Why Persist in Prayer?

This past Sunday, I preached on the two parables Jesus taught to encourage us to persist in our praying. His point in the Parables of the Persistent Neighbor (Luke 11:5-13) and the Persistent Widow (Luke 18:1-8) is this: IF a sleepy neighbor who does not want to be bothered and a godless, self-absorbed judge are moved by persistent asking THEN HOW MUCH MORE will persistent asking move the hand of a God like our God!

Now as I have spent much time thinking on this ... it got me wondering why God would want us to keep on asking, seeking, knocking in prayer. After all, he knows all things and he knows what we need before we even ask him (see Matthew 6:8). So why does Jesus teach us to persistent in our prayers until God comes through? Is it because God needs his arm twisted to answer our requests? Does he need coaxed to respond? This question is not always answered well, but I think J.I. Packer handles the question superbly in his thought provoking, soul inspiring book, Praying. In the book, he offers four answers to this question, Why does Jesus want us to persist in prayer?

First, Packer suggests that "God the Father loves to be petitioned in a way that shows he is appreciated as the source of all that is good. That glorifies him."

Second, he writes that "the Father wants to see that we are taking both our acuteness of need and his greatness as the one who can meet it with absolute seriousness" so that we get to the point where we "realize that he is really our only hope."

Third, Packer continues, "the Father knows that the more earnestly we have asked for a particular gift and the longer we have waited for it, the more we will value it when it is given, and the more wholeheartedly we will thank him for it. This will lead to increased joy."

Finally, Packer states that "the Father's larger plans for blessing us and others may require him to delay giving us what we ask for until the best time and circumstances for its bestowal are reached. To keep asking with patient persistence and to wait with expectation for the answer is thus sometimes necessary, and is always the reverent way to go. this strengthens the muscles of our faith, as constant walking strengthens the muscles of our heart and legs."

Give Packer's thoughts a going over. Lot's of good stuff here. And then let's all get busy ... asking, seeking, knocking -- for those who keep asking will receive, for those who keep seeking will find, and for those who keep knocking the door will be opened. Jesus' promise - not mine!

Thanks for stopping by . . .

pj

PS -- the quotes from Packer's book Praying are from pp. 211-212.