“And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart.” – Luke 18:1
Jesus was very clear that His followers need to be persistent in prayer. Not every request we make will be answered the way we want on the schedule we’d prefer. That’s a good thing! If every prayer was instantly answered the way we wanted, God wouldn’t be sovereign, we would. His will wouldn’t be done, ours would. We wouldn’t learn to depend on God, we’d simply view Him as nothing more than another useful app under our control.
God uses long periods of prayerful waiting to check our priorities, refine our faith, and align our will to His. Is our request so important that we’re willing to pray about it day after day, month after month, year after year? Or is it just another passing whim like the latest online shopping deal we’ll forget about tomorrow? Is it so important that our attention will remain fixed on it and we’ll come to completely depend on God for its fulfillment? Will we learn to trust that God’s ways and thoughts really are infinitely above our own? Will we find peace in the waiting, trusting that God wants and knows what’s best for everyone across all of time.
Long-term, ongoing prayer changes us. Teaches us. Gradually aligns our will to God’s. As we spend increasing time at the foot of God’s throne of mercy and grace, we learn to care about what He cares about, prioritize what He prioritizes, and want what He wants. As we always pray and never lose heart, the things we pray for gradually become the things God is planning to do. Persistent prayer ultimately leads us to pray as Jesus taught us to pray – “Thy will be done on Earth as it is in heaven”. So always pray, never lose heart, and #FollowJesus