Pray to God and Never Give Up

In prayer, persistence pays off. In life in general, persistence pays off. “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you,” the Bible says (Matthew 7:7, KJV). An interesting thing about this verse is that each of the verbs in the Greek language from which they were derived—ask, seek, and knock—is in the present tense, which in that language denotes a repeated action. This means we must develop the discipline in life of asking, seeking, and knocking, if we are to reach our objectives in life.

On the subject of how to pray, there are those who teach that we should not pray more than once about the same thing. They contend that our doing so denotes a lack of faith. But in the verse above, Jesus teaches that when we pray, we should persist. When doors are locked and things seem hopeless, we must keep knocking on the door. We must keep seeking until we find.

Ever observed a person who is confident about what he wants out of life? He will allow nothing to deter him. It doesn’t matter how many times life tells him the answer is no, he believes it is yes, and so he drives full speed ahead. When one plan does not work, he regroups and gets back on the offensive. He refuses to take no for an answer when he believes he is on to something and that he can reach his goal. That type of conviction is absolutely unstoppable.

We must have a similar resolve when we pray to God. Why? Because at times when we pray and He grants our request, it does not mean that all obstacles disappear. In fact, sometimes, when God says yes, the world and the devil will seriously say no way. But if we believe that God has heard and answered our prayer, we must then put some action to our faith. We must not be deterred by the doors that are shut in our face. We must seek until we realize our desire.

And here is the assurance we have: “For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened” (Matthew 7:8, NIV).

Life is filled with obstacles and hurdles. But true winners don’t despair. They keep asking, keep seeking, and keep knocking; knowing that through faith in God persistence pays off. So, are you that kind of person?

Copyright © 2012 by Frank King. All rights reserved.