“Be persistent in prayer, and keep alert as you pray, giving thanks to God.” Colossians 4:2

Persistent prayer means to continue firmly in prayer, keep on praying,  praying in spite of difficulty, doubt, discouragement or opposition. Jesus gave a parable of the persistent widow to drive home the point that we should always pray and not give up (Luke 18:1-8).

Jesus said and it is recorded in Luke 11:9-10, “So I say to you, Ask and keep on asking and it shall be given you; seek and keep on seeking and you shall find; knock and keep on knocking and the door shall be opened to you. For everyone who asks and keeps on asking receives; and he who seeks and keeps on seeking finds; and to him who knocks and keeps on knocking, the door shall be opened.” (Amplified Bible).

Beloved, in your persistent prayer, you pray without giving up. Jesus and the verses in the Bible encourage and command you to do it. (refer Ephesians 6:18; 1 Thessalonians 5:17-18, Mark 13:33). When you pray persistently without giving up, do not think you are doing this because God needs to be reminded of it. No, He knows all about you-your struggles and needs- before you become even aware and start praying about it. However, something happens in your persistent prayers. What is it? Your faith in Him is tested and proved. Moreover, you are being transformed according to his will.

You pray persistently, and you may find out he is not answering the way you wanted. It does not mean God is not answering your prayer. Keep alert as you pray.

In many of my prayers, I got the answer exactly the way I wanted. Praise and thanks to him. However, not all the time. You see, if the answer is not coming the way you wanted, either he is deepening your faith and trust in Him or he is refocusing your goal and attention on something else. You want ‘A’ badly. However, what you need is not ‘A’ but ‘B’. You do not know it. However, he knows it. When you pray continually, your heart will be tuned to accept not A but B. You see God wants to answer your prayer. But he wants to do it in a better and a deeper way more than you could imagine so that you would be happy and His name would be glorified at the end.

This happened a few times in my spiritual life. I persistently prayed for a few things. However, in the process of persistent prayer, God changed my heart to accept not what I was prayed for but something else which eventually brought more glory to him and happiness to me. Amazing right? However, if you stop praying in the middle, you would not enjoy the full benefits. In other words, the whole process would not be fulfilling the way it was intended. Persistent prayer is a command from God. Be persistent in prayer.

Jesus Himself practiced persistent prayer. Often he withdrew from disciples and went to pray in solitude to his Father in heaven. He used to spend all night in prayer. That required enormous patience and perseverance. He remained persistent in prayers. When he was in the garden of Gethsemane, during the end of his earthy days, he was praying fervently that his sweat became drops of blood. The cup that he was going to face was so hard. The whole word’s sin would be on his shoulders and he would be the sacrificial lamb for all the people ever lived and would live on the face of this earth. He would be the atonement for people’s sins and shortcomings. It was so horrible and the burden was so heavy on him. In His persistent and fervent prayer, listen what came from his lips, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as you will.” Even though he wanted the cup to pass from him if possible, He submitted his will (prayer request) to the will of the Father.

Beloved, this is what persistent and fervent prayers would do to you as well. In the process of persistent prayer, a re-evaluation, refocus and realigning of our goals to his plans and purposes emerges. In the end, God would be glorified and you would be happy and satisfied.

Our today’s insight says, “Be persistent in prayer, and keep alert as you pray, giving thanks to God.” Each word in the verse is important. Be persistent means continue praying without giving up. Keep alert as you pray means to be diligent, watchful and open your hearts and minds for his best for you. As you continue in persistent prayer, keep your fingers loose and flexible to receive from God the very best. Give thanks as you continue your persistent prayers. You expect big things from the Big Lord, although you do not know for sure how the final product looks like. Keep heartfelt gratitude to God because you are up to something divine and unimaginable as you stick with your prayer. You would be transformed in the process of persistent prayer for sure.

Prayer transforms and persistent prayer transforms you to Christ-likeness.

Got a moment for today’s prayer? “Father in heaven, I understand through my persistent prayers you would transform me by refocusing, realigning my goals to your goals. I pray that your will would ultimately fulfilled in my life. I surrender my life for your glory. May I become more Christ-like as your Holy Spirit works inside me. In Christ’s name, I  pray. Amen.”