Earlier this month, we had a birthday in our family. Since the beginning of this year, possibly earlier, the wonderful celebrant had been asking for one thing: a football jersey of his favourite team and player. Now, my practical self thinks that the cost of those football jerseys for a child is just not worth it, regardless of whose name is on the back. So I sensibly said “no”. I mean, we are talking of a polyester shirt here, not silk or cashmere, and yet the prices of those things… Ha! No please.

Dear readers, he asked and asked, consistently and repeatedly, until I finally caved, and come his birthday, he received not just the jersey, but the whole kit. Yes I know I deserve to be condemned to the place where people who can’t stand their ground are condemned to, but the look of joy on his face was so worth it.

Matthew 7:7 (NLT) encourages us to “Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you.” As I thought about this incident, it reminded me of the parable of the persistent widow and the unjust judge. The persistent widow is a clear demonstration of the power of continuing to ask.

“One day Jesus told his disciples a story to show that they should always pray and never give up.“ There was a judge in a certain city,” He said, “who neither feared God nor cared about people. A widow of that city came to him repeatedly, saying, ‘Give me justice in this dispute with my enemy.’ The judge ignored her for a while, but finally he said to himself, ‘I don’t fear God or care about people, but this woman is driving me crazy. I’m going to see that she gets justice, because she is wearing me out with her constant requests!’” Then the Lord said, “Learn a lesson from this unjust judge. Even he rendered a just decision in the end. So don’t you think God will surely give justice to his chosen people who cry out to him day and night? Will He keep putting them off? I tell you, He will grant justice to them quickly! But when the Son of Man returns, how many will he find on the earth who have faith?”” (Luke 18:1-8, NLT).

This is such an interesting parable. It illustrates a clear contrast between our Just God and this fictional unjust judge. At the same time, it also teaches us some very powerful lessons: the lesson of persistence, of praying without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17), and the importance of faith.

In the example of the persistent widow, Jesus is trying to illustrate the need to intercede for justice for His chosen people. The reason why God is seemingly not responding immediately is not because He is some cruel despot who takes pleasure in people begging Him over and over again. 2 Peter 3:9 (NLT) gives us an idea why: “The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, He is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent.”

However, this need for persistence also applies to various other situations for which we may have been praying and asking and interceding, over and over again. You may have heard the acronym PUSH – Pray Until Something Happens, which is a helpful reminder of the need for persistent prayer. The same lessons are echoed in the parable of a person who asks their neighbour to loan them some bread. It is worth noting that Jesus told this story to His disciples when teaching them how to pray, which implies that this is on par for the course when it comes to prayer.

“Then, teaching them more about prayer, he used this story: “Suppose you went to a friend’s house at midnight, wanting to borrow three loaves of bread. You say to him, ‘A friend of mine has just arrived for a visit, and I have nothing for him to eat.’ And suppose he calls out from his bedroom, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is locked for the night, and my family and I are all in bed. I can’t help you.’ But I tell you this—though he won’t do it for friendship’s sake, if you keep knocking long enough, he will get up and give you whatever you need because of your shameless persistence” (Luke 11:5-8, NLT). That person is also rewarded for their persistence in the end, as they get the bread they need. In this story, Jesus even makes it clear that it is persistence, not even friendship, that gets this person his desire. May we not lean heavily on the pillar of friendship while completely ignoring the pillar of persistence.

It takes great faith to persist in long-term prayer, even when all the surrounding evidence and circumstances make us feel like we are wasting our time, or that we are taking part in an exercise in futility. Again, this is not a case of God being cruel by making us wait for no reason. If He is making us wait, there is always a reason. He may be shaping us in the process. The timing may not be right. Even if there are other reasons why there is a delay in our answers coming, it is still in the place of prayer that we will discover them and war against them. Irrespective of why, prayer ultimately changes us, strengthens our relationship with God, gives us insight into God’s perspective, and is a crucial aspect of waiting on God.

Jude 1:20 (ESV) says, “But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life.” This great, most holy faith comes from “hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ” (Romans 10:17). It can be built by letting “the Word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God” (Colossians 3:16, ESV).

Speaking from experience, sometimes it can be so, so hard to keep going, to keep persevering, to keep PUSH-ing. Which is why we are not asked to keep going on our own. We have God and we have our family of believers. 2 Corinthians 12:9 (NLT) says, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” Remember that it is not by our own strength that we can do this, for it is God who works in us, giving us the desire and power to do what pleases Him (Philippians 2:13, NLT). Ephesians 6:18 (NLT) also exhorts us to “Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.”

In the parable of the persistent person and the loaves of bread, it is interesting to note that their request for bread was not for themselves, but for their friend who had just come to visit. In a sense, that persistent person was actually interceding for a friend in need. We also see a beautiful illustration of intercession in Isaiah 62:1 (NLT), “Because I love Zion, I will not keep still. Because my heart yearns for Jerusalem, I cannot remain silent. I will not stop praying for her until her righteousness shines like the dawn, and her salvation blazes like a burning torch.”

As a family of believers, we are called to lift each other up. Sometimes we may be the ones doing the interceding, sometimes we may be the ones being interceded for. But it is crucial that this intercession is continuous and ongoing. Isaiah 62:6-7a (NLT) states, “O Jerusalem, I have posted watchmen on your walls; they will pray day and night, continually. Take no rest, all you who pray to the Lord. Give the Lord no rest until He completes His work.”

I pray that as we reflect on this, we will receive the grace to be persistent in prayer, to ‘give the Lord no rest until He completes His work’, to persevere like the persistent widow, to keep on asking, seeking and knocking, in line with God’s will. May we receive strength from God when weariness wants to creep in, knowing that, as Galatians 6:9 says, if we do not give up, we will reap a harvest. And what a glorious, bountiful, joyous harvest that will be!

Image source here.