Persistent Prayer – Never Give Up by Penny Gowen

 

One day, Jesus told His disciples a story to show that they should always pray and never give up.

“There was a judge in a certain city,” He said, “who neither feared God nor cared about the people. A widow of that city came to him repeatedly, saying, ‘Give me justice in this dispute with my enemy.’

 

The judge ignored her for a while, but finally, he said to himself, ‘I don’t fear God or care about people, but this woman is driving me crazy. I’m going to see that she gets justice because she’s wearing me out with her constant requests.’”

 

Then the Lord said, “Learn a lesson from this unjust judge. Even he rendered a just decision in the end. So don’t you think God will surely give justice to His chosen people who cry out to Him day and night? Will He keep putting them off? I tell you, He will grant justice to them quickly! But when the Son of Man returns, how many will He find on the earth who have faith?”

Luke 18:1–8

 

If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and He will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. But when you ask Him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do.

James 1:5–8

 

I have written this to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know you have eternal life. And we are confident that He hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases Him. And since we know He hears us when we make our requests, we also know that He will give us what we ask for.

1 John 5:13–15

 

Persistent prayer. Pray without ceasing, continuously in prayer. The Bible mentions prayer (and related concepts like prayers, prayer requests, and exhortations to pray) over 650 times. The Bible does not prescribe a specific number of times to pray but encourages believers to pray continually. Persistently! Without ceasing.

Prayer should be automatic, and our first thought when faced with questions or decisions. It should also be our first morning utterance and our evening’s last thought. Amen!

 

If you start a new job or a new school, what do you do to get to know those around you? You talk and listen. You spend time getting acquainted. Are you acquainted with God? If not, let me introduce you!

This here is our Triune God. You cannot see Him at this time, but He has given us many ways to really get to know Him. We start with prayer.

 

“Good morning, Jesus! Thank You for another day to witness to those who need to know You, God! Help me, Lord, as I read Your Word and study my daily devotion. Open my heart and mind so that Your Word shall feed me and help me grow into a mature Christian. In Jesus’ name I pray! Amen!”

 

I let God take the lead on what I am going to read, and I just open my Bible to a random page and begin reading. God knows the message I need for each day. Praise God!

 

What is constant prayer? It is not praying every minute of every day—although I am sure God would bless that if it were sincere. We are human; our attention span is only so long. If we try to repeat something over and over again, it loses its meaning to us. We become automated, and the words will keep coming, but we will no longer be mindfully engaged.

 

It is why we created machines to do repetitive tasks for us. When we do repetitive work, we tend to go inside our own heads and forget about the task at hand. Thankfully, God understands us humans better than we understand ourselves.

 

So although we are called to be in persistent prayer, what does that truly mean?

To be persistent in prayer means to keep our prayer requests before God—living our lives for Him and having faith and believing that He will answer. When we live by faith, we wait on God. We know that our time is not His time, and our waiting in faith helps us to grow into mature, faithful Christians who put their hope and trust in our Triune God! Amen!

 

As humans, we easily persist after things that are not meant to be. Sometimes we persist after our own desires. Sometimes we get what we strive so hard for, only to find out that, just like a carnival game, you can toss all day until you win the grand prize—the biggest stuffed animal made out of the cheapest material—but you persisted and won.

If we can give our all to a silly carnival game, why can’t we give our all to our Triune God, our Lord and Creator?

 

Now we know that orphans and widows are vulnerable people. Both Old and New Testament writings tell us to care for these folks, especially those who have no family to care for them. Our love for others should never have any conditions.

 

Imagine, if this worldly judge who cares not for people or for God will finally fold under such persistence, how do you think God will respond to you? We know that God loves us, so we can believe that He will answer us. Stay in constant communication with our Triune God. This will keep our prayers in perspective and help us to really think about what we are praying for and prepare us to recognize the answer when God gives it!

 

Whatever we need, we ask without wavering. Keep our faith in God alone. Never let anything divide your loyalty, as the world offers death, and our Triune God offers life everlasting in His glorious presence. Amen! Keep the faith! Be still and know that He is God. Quietly yet persistently wait on God—He will never disappoint you!

 

Heavenly Father,

Help us be as loyal to You as You have been to all of mankind since the very beginning of time!

Help us to read Your Word and spend time with You in prayer and meditation. Help us understand us in You and You in us!

Holy Spirit, guide us to that right relationship with our Triune God. Let us be so much like God that Satan flees in our presence.

Sweet Jesus, we thank You for Your beautiful sacrifice for our salvation.

In Jesus’ precious name we pray. Amen!

 

As I Sit in Silence

by Penny Gowen

 

As I sit in silence every day,
I wait and ponder on God's way.
As thoughts run rampant through my head,
What devotion today God, should be read?

 

Pen in hand, Bible in front of me,
I wait patiently until I hear from thee.
Your words come so hard and fast,
Simple and easy to understand truths from our past.

 

I put it all down with nary a thought,
For I know how my Salvation was bought.
Suffering, humiliation and pain,
People barely remember your name.

 

I see the trials I went through,
and my bad response.
But, GOD, I was cool and nonchalant.

 

Then my suffering and pain began.
Hold up I cried.
I finally understand.

 

We all hurt, and suffer, it is a must.
It is the beginning of trust for us.
We give our hearts and soul to God almighty,
Knowing full well he will guide us rightly.

 

So today if you feel afraid and lost,
Just remember Jesus paid the cost.
Let your heart and mind be light,
As you learn to live a life of service.
That is right! Amen.