Communication Key: Persistence
#42 in the Series: Daddy, It's Me--Conversations of an Ordinary Person
with an Extraordinary Heavenly Father
Have you ever had a
child or known a child that desperately wanted a pet…perhaps a puppy or a cat
or a horse! They constantly pester their
parent and sometimes even offer bribes of being good, doing extra chores or jobs
or maybe they resort to whining or temper tantrums. Even though the parents may not want the
extra expense and responsibility of a pet, it is the strong parent indeed who
is able to hold out very long. Our human
children know something about persistent that many of God’s children have
forgotten.
“One day Jesus taught the
apostles to keep praying and never stop or lose hope. He shared with them this
illustration: “In a certain town there was a judge, a thick-skinned and godless
man who had no fear of others’ opinions. And there was a poor widow in that
town who kept pleading with the judge, ‘Grant me justice and protect me against
my oppressor!’ “He ignored her pleas for quite some time, but she kept asking.
Eventually he said to himself, ‘This widow keeps annoying me, demanding her
rights, and I’m tired of listening to her. Even though I’m not a religious man
and don’t care about the opinions of others, I’ll just get her off my back by
answering her claims for justice and I’ll rule in her favor. Then she’ll leave
me alone.’ ”
The Lord continued, “Did you
hear what the ungodly judge said—that he would answer her persistent request?
Don’t you know that God, the true judge, will grant justice to all of his
chosen ones who cry out to him night and day? He will pour out his Spirit upon
them. He will not delay to answer you and give you what you ask for. God will
give swift justice to those who don’t give up. So be ever praying, ever
expecting, just like the widow was with the judge. Yet when the Son of Man
comes back, will he find this kind of persistent faithfulness in his people?””
Luke 18:1-8 TPT
That is
an interesting question that Jesus asks at the end of his story: When he comes back, will he find this kind of
persistent faithfulness in his people?
As the years have passed since his resurrection and ascension the years
until his return are getting fewer and fewer…and the persistence of his people
seems to be diminishing. What can you
say about your own persistence? If a
prayer has not been answered, do you keep asking? Are you like the widow or like the pestering
child? Remember, according to this passage,
God will answer swiftly compared to the unjust judge.
““Ask, and the gift is yours.
Seek, and you’ll discover. Knock, and the door will be opened for you. For
every persistent one will get what he asks for. Every persistent seeker will
discover what he longs for. And everyone who knocks persistently will one day
find an open door.”
Matthew 7:7-8 TPT
Ask and
keep on asking…seek and keep on seeking…knock and keep on knocking for the ones
who persists in asking gets answers, the ones who persists in seeking will find
what he is looking for and more, to the one who persists in knocking, the door
will be opened. It is the earnest prayer
of righteousness people that gets results.
“So Peter was kept in prison,
but earnest prayer for him was made to God by the church.
And behold, an angel of the Lord
stood next to him, and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side
and woke him, saying, "Get up quickly." And the chains fell off his
hands.
When they had passed the first
and the second guard, they came to the iron gate leading into the city. It
opened for them of its own accord, and they went out and went along one street,
and immediately the angel left him.”
Acts 12:5,
7, 10 ESV
“Therefore, confess your sins to
one another [your false steps, your offenses], and pray for one another, that
you may be healed and restored. The heartfelt and persistent prayer of a
righteous man (believer) can accomplish much [when put into action and made
effective by God—it is dynamic and can have tremendous power].”
JAMES 5:16 AMP
Keep on
keeping on. It is a key to freeing your
mustang heart!
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