The Importance of Persistent Prayer

Nineteenth-century pastor and evangelist George Mueller cared for thousands of orphans in England and was known to be great man of faith. He decided to pray for five personal friends who did not yet know the Lord, and it wasn’t until five years later that the first of them came to faith.

After five years, two more became Christians. And after 25 years, the fourth came to Christ. Until he died, Mueller prayed for the last person who had not yet believed. And that friend finally came to know the Lord after his death. In total, George Mueller prayed for his five friends for more than 50 years.

Sometimes we pray for something that really seems like the will of God, but the Lord doesn’t give it to us when we ask. When nothing happens, we think that God has abandoned us. We want to know what went wrong.

But Jesus would say, “Keep at it. Keep praying, keep seeking, and keep knocking. Don’t give up. Apply yourself. Be persistent.”

Jesus told the story of a man who knocked on his neighbor’s door late at night until he finally got a response. He said, “Though he will not rise and give to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will rise and give him as many as he needs. So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you” (Luke 11:8–9 NKJV).

We, too, need to pray. And we need to keep praying.

Sometimes we’re surprised when God answers our prayers, aren’t we? We pray and pray, and when God answers our prayers, we say, “I can’t believe it!”

But we need to believe that God can answer our prayers. God has His timing. So don’t feel that He has let you down or abandoned you. Keep praying.