ByPrayer has always been one of the most prominent spiritual exercises that have granted heaven access to change things (and continues to change things) happening on this Earth realm. Every pastor will encourage believers to pray. But over time, there have been a lot of believers who have gotten frustrated because they feel like God hasn’t answered their prayers after waiting on Him for a long time. However, the scriptures do confirm God answers prayers and also elaborate on some conditions for believers to meet for their prayers to be effective. In today’s article, I’m writing on applying the law of persistence in prayer, which I believe, can help you get what you want from God.
What is the law of persistence?
The law of persistence, in my own words, states that you’ll get what you want after trying the same thing several times—every inventor of a new product used this law. Take Thomas Edison as an example. He failed to invent the light bulb 2,774 times before he succeeded. Today, we have better lighting systems in the world because one person chose to invent a product after many failed attempts, and people took it up to make it better. You might say I’m using an Earthly event to explain something in scripture. But actually, it is scripture that Edison applied without probably knowing it for himself. Let’s look at what Jesus said in Matthew 7:7.
[7] “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.”
Matthew 7:7 (NKJV)
Upon reading this scripture multiple times, I realised something profound in it. Jesus was both revealing three levels of persistence in prayer and also explaining three ways believers pray: those who ask, those who seek and those who knock. But I’ll be focusing more on the persistence aspect in this article.
According to Matthew 7:7, if you want something from God in prayer, you can either ask it, seek it or knock for it. Whichever you use is dependent on what you’re requesting from God. Some prayer topics are so simple that asking God to fulfil it will be done in no time. But for some, you ought to be more persistent and have bold faith to keep praying about it.
The parable of the persistent widow
Look at the parable Jesus said about the widow who wanted justice from her adversary (see Luke 18:1-6) through an ungodly judge. She was persistently visiting this ungodly judge to demand what she wanted. Even though the judge didn’t have any regard for people, the widow’s persistence eventually made him avenge her. How much more God? Do you think your persistence in what you ask will make Him shun you? Of course not!
Some prayer topics are so simple that asking God to fulfil it will be done in no time. But for some, you ought to be more persistent and have bold faith to keep praying about it.
There are some requests you make to heaven that don’t get sorted out by a few seconds of prayer. No! For some, you must pray about the same thing for months and even years. One of them is prayer for your loved ones to be saved. That kind of prayer doesn’t usually yield results overnight but over time.
Final thoughts
No matter what you are praying about today, don’t give up. Keep praying. When what you are asking God for isn’t getting fulfilled as early as you wanted, keep seeking. When something pops up to look like your prayer is answered, don’t settle for it. Check it to see whether it is God’s answer or the devil’s cunning ways. That is what it meant to knock in prayer. Remember that the devil can fake prayer answers too. So, be on your watch.
You are a blessing.
