Have you ever prayed for something and it seemed like your prayers just disappeared into thin air? No one heard them. And no one answered them.
I think we have all probably been there at some time or another. We pray, but it seems to be to no avail. The things we are praying for continue to elude us.
But, over the years, I have learned one secret to seeing prayers answered: Persistence. When we pray, we need to be persistent. We need to pray repeatedly. We need to pray unceasingly. We need to not give up.
Many times we ask God once for what we want. When we don’t receive it, we figure either it is not meant to be, or we try to achieve it on our own.
Some times, we do ask God more than once. But, after a few “pleases” and perhaps a “pretty-please-with-a-cherry-on-top,” we give up.
But, the Bible actually teaches us to PUSH (Pray Until Something Happens). Don’t give up. If we have prayed 100 times, we need to pray the 101st time, expecting that number 101 will be the charm. Remember the story of the persistent widow? In Luke 18, the Bible tells the following story:
2 “There was in a certain city a judge who did not fear God nor regard man. 3 Now there was a widow in that city; and she came to him, saying, ‘Get justice for me from my adversary.’ 4 And he would not for a while; but afterward he said within himself, ‘Though I do not fear God nor regard man, 5 yet because this widow troubles me I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.’”
6 Then the Lord said, “Hear what the unjust judge said. 7 And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them? 8 I tell you that He will avenge them speedily.
The widow kept knocking until the Judge gave her what she wanted. She didn’t give up. If she would have given up even one time too soon, she would not have seen her request answered.
The Judge was not even a good man. But, yet, seeing the woman’s persistence, he answered her plea. Our God is a good God. How much more will He answer the prayers of His children?
For approximately a year and a half, my mom has been praying with a young mother who had cancer. By the time it was detected, the cancer had spread to her spine and liver. It was in its final stages and the doctors did not give much hope.
There were some praise reports over the year, as the girl did not suffer from the usual side-effects of chemotherapy, due to prayer. But, there were also many disappointments along the way, as test results came back showing the cancer had not disappeared. But, mom and this girl have been praying relentlessly for over a year, every day over the phone.
And guess what happened this week? She had some scans done and the cancer has completely disappeared from her liver! And even the cancer in the spine is significantly smaller, if not completely gone (they are uncertain because of scar tissue in the bone)!
Our God is an awesome God!
In Matthew 7, Jesus instructs us:
7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. 9 Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? 11 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!
Truly, if we keep knocking, He does open the door.
Today, if you are feeling disheartened over an unanswered prayer request, I encourage you to not give up. Keep knocking. The answer may be just one more knock away!