The Freedom of PrayerSýnishorn

Persevering in Prayer
Shana Schutte

Have you ever felt like giving up on prayer because you’ve wrestled so long with a desire that hasn’t been granted? If so, there’s an awesome story in Mark 5 that I believe will encourage you. 

In this story, there is a woman who is sick. She has been bleeding constantly for 12 years. Many doctors try to help her, but she is only getting worse and she has spent everything she has to pay for her medical treatment.  

But she still has hope that things can change for her. 

She has heard about Jesus and so when he comes through a crowd where she is, she walks up behind him and thinks, “If I can just touch his robe, I will be healed.” So, she touches his robe and boom! She is immediately healed. 

Oh! I just love this story—and here’s why. 

I love that after 12 long years of suffering, the woman still deeply desired to be healed. This is incredible because, after a long period of struggle and unanswered prayer, we may give into despair and discouragement. We may think, “God hasn’t answered yet. I guess I am just meant to suffer.” 

But that is not what this woman did. Even after so many years of illness, she still believed her life could change (Mark 5:28). She didn’t give in to cynicism, despair, or discouragement. She still believed there was an answer to her problem. 

Can you imagine what would have happened if she hadn’t reached out to touch Christ’s robe because she had lost hope? I wonder if there were others in the crowd who wanted healing but didn’t receive it because they didn’t have her boldness? Can you imagine if she had stayed home even though she had heard about Jesus because she thought, “It’s just no use”? She wouldn’t have received healing. 

Her faith and her petition for God to heal her, which manifested when she touched His robe, activated God’s loving power—and her life was permanently changed.   

That’s how it works: we ask; He answers. Faith releases God’s power. 

Okay, what about you? Have you given up because you think it’s just no use? I encourage you not to allow discouragement to rule you. Grab onto faith and ask once more.