Persistence
One of the hardest things, at least for me, in intercession and prayer is persistence. Praying about something once is easy. To pray faith filled, bold declarations two or three times is really not that much of a challenge. But to keep going with those same faith filled, bold declarations for weeks, months, years .... that’s a whole other story. Then it’s easy to start wondering if you are foolish to keep asking.
How do you keep believing that God is able to do something in these situations when He doesn’t seem to be doing anything?
I find that each time I pray and believe for something I get more invested in that issue, and so with every prayer it matters more to me that God would move and bring His presence into that situation. Simultaneously though, in my human eyes, it seems less likely and so the more time passes the greater the temptation is to draw away, to be less specific, to pray with less boldness.
Time and time again in the Bible we see people praying for months, years, decades for things though. Nehemiah waited 4 months between hearing the news about Jerusalem that broke his heart and being able to speak to the King, Joseph waited for many years in jail before he was released, Abraham waited until he was over a hundred to see the promises of God outworked in his life. Very rarely it seems do things happen instantly or when we want them.
Recently I found myself captured by what Romans 4 said of Abraham’s faith during his waiting:
4:18 (NLT) “Even when there was no reason for hope, Abraham kept hoping - believing that he would become the father of many nations. For God had said to him, ‘That’s how many descendants you will have!’ ”
4:20-21 (NRSV) “No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but as he grew strong in his faith he gave glory to God, being fully convinced that God was able to do what He had promised.”
These verses are so challenging to me as I struggle to wait. I realise that as I wait I see just how much (or indeed little) I trust God and His goodness. My waiting reveals any bitterness or disappointment I hold against God in my heart.
A few years ago on a trip to Japan God really spoke to me about this issue. It was the end of a wonderful trip with friends but I was flying back by myself. It was the last flight of the day and more importantly the last flight that would get me back to Hong Kong in time to be able to teach a Manna class the next day. Teaching this class was something I’d been waiting and longing to do for a while (I love teaching and I had been given such a good topic - the Psalms!) so I really needed to get back for it.
I’m always a cautious traveller and try and get to the airport with more than enough time before the flight leaves. So there I was about to head out the door from my Airbnb to travel across Tokyo to get to the airport. I decide to check my flight details one more time, which was when I realised I had completely misread the time of my flight - it was 2 hours earlier than I had originally thought it was. In a moment of panic I prayed, and felt like God said it would be ok, that I would be on my flight. I reasoned with myself that due to my habit of arriving to airports so early I had just enough time if everything went smoothly anyway, and so I raced out the door with a little bit of hope.
Things did not go smoothly though. If there was an opportunity for me to be delayed it happened on this journey. The lines to buy tickets were crazy, time after time there would be people tying up the only machine for ages faffing and generally being quite clueless as to how to use the things; it was rush hour and I constantly had to wait for multiple trains to come through before I was able to get on; trains just stopped in the middle of the line for seemingly no reason. With each delay I felt the panic in me rise a little and the confidence that I would be on this flight diminishing. But time and time again despite the circumstances I felt like God was saying that I would be on the flight - my panic though continued to drown out that voice.
When I was on the penultimate leg of the journey I realised that the train to the airport ran once every hour. I figured if I didn’t have to wait too long for this I would be ok but if I had to wait more than 30 minutes I’d almost certainly miss my flight. So that’s where all my hope went - into arriving just in time for this final airport train. As I arrived at this station though I saw the train I needed to be on pulling out of the station and so there I sat for an hour waiting. Waiting and watching minute after minute tick by and with those minutes went all of my hopes of getting on the flight. I convinced myself that it was impossible to get onto my flight so much so that when I arrived at the airport I walked calmly along to the check in desk and announced to the lady behind the desk that I’d missed my flight and asked where I should go to rebook. There were only 30 minutes until takeoff after all and I still needed to check in luggage. There was no way it was possible to get on this flight.
Surprisingly she simply asked me which flight I was supposed to be on. When I told her she looked at her watch and then said - it’s ok, if you go quickly you can make it. Is this bag for check in? So she took my bag, gave me my boarding pass, a fast pass for the security lines, and some detailed instructions for how to get to the gate as quickly as possible and sent me on my way wishing me good luck. All with less than 30 minutes until my plane took off.
I raced my way through the airport with no time to think and as I was sitting in my seat on the plane God spoke to me:
“Jemma, your view of me and how I move and work is too limited. You pick up on one way I could do what I promise and then think it’s the only way. But like today I am able to make things happen in ways that don’t seem possible to you. But they more clearly show you, and others, who I am. But when the option you were transfixed on seems to close you get disappointed and stop trusting me because you assume I’ve stopped working and given up on my promises. But that’s not true.
It’s so easy to get caught in a vicious cycle of feeling disappointed in the ways I work which leads to a narrower view of me, which leads to more disappointment etc etc... I don’t want that cycle for you.
Today is a reminder to you that I am the God that makes a way where it seems impossible. It’s time to stretch your perspective of what I am able to do in, and through, and for you. Dig out this root of disappointment that you are holding and learn to hope with me again.”
So I am continuing to press into praying with persistence. I am trying to be one that continues to trust and hope even when it seems like there is no reason for hope. Every time I am tempted to give up praying and hoping when things don’t seem to be moving I remind myself of the truth about the God who is working and continues to work. I am learning to recognise if I’m holding onto disappointment that’s stopping me from trusting in this way.
