Praying with Shameless Persistence
“One day Jesus told His disciples a story to show that they should always pray and never give up. ‘There was a judge in a certain city,’ He said, ‘who neither feared God nor cared about people. A widow of that city came to him repeatedly, saying, ‘Give me justice in this dispute with my enemy.’ The judge ignored her for a while, but finally he said to himself, ‘I don’t fear God or care about people, but this woman is driving me crazy. I’m going to see that she gets justice, because she is wearing me out with her constant requests!’ Then the Lord said, ‘Learn a lesson from this unjust judge. Even he rendered a just decision in the end. So don’t you think God will surely give justice to His chosen people who cry out to Him day and night? Will He keep putting them off? I tell you, He will grant justice to them quickly! But when the Son of Man returns, how many will He find on the earth who have faith?’” Luke 18:1-8 (NLT)
Theologians call this kind of praying importunity. Importunity is shameless persistence in prayer because we recognize our absolute helplessness without God. To persist in prayer and not give up doesn’t mean we chant endless repetitious mantras or painfully long prayer sessions. Jesus expressly forbids that kind of religious charade in Matthew 6:7. Persistence in prayer is maintaining an attitude of prayer, staying connected with God, keeping our requests before God as we live with Him day by day, trusting that He will answer us. It means we live by faith; the very quality Jesus is looking for when He returns at the Second Coming. When we live by faith, we don’t give up even if there are delays. We trust that His delays are for a good reason. I’ve discovered at least a few of those reasons in my life have been to grow me in character, faith, and hope. Faith prompts importunity. If we do not believe He can or will do what we ask, we give up and turn away.
One author says that importunity in prayer is also urgent persistence. Like Jacob, when he came to the end of himself and that place of total surrender as he wrestled with God in prayer, he urgently persisted in prayer, “I will not let you go until you bless me!” Genesis 32:26 (TLB)
Like the widow in this story, Jesus told another story of a man who went to his friend’s house late one night to ask him for some loaves of bread to feed an unexpected guest. His friend refused because it was late, and he was already in bed. But the man wouldn’t give up. He just kept knocking on his friend’s door in the middle of the night. Finally, Jesus says, “But I tell you this—though he won’t do it for friendship’s sake, if you keep knocking long enough, he will get up and give you whatever you need because of your shameless persistence.” Luke 11:8 (NLT) The man’s shameless persistence had an urgency that kept him knocking until his friend opened the door. This was another illustration of Jesus’ teaching us to be persistent in prayer. In fact, in the next two verses, Luke 11:9-10 (NLT), Jesus makes His point about this kind of prayer when He says, “And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.”
How persistent are you in prayer? Do you easily give up the moment you don’t see God responding as you had hoped He would? The New International Version translates this kind of praying as “shameless audacity!” Have you ever prayed audacious prayers like that?
Importunity in prayer will challenge your understanding of prayer. Jesus says that the Father wants our prayers to be persistent. Importunity reveals sincerity and heartfelt desire. It also reveals humility as it demonstrates our dependence on God and the fact that we can’t help ourselves; we can’t change our nature apart from God Himself, changing us from the inside out. So just like that widow, we throw ourselves on the mercy of God and find grace to help us in our time of need!
Another important part of your daily devotional is spending time with God in prayer. The Woodlands Church Prayer Board lists prayer requests submitted by our members and provides a way to send them some encouragement by using a button on the page to let them know that you prayed for them. Whether you use the Prayer Board, or pray from your heart, the goal is to build the habit of incorporating prayer into your quiet time.
Need prayer yourself? Let us know by submitting a prayer request on the Woodlands Church Prayer Board.