THE RELATIONSHIP OF PERSISTENCE TO PRAYER

by DSB

There is a second major teaching which Jesus taught about prayer. This one has to do with persistence in prayer, that is, praying until we receive what we have asked for or praying until we receive what God chooses to give in response to our prayer. To see this, lets examine the two teachings Christ gave on this subject.

Luke 11:5-9 . . . Then He said to them, "Suppose one of you has a friend, and goes to him at midnight and says to him, 'Friend, lend me three loaves; (6) for a friend of mine has come to me from a journey, and I have nothing to set before him'; (7) and from inside he answers and says, 'Do not bother me; the door has already been shut and my children and I are in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.' (8) "I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will get up and give him as much as he needs. (9) "So 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.

(Context - someone has an urgent personal need, and it seems it would be best to satisfy the need quickly. Sometimes the relationship between the one in need and the one able to meet the need is not be enough to motivate the giver to give what is needed. But persistence will. Persistence can motivate givers to give us what we need where other types of efforts fail. WHY? Because serious persistence is an expression of a heart-felt need. We too often get caught up in whims and short-lived desires and impulse-driven needs or wants. Such things, should we obtain them, too often wage war against our soul and do damage to our spiritual life. So momentary persistence related to temporary needs and wants is not what Jesus is teaching about here. The context is one where true need is driving unrelenting prayer with a view to obtaining an answer that would enable the one in need to satisfy that need.)

Luke 18:1-8 . . . Now He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart, (2) saying, "In a certain city there was a judge who did not fear God and did not respect man. (3) "There was a widow in that city, and she kept coming to him, saying, 'Give me legal protection from my opponent.' (4) "For a while he was unwilling; but afterward he said to himself, 'Even though I do not fear God nor respect man, (5) yet because this widow bothers me, I will give her legal protection, otherwise by continually coming she will wear me out.'" (6) And the Lord said, "Hear what the unrighteous judge said; (7) now, will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry to Him day and night, and will He delay long over them? (8) "I tell you that He will bring about justice for them quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?"

(Context - someone has a personal need. It seems the need is not urgent, but it is, none-the-less, a true need. Here again, Jesus points out that the relationship between the one in need and the one able to meet the need may not be enough to motivate the giver to give what is needed. But persistence will because persistence is an expression of a heart-felt need. God knows the difference between whims and short-lived desires and impulse-driven needs or wants on the one hand, and genuine need on the other. Consider how many things we have prayed about for a short time and then moved on to other issues because something new takes over our attention and pushes out the thing that once held our attention. We may have prayed about the last thing for a week or even a month. But ask yourself, how important was it? How heart-felt was it? If you were persistent, why? Was your persistence driven by a deeply felt need? Or was it more like a hopeful want? And why did you move on before getting what you were asking for? Was it that you were you more hopeful that God would hear and answer, and when He didn’t, you moved on to the next need or want you hoped He would satisfy? The context here is one where true need is driving persistent prayer with a view to obtaining an answer that satisfies the need. For those who are sincere in their praying, the proof their need is more than a whim or momentary want is in their persistence. NOTE: Jesus also brings faith into this teaching on prayer, and from my perspective it is because persistence and faith go hand in hand in asking God to answer our prayers for heart-felt needs and wants.)

To summarize, Jesus teaches that prayer is for personal needs and wants, also. When we have heart-felt personal needs and wants, we are to go to God in prayer and persist in expressing our desires to Him until we see Him answer our prayer. Persistent praying is an act of faith in a loving Father who wants to please His children by caring for us in ways that include meeting our personal needs and wants. However, it is important to discern the difference between whims and heart-felt wants and needs. Should we fail to discern the difference, we may end up thinking God is disinterested in our wants and needs because He is not giving us everything we’ve asked for. It is also important to discern the difference between asking for what is good and asking for what is selfish. I want to remind us all that God’s Word teaches that our prayers go unanswered when we ask with wrong motives.

 

 
Revised 2013