Praying with Persistence

“So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.” - Luke 11:9-10

Can you imagine praying for one specific thing for 70 years!? Talk about persistence and faith! Most theologians agree that Zechariah and Elizabeth were somewhere in their 90s when Luke 1 took place. If they were married in their teens as most couples were in that day, that means they had been asking God for a child for 60-70 years without a “Yes.”

They could have done what many have done…give up on God and quit. Zechariah, a priest, could have said, “Why serve God? What good does it do to be righteous and holy if God is not going to answer my prayer? What good is living for Him anyway?” Such a response wouldn’t be unusual. How many people want God on their own terms? It is easy to serve God when He gives us what we want. But what about when He doesn’t answer…or answers “No…” What then?

Have you ever prayed when it seems like heaven is covered with a steel curtain? Have your prayers ever been met with silence? Do you ever pray and it seems like you are talking to yourself? Zechariah and Elizabeth’s story in Luke 1 reminds us of this truth: God is always listening. God hears our every prayer. “Your prayer has been heard.” These are the words the angel spoke to Zechariah in Luke 1:13. Seven decades of praying, and God heard every single word.

The same God that heard Zechariah’s prayers hears your prayers today. He is faithful. And while His answer will not always be the “yes” that Zechariah received, it will always be what is best.

Father, Give me the faith to pray persistently, like Zechariah. Help me to trust Your answer, knowing that You always do what is best.

In Jesus’ Name, Amen.