Is it one, two, or three? But if something doesn’t seem to work, it would be foolish to keep trying only to get the same results. In most cases, this makes perfect sense. It would be a waste of time and energy to keep trying and working hard only to get no results. But, should we view prayer this way?
Jesus gives us the answer, keep on praying. Be persistent. Sounds good on paper, but so hard in practice. Maybe it is hard because we do not always see the results we are praying for. Maybe we doubt the power of God to answer our prayers. Maybe we don’t think God wants to help us or listen to what is on our hearts. We have to be reminded to keep on praying and not give up. Jesus’ parable of the friend who needed bread is a wake-up call by the Lord to not give up on praying to our God. Keep asking, seeking, and knocking at the door of heaven. Even when it seems as though our prayers are not being heard or answered, keep on seeking out the Lord. He will answer and the answer will be what is best for you. How can we be sure?
He tells us to do that very thing. Plus, he is the one who was willing to give up his life for us. How much more will he answer our prayers! If he is willing to die in our place and give us life, he will answer our prayers in the best way possible. That is why we can be persistent in our prayers. We know to whom we are praying. He is the one who died on the cross, rose from the dead, and is ruling over all things for us. There is no need for us to give up.
Dear Lord, help us not become discouraged in our prayers. Keep us knocking at your door and let us be confident that you will hear and answer our prayers in the best way possible for us. We pray in your name. Amen.