Persisting in Prayer
When was the last time you really got down on your knees and prayed? Maybe it was praying for a loved one who might be in danger or maybe for a friend who is in the hospital. Or maybe you were pouring out your heart before the Lord because you found yourself so alone, unhappy, and sad. Think about the last time you prayed really hard and you wished God would answer your prayer. What was it about? How did it end? Did you keep praying even if what you prayed for did not come to be? Did you persist in your prayer?
In the Old Testament we read about Abraham who pleads with the Lord to not wipe the city away, bargaining with the Lord. At first he asked the Lord if He would spare the city if there were 50 innocent people. After the Lord said yes, Abraham continued to bargain, from 45 all the way down to 10 innocent people; the Lord promised to withhold His anger if there be but only 10 innocent people in the city. “For the sake of those ten, I will not destroy it” (Genesis 18:32). Abraham persisted in his prayer because He knew that the Lord was a compassionate God who loved His people. He persisted in prayer because He knew God would listen.
Hundreds of years later, the Psalmist sings, “The LORD will complete what he has done for me; your kindness, O LORD, endures forever” (Psalm 138:8). The Psalmist praises the Lord because He knows the Lord will complete the word He has started in him. In other words, he knew that the Lord will always be with him, walking with him, listening to him, and guiding him. He knew that his prayers and supplications will not go unheard, and so he persisted, saying, “Lord, on the day I called for help, you answered me” (Psalm 138:3a).
Generations later, Our Lord teaches His disciples how to pray and assures them that their heavenly Father hears them and will give them all that they need, for “all who asks, receives, seeks, finds, and knocks, the door will be opened.” In many ways the coming of Jesus was God’s answer to the prayers of the His People: a Savior, a Messiah who would come to redeem them and save them from their sins. St. Paul reminds us of this in his letter to the Colossians, “And even when you were dead in transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, he brought you to life along with him, having forgiven us all our transgressions” (2:13). Jesus Himself showed what is means to be persistent in prayer.
Despite opposition by His own people, Jesus continued to pray for them, teach them, and love them. Jesus did so because prayer is a relationship, a relationship with the Father. As with any relationship, it must be consistent, and it must be nurtured. Prayer is not simply a request as though a transaction. Although prayer may include a request, it is a request that is rooted in one’s trust and faith in the Lord. Without that trust and faith, there is no prayer, only wishful thinking.
As Christians we must persist in prayer and not in one-time requests because Our God, who is Our Father, hears us and wants to give to us all that we need. He wants to fulfill our hearts’ deepest desires. Let us ask for the grace to persist and persevere in prayer and not give up on our relationship with the One who calls us His beloved.
