Persistence Remembered

Matthew 7:7-11

"Everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened." ~Matthew 7:8

The verb tense of the asking, seeking, and knocking in this verse (and v. 7) imply continuous, persistent action. Jesus could have told His disciples to ask once, seek briefly, and give a single knock when they pray to their Father. But the fact that He didn't leads us to one of the most perplexing set of questions about prayer tht confronts believers regularly: Why is there a delay? Isn't God willing to answer us? If so, why is persistence important?

Since God already has provision for all of our needs and every aspect of His mission even before we ask, He could give His answer immediately. But He usually does not. He has far greater purposes in our prayers than just the asking and receiving. He wants us to learn more about who He is.

A lot happens between the time we present a request to God and the time He provides the answer. If we grow more intense in our request, we create a situation that will stick in our memories - and that of others, if we've drawn them into our petition - long after God has resolved it for us. When His answer finally comes, we have a memorable testimony of His goodness to us. but if we forget about the request soon after asking it, we were not very serious about it and never would have turned the answer into a testimony about Him anyway. An unfortunate side of human nature is that we are forgetful recipients of good things. Immediate answers to casual requests would reinforce our forgetfulness. It would not establish God's name in our lives.

How many prayers have you dropped because God seemed not to be hearing? If He did not give a definite "no," He may have wanted the delay to draw you closer to Him and establish a better sense of His provision in your need. Don't just ask, seek, knock; keep asking, seeking, and knocking. Such times of persistence lead to a greater, more memorable experience of His goodness.

"Importunate praying never faints of grows weary. It declines to rise from its knees till an answer is received." ~E.M. Bounds

At His Feet ~Tiegreen