Praying Persistently

Do you ever feel like you're nagging God?

I mean, we're commanded to pray without ceasing, but sometimes I think I'm just begging without stopping, you know?

There are times when I feel like I've asked the Lord for something, and He just isn't responding. So what do I do?

Matthew 7:7-8

⁷ “Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for.

Keep on seeking, and you will find.

Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you.

⁸ For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds.

And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.

Okay. So instead of giving up, I should keep on praying. But this can be difficult.

Luke 18:1-8

One day Jesus told his disciples a story to show

that they should always pray and never give up.

² “There was a judge in a certain city,” he said,

“who neither feared God nor cared about people.

 ³ A widow of that city came to him repeatedly, saying,

‘Give me justice in this dispute with my enemy.’

⁴ The judge ignored her for a while, but finally he said to himself,

‘I don’t fear God or care about people,

⁵ but this woman is driving me crazy.

 I’m going to see that she gets justice,

because she is wearing me out with her constant requests!’”

⁶ Then the Lord said, “Learn a lesson from this unjust judge.

⁷ Even he rendered a just decision in the end.

So don’t you think God will surely give justice to his chosen people

who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off?

⁸ I tell you, he will grant justice to them quickly!

But when the Son of Man returns,

how many will he find on the earth who have faith?”

It seems the message is pretty clear: DO NOT give up. KEEP ON praying.

So I'm not nagging God. If He hasn't answered the way I want him to, then there are several possible reasons:

1. He wants me to wait. (Psalm 27:13-14)

¹³ Yet I am confident I will see the Lord’s goodness

while I am here in the land of the living.

¹⁴ Wait patiently for the Lord.
Be brave and courageous.
Yes, wait patiently for the Lord.

 

2. He has another idea in mind. (Isaiah 55:8-9)

⁸ “My thoughts are nothing like your

thoughts,” says the Lord.
“And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.
⁹ For just as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so my ways are higher than your ways
and my thoughts higher than your thoughts. 

3. His answer is no.

I don't like that last one at ALL. I'm not even looking for a Scripture reference to support it either.

But I can't deny that it's a possiblity.

So I wondered, in that situation, should I still keep praying? Would that be "nagging" God?

Well, according to Jesus, I should ALWAYS keep praying. No matter what.

One more Scripture promise:

Psalm 37:4

Take delight in the Lord,
and he will give you your heart’s desires.

Hmmm.... Now this can mean, "The Lord will give you what you want."

But it can also mean, "The Lord will change your heart, so that you want what He wants."

So either way, keep praying. Even if it's hard.

And I'll do my best to follow my own advice.

("Nagging" cartoon from http://www.everydaypeoplecartoons.com)

("Denied " image from http://htmlgiant.com)