Persistence Is Child-Like Faith
I recently compared my prayer list to my laundry list. No matter how much praying I do, I don’t see my list getting any smaller. Can you relate? It’s easy to allow self-pity to sneak up on me. I can then fall into the trap of feeling like God may not hear me. But if I pull myself out of the self-pity pit, I remind myself of God’s promise to hear and act on my behalf. Psalm 18:6 says, “But in my distress I cried out to the Lord; yes, I prayed to my God for help. He heard me from his sanctuary; my cry to him reached his ears.”
I like the picture this paints of King David, God’s anointed. He’s a strong warrior who was never afraid of a battle as long as God was with him and he cried out! Twice in one verse, David is crying! If you have children, you can relate to this. They come crying whenever they want or need something. Children have harnessed a powerful secret that we tend to forget as adults.
Matthew 7:7 says, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.”
The Greek meaning of the word ask in this verse is a verb whose form is present, active, and imperative. It means ask and keep on asking, look for it and keep on looking for it, knock and keep on knocking. It requires something from you with a don’t-quit attitude, like a child who keeps asking. Please, can I have it? Please, please, please? But as adults, the temptation is to say, “I prayed, and God didn’t answer,” and then stop asking.
Remember, persistence is child-like faith.
Can I encourage you like King David always encourages me? Here’s a man waiting for an answer from God while in danger and feeling forgotten, filling his pillow with tears in prayer. In desperation, he asks God to break the arm of his enemy and knock out all of his teeth! Regardless of what he was asking, he always encouraged himself by speaking to himself, saying, “Why are you downcast, oh my soul? Hope in God!” Psalm 42
The Psalms are filled with David asking, asking again, and then asking some more. His continual asking wasn’t a lack of faith or childish behavior—quite the opposite. It was child-like faith, which, in its truest form, is continually persistent.
Today, even if you’ve asked before, let your faith rise and ask again! Your heavenly Father loves to bless his children. (Psalm 35:27) Believe like David, as he wrote, “May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble! May the name of the God of Jacob protect you! May he send you help from the sanctuary and give you support from Zion! May he remember all your offerings and regard with favor your burnt sacrifices! May he grant you your heart’s desire and fulfill all your plans! May we shout for joy over your salvation, and in the name of our God set up our banners! May the Lord fulfill all your petitions!” Psalm 20:1-5
So, don’t quit. Ask again and again and again if necessary. Your Father is listening, and He will answer you
ID <aID <a href=”https://www.dreamstime.com/stock-photo-funny-girl-flower-her-hand-pulled-face-begging-image77784456″>77784456</a> | <a href=”https://www.dreamstime.com/photos-images/child-asking.html”>Child Asking</a> ©
<a href=”https://www.dreamstime.com/madhourse_info”>Madhourse</a> | <a href=”https://www.dreamstime.com/stock-photos”>Dreamstime.com</a>