And now, more than ever, it is so necessary.
How do you keep believing that God is able to do something in these situations when He doesn’t seem to be doing anything?
I find that each time I pray and believe for something I get more invested in that issue, and so with every prayer it matters more to me that God would move and bring His presence into that situation. Simultaneously though, in my human eyes, it seems less likely and so the more time passes the greater the temptation is to draw away, to be less specific, to pray with less boldness.
Time and time again in the Bible we see people praying for months, years, decades for things though. Nehemiah waited 4 months between hearing the news about Jerusalem that broke his heart and being able to speak to the King, Joseph waited for many years in jail before he was released, Abraham waited until he was over a hundred to see the promises of God outworked in his life. Very rarely it seems do things happen instantly or when we want them.
Recently I found myself captured by what Romans 4 said of Abraham’s faith during his waiting:
4:18 (NLT) “Even when there was no reason for hope, Abraham kept hoping - believing that he would become the father of many nations. For God had said to him, ‘That’s how many descendants you will have!’ ”
4:20-21 (NRSV) “No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but as he grew strong in his faith he gave glory to God, being fully convinced that God was able to do what He had promised.”
These verses are so challenging to me as I struggle to wait. I realise that as I wait I see just how much (or indeed little) I trust God and His goodness. My waiting reveals any bitterness or disappointment I hold against God in my heart.
A few years ago on a trip to Japan God really spoke to me about this issue. It was the end of a wonderful trip with friends but I was flying back by myself. It was the last flight of the day and more importantly the last flight that would get me back to Hong Kong in time to be able to teach a Manna class the next day. Teaching this class was something I’d been waiting and longing to do for a while (I love teaching and I had been given such a good topic - the Psalms!) so I really needed to get back for it.
I’m always a cautious traveller and try and get to the airport with more than enough time before the flight leaves. So there I was about to head out the door from my Airbnb to travel across Tokyo to get to the airport. I decide to check my flight details one more time, which was when I realised I had completely misread the time of my flight - it was 2 hours earlier than I had originally thought it was. In a moment of panic I prayed, and felt like God said it would be ok, that I would be on my flight. I reasoned with myself that due to my habit of arriving to airports so early I had just enough time if everything went smoothly anyway, and so I raced out the door with a little bit of hope.
Things did not go smoothly though. If there was an opportunity for me to be delayed it happened on this journey. The lines to buy tickets were crazy, time after time there would be people tying up the only machine for ages faffing and generally being quite clueless as to how to use the things; it was rush hour and I constantly had to wait for multiple trains to come through before I was able to get on; trains just stopped in the middle of the line for seemingly no reason. With each delay I felt the panic in me rise a little and the confidence that I would be on this flight diminishing. But time and time again despite the circumstances I felt like God was saying that I would be on the flight - my panic though continued to drown out that voice.
When I was on the penultimate leg of the journey I realised that the train to the airport ran once every hour. I figured if I didn’t have to wait too long for this I would be ok but if I had to wait more than 30 minutes I’d almost certainly miss my flight. So that’s where all my hope went - into arriving just in time for this final airport train. As I arrived at this station though I saw the train I needed to be on pulling out of the station and so there I sat for an hour waiting. Waiting and watching minute after minute tick by and with those minutes went all of my hopes of getting on the flight. I convinced myself that it was impossible to get onto my flight so much so that when I arrived at the airport I walked calmly along to the check in desk and announced to the lady behind the desk that I’d missed my flight and asked where I should go to rebook. There were only 30 minutes until takeoff after all and I still needed to check in luggage. There was no way it was possible to get on this flight.
Surprisingly she simply asked me which flight I was supposed to be on. When I told her she looked at her watch and then said - it’s ok, if you go quickly you can make it. Is this bag for check in? So she took my bag, gave me my boarding pass, a fast pass for the security lines, and some detailed instructions for how to get to the gate as quickly as possible and sent me on my way wishing me good luck. All with less than 30 minutes until my plane took off.
I raced my way through the airport with no time to think and as I was sitting in my seat on the plane God spoke to me:
“Jemma, your view of me and how I move and work is too limited. You pick up on one way I could do what I promise and then think it’s the only way. But like today I am able to make things happen in ways that don’t seem possible to you. But they more clearly show you, and others, who I am. But when the option you were transfixed on seems to close you get disappointed and stop trusting me because you assume I’ve stopped working and given up on my promises. But that’s not true.
It’s so easy to get caught in a vicious cycle of feeling disappointed in the ways I work which leads to a narrower view of me, which leads to more disappointment etc etc... I don’t want that cycle for you.
Today is a reminder to you that I am the God that makes a way where it seems impossible. It’s time to stretch your perspective of what I am able to do in, and through, and for you. Dig out this root of disappointment that you are holding and learn to hope with me again.”
So I am continuing to press into praying with persistence. I am trying to be one that continues to trust and hope even when it seems like there is no reason for hope. Every time I am tempted to give up praying and hoping when things don’t seem to be moving I remind myself of the truth about the God who is working and continues to work. I am learning to recognise if I’m holding onto disappointment that’s stopping me from trusting in this way.
And now, more than ever, it is so necessary.
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