How To PraySample

Don’t Stop: Persistence

Prayer often comes in spurts. We know it’s important, we push ourselves to do it, and things go well for a while. But then we stop. It’s difficult to maintain a regular prayer habit. 

Jesus knows how bad we are at this, so he told a powerful parable “to the effect that [we] ought always to pray and not lose heart” (Luke 18:1). Why would Jesus say this unless he knew that we’re prone to lose heart and give up? In the parable, a woman needs a judge to rectify her situation. He’s not a great guy, so he refuses to act. But she keeps coming back to him until he finally gives in. Remarkable as it sounds, Jesus gives us this story as a model for prayer.

Jesus isn’t trying to accuse God of being lazy or unjust, he’s simply telling us to pray with the same desperate persistence that drove this woman.

Have you already told God what you want? Have your conversations filled him in on everything that you care about? Wonderful. Now keep going. Keep telling him. Keep listening. Prayer has never been about informing God of things he didn’t know. It’s always been about the relationship. He wants to know your heart, and if something remains on your heart, it should remain in your prayers. 

Paul once let slip the intriguing phrase: “pray without ceasing” (1 These. 5:17). What would that look like? Certainly, you can’t always be on your knees in a church building. But if prayer is talking to God about the things we care about, then why shouldn’t it happen all the time? Don’t stop praying—God desires this type of direct contact with your heart.