Persistent Prayer: Why You Need to Keep on Praying

The story of my daughter working for her driver’s license always brings an uninvited tear to my eye.

It took her over a year and multiple attempts at the driver’s test to finally claim that license.  I’ve never witnessed such raw courage and long-lasting determination. At one point, when I knew she must be down about another failed attempt (and I was beginning to wonder myself if this was such a good idea), I asked her, “What’s next?” After she told me she would try again, she shared the source of her determination:

“If God is the one giving this, then how would He be glorified if I quit?”

Read the full story of my daughter’s attempt to get a driver’s license despite her moderate visual limitations in my book With Fresh Eyes.

Christine’s words make me think of the way we approach prayer.

When we pray, what kind of answer do we expect from God? What makes us pray only once or a handful of times before we ease off on asking any longer?

Sometimes I do pray only once for something specific. Then I relinquish the matter to God and move on to other things, confident that He’ll take care of it. But I admit, other times, I often stop praying because I simply give up.

What keeps you from persistent prayer?

• God’s answer must be no.
• My request must be too silly or selfish.
• I must be the problem—there’s sin in my life.
• God is too busy with more important things.
• God’s not capable of doing what I’m asking for.

Wait. Who ever said God said no? What kind of time frame are we expecting?

We think God said “no” because we haven’t heard back from Him. But look at what you’ve asked for. Is it reasonable or beneficial for God to answer your request instantly?

The Bible relates many times when God took years to bring about the fulfillment of His promises. When He doesn’t answer your prayer immediately, He isn’t saying, “Wait at the back of the line till I get done with these other requests.” In fact, even before you have asked, God may be putting in motion what needs to happen for your request to be met, and “working all things together (Romans 8:28)” just takes time.

In the meantime, we need to let God know that whatever we’ve prayed for is still important to us. Ceasing our prayers is like taking a big pair of scissors and snapping our connection to God. If we give up, we cut off the chance for God to get the glory. He won’t get credit from our corner of the world if we quit. Instead, persistent prayer helps us grow in our faith.

How will persistent prayer benefit us?

• It reminds us that this matter is worth the time investment.
• It teaches us to grow in our faithfulness to God.
• It invites us to fine-tune our prayer as we catch glimpses of God’s progress.
• It beckons us to have a conversation with God about His perspective and what is important to Him.
• It shields us from the temptation to take matters into our own hands.

God’s word says, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you (Luke 11:9).” I love the imagery in that last phrase. Whenever we approach a door, if we know someone is behind that door, we’re going to keep knocking until they respond.

Keep on praying!

So when you go to God in prayer, pray as if you are totally confident that He will respond in some way, somehow. Be alert. Look intentionally for His answers. Ask Him to show you how He is working within the situation you’ve brought to Him. He may choose to answering your prayer in a way you don’t expect.

And if He doesn’t respond immediately, keep praying. When you keep knocking, He will throw open the door and invite you in to see all that He is doing for His kingdom glory.