Volume 1 · Week 6 — Learning to Pray
Day 39 — Praying Without Losing Heart
Main verse
“And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;”
— Luke 18:1 (KJV)
Meditation
It is relatively easy to pray when an answer seems close. Prayer becomes harder when the days pass, the situation remains unchanged, and God’s silence seems to continue.
We may then wonder whether God still hears us. We repeat the same words, present the same needs, and return to him with increasingly fragile hope. Little by little, weariness threatens to replace trust.
Jesus knew this discouragement. That is why he told the story of a widow who kept returning to ask an indifferent judge for justice. Her persistence was eventually heard.
This parable does not compare God to an insensitive judge who must be worn down by our requests. Instead, Jesus draws a contrast: if even an unjust judge eventually responds, how much more does God hear those who cry to him!
To persevere in prayer is to refuse to let time interrupt our relationship with God. We return to him without mechanically repeating the same words or trying to force his will, because we know where to bring our waiting.
Some prayers will receive an answer different from the one we hoped for. Others will remain with us for a long time. While we wait, God may change the circumstances, but he can also strengthen our faith, purify our desires, and teach us a deeper dependence.
When words grow worn, a very simple prayer is enough: “Lord, I am still here. I do not understand your silence, but I choose to remain before you.”
Psalm
Psalm 13:1–6 (KJV)
1 How long wilt thou forget me, O LORD? for ever? how long wilt thou hide thy face from me? 2 How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart daily? how long shall mine enemy be exalted over me? 3 Consider and hear me, O LORD my God: lighten mine eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death; 4 Lest mine enemy say, I have prevailed against him; and those that trouble me rejoice when I am moved. 5 But I have trusted in thy mercy; my heart shall rejoice in thy salvation. 6 I will sing unto the LORD, because he hath dealt bountifully with me.
Further Bible reading
Luke 18:1–8; Romans 12:12; Colossians 4:2
Suggested hymn
The Church Hymnal (1941), no. 319 — “Prayer Is the Soul’s Sincere Desire”
Prayer
Lord, you know the prayers I have carried for a long time and the weariness that sometimes weakens my hope. Keep me from confusing your silence with your absence. Give me perseverance to return to you, trust to wait, and humility to welcome your answer, even when it differs from my expectations. Amen.
A thought to keep
Persevering in prayer means remaining close to God when the answer is still delayed.
Personal Notes
What would you like to remember, pray about, or put into practice today?