Persistency In Prayer

“Our praying, however, needs to be pressed and pursued with an energy that never tires, a persistency which will not be denied, and a courage which never fails.” – E. M. Bounds

EM Bounds wrote much about prayer. Much of his writing is full of calls for great passion in prayer. We certainly need to pray with passion. But today’s quote reminds me of another important facet of prayer – persistence. Bounds reminds us that it is not enough to pray with passion and energy for a day or two. On the contrary, as he notes, we are called to prayer that “never tires”, and that displays “persistency that will not be denied.” It is not enough that we pray with passion; we must also persist if we expect to see God move in a mighty way in our day.

Of course, Jesus taught us this, not only by His example but also in the parable of the widow and the unjust judge in Luke 18. Interestingly, Luke tells us why Jesus taught this parable: to show us that we should always pray and not give up. And then he asks the haunting question at the end: when He comes will He find faith on the earth? The implication is clear: faith persists in prayer, and prayer that is hit or miss is a sign of weak faith. What a challenging thought!

Persistence is so important because we can easily grow tired in prayer. We fear God is not going to answer. Our faith flags and we begin to trust in our efforts. This is why we must have courage – a courage that believes God will hear and answer, a courage that come what may, we will be found on our knees before God.

I hope this will encourage each of us in our prayer lives. Let us not grow weary in prayer, but persistently keep crying out to God personally and as a group!

In Christ,

Bret