Does being persistent in prayer have to do with praying fervently for a need to be granted? I need to understand more of being persistent and how do I know when God is not in support with a need that I am persistent in praying about.
Let’s look at a few verses that teach us about the necessity and power of prayer.
* 1 Thessalonians 5:17, “Pray without ceasing.”
* 1 Peter 5:6-7, “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.”
* James 4:2, “Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not.”
These verses teach us that we do indeed need to be persistent in our prayers and that we should pray about everything…casting ALL our cares upon Him because He cares for us. What a precious thing to realize that when we give our cares to the Lord, that He will listen, and according to His perfect and holy will, He will answer. Surely, we all want the Lord’s will to be done, so we should be consistent in asking for the Lord’s will in our lives and needs. We read in Psalm 86:7, “In the day of my trouble I will call upon thee: for thou wilt answer me.”
We see that it is the Lord’s will that we commit all our needs to Him. The Lord instructs us in Psalm 50:15, “And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.” It is impossible for us to ‘overload’ the Lord with our needs and cares. We read the Lord’s words in Jeremiah 32:27, “Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh: is there any thing too hard for me?” Indeed, there is NOTHING to hard for the Lord to do, and He will do it according to His will.
It may be a little difficult to determine if the Lord wants you to continue praying for a certain need. I believe it is proper to ask the Lord if He wants you to continue to pray. Then, you simply wait upon Him to see if He continues to lay this need upon your heart. Let us consider Luke 18:1-7, “And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint; Saying, There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man: And there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary. And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man; Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me. And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith. And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them?” The lesson here is that if a man who has no respect for God or his fellow man would answer the persistent requests of a widow, how much more will the Lord answer our prayers when we are persistent and consistent.
It is important that we realize that no matter how earnestly or persistently we pray, we will never talk the Lord into doing something that is against His perfect will. He knows what is best for us and He will do that every time. 1 John 5:14 tells us, “And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us.” Let us also be consistent in thanking the Lord whether He answers our prayers according to our requests or not. Colossians 3:17 instructs us, “And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him. (393.2)