Persistence is an interesting quality in people, it can be
the making of our success, and it can be the cause of our destruction. When persistence is combined with
righteousness the result is saintly, when it is combined with vice, the result
is grotesque. In the Gospel of Luke,
Jesus expounds upon his answer to the question from the disciples, “Lord, teach
us to pray”, by talking to them about being persistent in prayer. The Greek term used by Jesus could also be
translated as: audacity, boldness, or even impudence. The overall idea is that we must be actively
seeking an answer from God to our prayers and never give up until we find
it. But what are we to be praying
for? What is the object and goal of our
prayers? To answer that question, Jesus
first gives a parable illustrating the value of persistence, followed by the
command to us that we are to ask, seek, and knock knowing that we will receive,
find, and have the door opened for us.
Lastly, before answering the question of what it is we’re praying for,
Jesus reminds us that even human fathers are wise enough, and good enough,
despite the fallen state of humanity, to give their children good things that
will benefit them. If human fathers can
do that much, imagine what our heavenly Father has in store for his adopted
children.
So,
what is the object and goal of our prayers, that which Jesus has told us we will receive if we ask? The Holy Spirit. Jesus isn’t talking here about jobs, health
concerns, money, family troubles, or even freedom or justice, all of which are
legitimate things we need and the focus of many of our prayers. The one thing that Jesus is telling us we
must diligently seek from God in prayer, because by so doing we will find it,
is the Holy Spirit. Jesus isn’t talking
about salvation, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit is given eagerly by God to
everyone who calls on the name of the Lord, and it is that single act of faith that makes
God’s grace available to us as we become his adopted children. Jesus is talking about the life-long process
of transformation, we call it sanctification, which follows after our salvation
with the goal of transforming us into the likeness of Jesus himself. We will all one day be like him, in the life
beyond this one, but for here and now we can become more like him each day as
we purge ourselves of sin and embrace righteousness. That process is a long and difficult one
requiring an ongoing commitment and effort from us, enabled by God’s power working
in us, and yes, supported by persistent prayer.
What
will the answer to your prayer for healing be?
I don’t know, pray and trust in the will of God. What will the answer to your prayer for that
job you need? I don’t know, pray, trust
in God. What will the answer to your
prayer to be more like Jesus be? God
will hear you, he will answer you, and he will transform you if you are
persistent, bold, audacious, and even impudent in continuing to ask it of him.
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