Don't lose heart
I was reminded this morning of an important truth from Luke 18:1. "And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart." It came from a brief conversation I had with a friend of mine who related a story from an extended family member of hers.
The family had a daughter who did "the right things" growing up. Professed faith; went to church with her family; followed the "shoulds and shouldn'ts" like she was supposed to. Then she got out of high school and into college and wandered from her faith. For years, her parents prayed and prayed.
Just this past Easter, the mom was talking to their daughter, and before they hung up, the daughter said "do you want to know what I did today, mom?" Since the daughter is now 40, the mom was stunned to hear her daughter say "I went to church!" This was no Easter only Christian; she wasn't going anywhere at all. To top it off, she told her mom that it was a friend at work who had made a passing comment one day about missing church and this young lady realized that she missed it too. This Easter was actually her 5th Sunday...in a row.
My friend has a child that is struggling in their faith too. This was a great encouragement to them to continue to pray for their child. It's a reminder to me too that I can never stop praying faithfully. I'm reminded of Samuel who, when the children of Israel asked for his prayers after they had wrongfully demanded a king instead of God, said "far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by ceasing to pray for you...
We can't stop praying. Our impatience doesn't move God; our prayer does. And during those times that we pray for far longer than we think should be necessary, Let's remember that prayer is not about getting answers to our shopping list of requests nearly as much as it is about getting us into the flow of God's purposes. God is at work when we don't see it; accomplishing his good purpose. Unfaltering prayer is one of the clearest expressions of faith. Let's keep it up.
The family had a daughter who did "the right things" growing up. Professed faith; went to church with her family; followed the "shoulds and shouldn'ts" like she was supposed to. Then she got out of high school and into college and wandered from her faith. For years, her parents prayed and prayed.
Just this past Easter, the mom was talking to their daughter, and before they hung up, the daughter said "do you want to know what I did today, mom?" Since the daughter is now 40, the mom was stunned to hear her daughter say "I went to church!" This was no Easter only Christian; she wasn't going anywhere at all. To top it off, she told her mom that it was a friend at work who had made a passing comment one day about missing church and this young lady realized that she missed it too. This Easter was actually her 5th Sunday...in a row.
My friend has a child that is struggling in their faith too. This was a great encouragement to them to continue to pray for their child. It's a reminder to me too that I can never stop praying faithfully. I'm reminded of Samuel who, when the children of Israel asked for his prayers after they had wrongfully demanded a king instead of God, said "far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by ceasing to pray for you...
We can't stop praying. Our impatience doesn't move God; our prayer does. And during those times that we pray for far longer than we think should be necessary, Let's remember that prayer is not about getting answers to our shopping list of requests nearly as much as it is about getting us into the flow of God's purposes. God is at work when we don't see it; accomplishing his good purpose. Unfaltering prayer is one of the clearest expressions of faith. Let's keep it up.
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