Be Persistent

When I was a little kid, I spent my summers fishing. Both with a net and rod and reel fishing. The rod and reel fishing was the best. We had a huge lake near where I lived, where the salmon came to spawn and trout swam around in. For fun, our family would drive up to the lake and throw out our lines to catch fish. There was an old dock by the lake. We could stand on it and look down in the lake and actually see the trout swimming. They were so close, we took long sticks and tied the fishing line to it, then just drop the line down into the water. You could see the trout swimming around your hook. I loved fishing.

One time we were there and it began to rain. Everyone went back to the truck to sit and get out of the rain. I refused. I wanted to catch a fish. Rain wasn’t going to stop me. Neither were the mosquitos that buzzed around my head like a dark noisy cloud. I had to catch a fish. I was persistent. I wanted to catch a fish. I stood there alone, on the dock, waiting, waiting, waiting. Suddenly, something bit my line. My pole bent. Whatever it was, it was big. I carefully reeled in my line, not wanting to lose the fish. I got it. I pulled in a huge rainbow trout! Those were rare. And it was so big! My persistence paid off.

I’ve been thinking a lot of Luke 11:5-8

“Then He said to them, Suppose one of you has a friend, and goes to him at midnight and says to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves; for a friend of mind has come to me from a journey, and I have nothing to set before him; and from inside he answers and says, ‘Do not bother me; the door has already been shut and my children and I are in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything. I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will get up and give him as much as he needs.”

I’m going through a few trials right now. God says we will. He has told us that our lives will be various trials. When I look at the problem I feel overwhelmed. I see no solution. I see no way to fix it on my own. What do I do?

I can do the only thing I can do. The only thing that will work is that I have to pray. That activity the Apostle Paul tells us to do without ceasing. So I begin. I pray. Silently, in my head, I cry out to God. No one can hear me but Him. I tell him my woes. I go to bed at night and pray over the problem. I roll over, while I’m sleeping, and pray a quick prayer. I pray while I’m driving. I pray in the bathroom. I pray persistently, because God told me to.

The problem isn’t solved yet. But God gives me a gift while I’m praying. He gives me peace, peace beyond all understanding. He sends me other gifts. I was praying for encouragement while looking through instagram. Right as I was praying a verse popped up in my feed. Psalms 147:5. I got a sense of well being. I’ve given the matter to the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. I can’t see Him working, but I know He is. I’m standing on the dock, refusing to give up, waiting for that fish.

When the Apostle Paul tells us to pray without ceasing, that’s exactly what he wants us to do. And when you do, it will frame your way of thinking. You will feel peace. You will feel a sense of well being. God has heard your prayers and He will answer them. Be persistent.