One day Jesus told his disciples a story to show that they should always pray and never give up. Luke 18:1 (NLT)
I have a beautiful friend, we’ll call her Jane, who knows what it is to be persistent. I’ve known Jane for a few years, but she’s lived a stubborn faith older than our friendship. For years, she has been praying for her husband to awaken to the love of God and experience Jesus. Month after month she’s cried and prayed, declared and believed that he would experience salvation. She would often save a seat next to herself in church by faith that one day her husband would occupy it.
Alongside that faith journey, her heart longed for another child, one that would live beyond the womb. She experienced many heartaches, and I have no idea how she held onto hope for so long, but to say that her middle name is persistent. All the while, she loved and served her community, always encouraging and helping others, a fierce warrior of hope.
This year, two things happened for my beautiful friend – her husband found faith in Jesus, and a baby fills her belly.
Jesus tells a story in Luke 18 about a persistent woman looking for justice. She kept badgering the town judge, who was a godless and arrogant man, to fulfil her request. Time and again, he answered with “NO, go away”… meaning “you’re not important and I don’t care.” But the woman was not put off by his response and continued to ask her questions, and badger the judge for the justice she was seeking.
Her persistence was finally rewarded with what she sought. Jesus finished the story with “Do you hear what that judge, corrupt as he is, is saying? What makes you think God won’t step in and work justice for his chosen people, who continue to cry out for help? Won’t he stick up for them? I assure you, he will. He will not drag his feet. But how much of that kind of persistent faith will the Son of Man find on the earth when he returns?”
Let these two stories, ages apart, challenge you to pray… keep on praying, don’t stop believing, and never give up. Don’t fall into the ‘instant gratification’ epidemic the world is facing… build grit into your faith, endurance into your prayers, and hold on like crazy to hope.
Pray, and don’t give up.
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