By: Pastor Jarren Rogers

“Your heavenly father is far too wise and far too loving to give you everything you ask for in prayer” – Mark Batterson

This might sound familiar.

“I just don’t know what to do. I’ve been praying, and praying, and praying, and nothing seems to be changing. This has been a problem for A LONG TIME. It’s almost as if God isn’t listening to me…”

I know all of us may have said something similar to this at one time or another.

But, be encouraged today because the truth is this:

God ALWAYS answers prayers.

It may not be in the way we expected. It may not be in our timing.

But God is always faithful to answer when we call upon him.

Sometimes, I think God is looking for us to persist. He wants us to have faith in Him over a long period of time. He wants us to believe that he will answer our prayers in the long-term.

We just have to CONTINUE praying.

“Continue to ask, and God will give to you. Continue to search, and you will find. Continue to knock, and the door will open for you. Yes, whoever continues to ask will receive. Whoever continues to look will find. And whoever continues to knock will have the door opened for them,” (Luke 11:7-8).

One of my favorite movies is Rocky. If you haven’t seen it before, it’s about a boxer named Rocky Balboa. One of the things that made Rocky such a great boxer wasn’t how much he trained, how hard he punched, nor how fast he moved. What made Rocky so great was how long he could persist.

His opponent may get in more hits, but Rocky was able to keep getting up when he was knocked down. He was able to CONTINUE fighting through all fifteen rounds.

I think God is looking for us to be a little more like Rocky. He doesn’t care how elaborate our prayers are, how many fancy words we use, or how many times we reference Scripture when we pray. He is looking at how long we will keep our trust in Him and keep praying. How long will we persist and have faith through the punches that life throws our way?

If you CONTINUE to ask, God promises that you will receive.

Parents: Ask your child for something for which you can help them pray. Every night before bed, pray for their request along with them and show them the persistence that God requires of us when we pray.