Asking prayer is something I think we are more familiar with.
“God, keep us safe during our travels.”
“Jesus, please help me make an A on this test.”
“Father, please deliver me from my cough.”
John 14:13-14 Jesus says, “And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.”
Myles, the college minister, shared a story from Luke 18 about the persistent widow who kept asking a judge for justice. The judge continued to refuse, but eventually, because she kept asking, he granted her what she asked.
Okay, so here’s the good part: Luke 1:18 says plain and clear why Jesus tells the story, “Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and never give up.” How great is that?
Jesus told them the point of his story before it began, always pray and never give up.
However, I don’t think we always use asking prayer how we should. Here are some other truths I know about asking prayer…
Galations 6:9 “Do not grow weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”
Habakuk 2:3 “Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay.”
And this is what the Lord laid on my heart for those of you reading:
I know that I am far beyond blessed when it comes to the home I grew up in. I have lived in a Christian home my whole life. My parents are both devoted to their church and the Lord. My brother loves the Lord; he and his new wife continue to press into furthering the kingdom on the west coast. I have a family who pursues a relationship with the Lord, reads our bible, worships Jesus with our whole hearts, and speaks of his truth (side note: we are nowhere close to perfect and we all fall short, daily).
Friends from college come into my home and say how jealous they are that I have parents who love the Lord as much as I do.
But friends, you must know, you cannot give up on your family. God is listening to your prayers. We cannot give up on asking for their salvation. We cannot give up on praying for them. We cannot forget to pray for them.
“I love the Lord because he hears and answers my prayers. Because he bends down and listens, I will pray as long as I have breath!” Psalm 116:1-2.
God is listening. Our families need us to pray for them. We are the only ones who can fight the battle for them; they don’t know they’re fighting it yet. We have to intercede. We have to stay up late and wake up early, be alone and be in community, continually fighting and praying for them. It may take one week, a month, a year, ten years, or until they are on their death bed to accept the Lord. But by golly they have someone fighting for them, keeping the devil off their back until then.
Just so you know, this doesn’t just go for family. This also goes for our friends, those who we consider our best friends, good friends, just friends, or acquaintances. Who are we to not share Jesus with them? Who are we to not tell them they are luke warm in their faith and Jesus will spit them out of his mouth come judgment day (Revelation 3:16)?
In America, we have opportunities at our finger tips. So stop asking for them; expect them and use them.
Friends, keep asking. "Pray without ceasing" 1 Thessalonias 5:17.
