An answer to prayer may not come immediately. Petitioners are to continue praying earnestly. This requires patience, determination and, at times, a willingness to wrestle with God for the desired outcome.
The principle of persistence in prayer
Prayer should be made with patience and perseverance
Psalm 40:1, Psalm 88:1 See also 1 Chronicles 16:11; Psalm 116:2
For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. I waited patiently for the LORD; He inclined to me and heard my cry.
A song. A Psalm of the sons of Korah. For the choirmaster. According to Mahalath Leannoth. A Maskil of Heman the Ezrahite. O LORD, the God of my salvation, day and night I cry out before You.
Jesus Christ taught his disciples to persist in prayer
Luke 18:1–8 See also Luke 11:5–10
Then Jesus told them a parable about their need to pray at all times and not lose heart: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected men. And there was a widow in that town who kept appealing to him, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’ For a while he refused, but later he said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear God nor respect men, yet because this widow keeps pestering me, I will give her justice. Otherwise, she will wear me out with her perpetual requests.’” And the Lord said, “Listen to the words of the unjust judge. Will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry out to Him day and night? Will He delay in helping them? I tell you, He will promptly carry out justice on their behalf. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on earth?”
Persistence in prayer was exemplified in the early church
With one accord they all continued in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers.
Paul exhorted the churches to practise persistent prayer
Ephesians 6:18 See also Romans 12:12; 1 Thessalonians 5:17
Pray in the Spirit at all times, with every kind of prayer and petition. To this end, stay alert with all perseverance in your prayers for all the saints.
Examples of persistence in prayer
Abraham pleads persistently for Sodom
Jacob persists in wrestling with God
Moses persists in interceding for Israel
Deuteronomy 9:25–29 See also Exodus 32:31–32
So I fell down before the LORD for forty days and forty nights, because the LORD had said He would destroy you. And I prayed to the LORD and said, “O Lord GOD, do not destroy Your people, Your inheritance, whom You redeemed through Your greatness and brought out of Egypt with a mighty hand. Remember Your servants Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Overlook the stubbornness of this people and the wickedness of their sin. Otherwise, those in the land from which You brought us out will say, ‘Because the LORD was not able to bring them into the land He had promised them, and because He hated them, He has brought them out to kill them in the wilderness.’ But they are Your people, Your inheritance, whom You brought out by Your great power and outstretched arm.”
Hannah persistently asks for a son
In her bitter distress, Hannah prayed to the LORD and wept with many tears. And she made a vow, saying, “O LORD of Hosts, if only You will look upon the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me, not forgetting Your maidservant but giving her a son, then I will dedicate him to the LORD all the days of his life, and no razor shall ever touch his head.”
Elijah persists in prayer about the rain
James 5:17–18 See also 1 Kings 18:36–44
Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth yielded its crops.
The psalmists persist in calling out to God
Psalm 88:1–18, Psalm 119:147–149, Psalm 130:1–6
Jesus Christ persisted in pursuing the Father's will
Luke 22:42–44 parallels Matthew 26:36–43, Mark 14:32–40
“Father, if You are willing, take this cup from Me. Yet not My will, but Yours be done.” Then an angel from heaven appeared to Him and strengthened Him. And in His anguish, He prayed more earnestly, and His sweat became like drops of blood falling to the ground.
Persistence in prayer is exemplified in waiting for God
Micah 7:7 See also Psalm 27:14, Psalm 33:20, Psalm 37:7, Psalm 38:15, Psalm 40:1; Isaiah 26:8
But as for me, I will look to the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation. My God will hear me.
Related themes
Dictionary of Bible Themes © 1999 Martin Manser, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Bible Aquifer. Formatted for this site, with Scripture from the Berean Standard Bible.