The Power of Persistence
7 “Keep asking, and it will be given to you. Keep searching, and you will find. Keep knocking, and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who searches finds, and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.” Matthew 7:7-8
The power of persistence is clearly spelled out to us in the Bible. Here Jesus clearly underscores the effectiveness of persistent prayer. This particular translation (The Holman Christian Standard Bible) brings out the meaning of the words as they appear in the original text. We are to ask, and keep asking. We are to search and keep searching! We are to knock and keep knocking! The persistent prayer warrior will receive the blessing, whereas those that give up will not receive any blessing. The answer comes to those that are persistent.
So, are you discouraged because God didn’t answer your prayer? It might be because you gave up too soon! God doesn’t always answer with “NO WAY!” – sometimes He is waiting for your persistence! Sometimes, however, God will send the answer, but the enemy will delay that very answer (see Daniel 10). Therefore, take heart and continue to pray to God!
Know this: God expects us to know Him sufficiently well (that is to have accepted Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord of our lives, read the Bible daily, and spent time in prayer to Him so as to have drawn closer to Him over time) that we will understand His Will and Purpose in our lives and those that we are praying for. It is not wise to pray persistently for answers to desires that are born out of our lust instead of out of His Will.
Our challenge today: Know God’s Will, then pray for it without ceasing till He clearly answers prayer!
