Keep Praying

September 9 – Keep Praying

Scripture

“And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart.”
Luke 18:1 (ESV)

“And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint.” (KJV)

Encouragement

Have you ever prayed for something so long that you became tired of asking?

Maybe you have prayed for someone you love to come to Christ. Perhaps you have asked God to restore a relationship, provide for a need, give direction, or change a difficult situation. Days turn into months—or even years—and nothing seems to change.

Jesus understood how easily we can become discouraged.

Before telling the parable of the persistent widow, Luke tells us exactly why Jesus gave it: He wanted His followers to “always pray and not lose heart.”

Those words connect prayer and discouragement in a powerful way.

When we do not see an answer, our temptation is to stop praying. But Jesus tells us to do the opposite. Keep coming to God.

Persistent prayer does not mean that repeating a request will eventually force God to give us what we want. It means we continue bringing our request to Him because we trust the One who hears us.

Every time we pray again, we are saying, “Father, I still trust You with this.”

God may answer exactly as we hoped. He may answer differently. He may ask us to wait much longer than we expected.

But while we wait, we keep praying.

Do not let an unanswered prayer become an abandoned prayer.

Prayer

Dear all-knowing heavenly Father,

You know the prayers I have carried for a long time. Sometimes I become discouraged when I do not see You working in the way I hoped. Help me not to lose heart. Give me faith to keep bringing these requests to You while trusting Your wisdom, Your timing, and Your will. Teach me to persevere in prayer and to trust You with the answer. In Jesus’ precious name, amen.

Thought for Today

When I am tempted to lose heart, I will keep praying and keep trusting God.