Dr. James Wigton's Blog

Jesus makes it clear in the Gospels that we should be persistent in prayer. My guess is that far too often we give up — or grow weary — of praying, perhaps when God is just about to answer. James tells us, “You have not, because you ask not.” Then Jesus uses two parables to accentuate persistence in the matter of prayer. He tells of the man who has a late night visitor and pesters his neighbor for food to set before his visitor. “Lend me three loaves!” he persistently asks. Finally, the neighbor gives in — not because of his own kindness, but because he is being worn out by the frequent requests. A similar story is told of the unjust judge who finally gives in to help a widow lady — not because it is the right thing to do, but because he is tired of the constant requests coming from the widow. In other words, she is making a nuisance of herself.

God is not unjust. But he uses these illustrations to show us how He will answer our prayers — if we will keep at it, if we will be persistent in coming to Him.

We need to pray and keep praying. The Bible says to keep seeking, keep knocking on the door, keep asking. After all, such persistence is evidence of true faith. We are expecting God to answer!