The Power of Persistent Prayer
The Gospel of Luke offers a very compelling thought about
the importance of us being persistent in prayer. Luke
11:5-8 says—“And he said to them, “which
of you shall have a friend, and go to him at midnight and say to him, friend,
lend me three loaves; for a friend of mine has come to me on his journey, and I
have nothing to set before him; and he will answer from within and say, do not
trouble me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I
cannot rise and give to you? I say to you, though he will not rise and
give to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will
rise and give him as many as he needs.”
One of the greatest tools the Lord has given us in our
Christian walk is the tool of prayer.
However, this tool is like any other tool; it is not as effective unless
it is used properly. Persistence can be
a very effective tool to use in prayer.
It is easy to become discouraged by a lack of results or when there
seems to be a delay in answering our prayers.
However, Luke encourages us to be persistent. I would add, we should also be patient. Luke continues in 11:9-10—“…I say to you, ask, and
it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened
to you. For
everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it
will be opened.” This is an open invitation for us to go before the
Lord with persistence and boldness as we make our requests known.
Friend, I encourage you to fight discouragement and continue
to persist in prayer. God rewards those
who diligently seek Him. Don’t give up;
rather; use this time of consecration to pray more earnestly that God will move
on your behalf. You may be surprised at
the results. Blessings!
In Him,
Bishop James R. Izzard, Jr.
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