Ceaselessly

Luke 18:¹ “One day Jesus told his disciples a story to show that they should always pray and never give up.”

Mysteriously, God wants us to keep asking about the same thing, Even Though We Have Asked Him Before. Matt.7:⁷ “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.” Think about it; the concept of knocking is the concept of repetition. If you are in a room and you hear one knock on the door, you will not be sure you heard something. You typically will wait because if it is a knock, it going to be repeated. Similarly, to pray without ceasing is to never stop asking. He, God, seems to want us to ask, again and again, to present the things He already knows. What a mystery.

The story Jesus told in Luke 18 was the story of a widow that went to a judge asking him to avenge her of her adversary [one prayer point]. The Bible says, the judge did not listen to her but did the widow change the prayer point? She kept praying, and she kept pressing. Then the judge admitted that the woman was going to wear him out with her trouble. So, he decided to give her what she wants so that she can go away with all her trouble. And God said if the unjust judge could render justice in the end, how much more Him. So, do not stop asking [narrated from Luke 18:1-8, please read]. This is a total mystery. People have attempted to explain this exhaustively; I have read different commentaries and listened to different expositions. A lot of light has been shed but it is still a mystery. 1 Thess.5:¹⁷ (TPT) “Make your life a prayer.”

Ask and keep on asking; remember, the word pray is to ask and keep on asking. But I asked for this yesterday, is it that God has not heard? No, God says, ‘keep asking’. Why should I keep on asking when I have asked, He has heard, and He has the power to do? Many possible reasons, hopefully as the days go by you will be able to answer some of these questions. But in the meantime, keep asking. It is a mystery, accept it, but keep asking. If I keep asking, doesn’t that mean I do not have faith? No. It actually means you have faith. You will not continue to ask if you do not believe that God will answer. The fact that you believe God will answer you, is faith. So, keep asking. Most times, we give up on our dreams not because God has given up on them. Most times, we give up on the things that we have asked for, not because God has given up on them.

Sometimes, we ask God for something in year one and it does not get delivered until year twenty, or maybe year eleven, or year two, or in six months, or one week, or instantly. I wish I can tell you that it is every prayer I pray that gets answered instantly. Anyone that tells you that is a big fat liar! I have had prayers answered instantly and God keeps doing that and it is a miracle. But I have had prayers that while I am working, seeking out solutions, I have to keep praying. I may adjust the plan or adjust the direction of my navigation, but I still have to keep on praying.

Prayer: Father, I ask for the grace to be persistent in prayer and to make my life a prayer. Even when the answer seems slow, help me to tarry in the place of prayer, in Jesus Name. Amen!