Section III: Persistent

Ask & Keep on Asking

  

Even if it wasn’t your kid, I’m sure you’ve at least heard this in a store: “Can I have that? Please? Pllleeeeaaaaaase?” And if the parent doesn’t respond, you hear it again, and again!

It’s irritating, right? Why do kids do that?

Because it works.

Today, we start learning about being Persistent. Sometimes people pray about something one time, and they think that should be enough. They throw a quick prayer over their shoulder, and then they move on.

The truth of the matter is that we actually have some lessons we can learn about persistence from the kid at the store. (Not to be whiny and annoying, but to be persistent—to ask and keep on asking, in faith.)

See, what happens when we ask and we don’t get it? We get discouraged. Sometimes, so much so we quit asking—or think God is being mean or doesn’t hear us because He didn’t do it for us right then.

I want to propose an idea to you. What if when you don’t get it right away God’s answer isn’t, “No, you can’t have it” but instead is, “No, it’s not ready yet.” 

Or what if you’re not ready for it yet? Or what if it’s, “I have something better for you”?

Would it change the way you pray if you realized it may not be the right way, the right time, or the right thing for Him to say yes to that prayer? I think it might.

In today’s reading, you’re going to see Jesus telling us that we are to pray—and keep on praying. Because those who pray and keep doing it, in faith, without getting discouraged, receive answers from God.

God is not our magic genie in a bottle just waiting for us to rub His magic Bible with a few choice Christian-sounding words. God is so much beyond that, even thinking of Him like a spiritual waiter taking our order is a grave insult.

But when you have submitted your will to His humbly, you’ve learned what He says in His Word and you’re asking specifically according to what the Bible says, you can ask persistently without losing heart until you get His answer. 

So I’m obviously not telling you to throw a fit at God like the kid in the store, but next time you’re praying, remember that persistence is a key to powerful prayers.