Pray and Do Not Lose Heart

What should we do when we have prayed for something for years and still do not see the answer?

Jesus addressed that question directly.

Luke 18 begins by telling us that Jesus gave the parable of the persistent widow so that people would understand that they “always ought to pray and not lose heart.”

In this sermon from Fannin County Seventh-day Adventist Church, Pastor Valentin Rusu explores perseverance in prayer and an important question: if Jesus tells us to believe that we have received what we ask for, why does Scripture also tell us to pray without ceasing?

The answer reveals that persistent prayer is about much more than repeating a request.

Always Pray and Do Not Lose Heart

The widow in Luke 18 repeatedly approached an unjust judge asking for justice.

Eventually, the judge responded—not because he loved justice, but because her persistence wore him down.

Jesus was not comparing God’s character with the unjust judge.

He was contrasting them.

If even an unjust judge can eventually respond, how much more will a loving heavenly Father hear His children?

God is not reluctant.

He is not indifferent.

He is not far away.

Jesus uses the parable to teach us to keep trusting God even when the answer seems delayed.

Believe That You Have Received

Mark 11:24 gives an extraordinary promise:

Whatever you ask when you pray, believe that you receive it.

Faith approaches God with confidence.

We pray because we believe He hears us.

We trust His willingness to answer.

But this raises an important question.

If faith believes after praying, why does Scripture also tell us repeatedly to continue praying?

Pray Without Ceasing

First Thessalonians 5 tells us:

• Rejoice always.
• Pray without ceasing.
• Give thanks in everything.

Romans 12 tells us to continue steadfastly in prayer.

Colossians 4 says to continue earnestly in prayer with thanksgiving.

Notice what accompanies persistent prayer:

Thanksgiving.

This leads to an important principle:

Continual Prayer Is Not Continual Begging

Persistent prayer does not mean treating God as though He must be pressured into helping us.

The life of prayer should become an atmosphere of communion and thanksgiving.

Instead of asking ten times and thanking God once, perhaps faith teaches us to ask sincerely and then thank Him repeatedly.

We remember what God has already done.

We praise Him for His faithfulness.

We trust Him while waiting.

Prayer becomes relationship rather than merely request.

Three Prayers We Should Continue Praying

There are certain prayers we should bring before God repeatedly.

Intercessory Prayer

We should continually pray for other people.

Perhaps you have:

• A son who has wandered from God
• A daughter who has stopped attending church
• A spouse who does not know Christ
• A relative struggling spiritually
• A friend making destructive choices

Do not stop praying.

Pastor Rusu tells the story of a mother who prayed for her son for twenty years.

The man resisted every attempt to reach him.

Yet eventually his heart opened and he surrendered to Christ.

Never conclude that someone is beyond God’s reach.

Prayer for Character

We also need continual prayer for Christlike character.

If we struggle with impatience, we need to pray for patience.

If pride continually appears, we need humility.

If anger easily takes control, we need the Spirit of Christ.

Character is not transformed through a single prayer followed by forgetfulness.

Every morning we can surrender the same weakness to God.

Persistent prayer keeps the goal before us.

Prayer for Forgiveness

We also need daily confession.

We do not repeatedly confess sins that God has already forgiven simply because we doubt His forgiveness.

But each day brings new choices, failures, and needs.

Yesterday’s sins may have been confessed.

Today we come to God with today’s needs.

We depend continually upon the grace of Christ.

Problem-Oriented Prayer

Pastor Rusu distinguishes between two approaches to prayer.

The first is problem-oriented prayer.

Some people pray intensely only when something goes wrong.

When:

• Illness comes
• Money becomes tight
• A relationship breaks down
• A child goes astray
• A crisis develops

Prayer suddenly becomes urgent.

Then, when the problem disappears, prayer gradually fades.

Spiritual life moves up and down with circumstances.

Goal-Oriented Prayer

The second approach is goal-oriented prayer.

Moses provides a helpful example.

Israel repeatedly focused on the immediate problem.

At the Red Sea they saw the Egyptian army.

In the wilderness they saw no water.

They saw obstacles.

Moses saw the destination.

God had promised to take Israel to the Promised Land.

The obstacle was not the end of the journey.

It was part of the journey.

Look Beyond the Obstacle

A goal-oriented Christian faces the same difficulties as everyone else.

The difference is perspective.

A trial is not necessarily a dead end.

It may become:

• An opportunity for faith
• A lesson in dependence
• A means of character development
• Preparation for greater responsibility
• A way God enlarges our capacity

Prayer helps us see beyond the immediate crisis.

Enlarging the Container

Pastor Rusu uses the illustration of a container.

How much can a container hold?

Only as much as its capacity allows.

God may desire to give us more than we currently have the spiritual, emotional, or practical ability to receive.

Sometimes the delay is not because God is unwilling.

The container needs to grow.

Could the Answer Break Us?

Imagine loading a truck beyond its capacity.

Eventually something breaks.

Could God sometimes withhold something temporarily because receiving it immediately would hurt us?

Perhaps we ask for:

• Greater responsibility
• More money
• Influence
• A relationship
• A promotion
• A ministry opportunity

But God knows whether we are ready.

Persistent prayer may become part of His process of preparing us.

Trials Can Increase Capacity

Trials are often interpreted as punishment.

But the Christian can learn to see them differently.

Difficulty may deepen:

• Compassion
• Patience
• Wisdom
• Gratitude
• Dependence upon God
• Understanding of other people

Someone who has experienced failure may become more compassionate toward those who fail.

Someone who has suffered may become better equipped to comfort those who suffer.

God can enlarge the container.

Peter’s Failure Prepared Him

Peter experienced a terrible spiritual failure when he denied Jesus.

Yet Christ did not discard him.

After Peter was restored, he understood weakness differently.

He was better prepared to shepherd people who themselves would struggle.

Failure did not have to become the end of Peter’s usefulness.

In the hands of Jesus, even failure became part of his preparation.

Become Ready for the Answer

Persistent prayer may not merely change circumstances.

It may change us.

Instead of praying only:

“Lord, give me this,”

perhaps we should also pray:

“Lord, make me capable of receiving this.”

A young man praying for a godly wife should also pray to become a godly husband.

Someone praying for greater employment responsibility should pray to become capable of fulfilling that responsibility faithfully.

The answer may require preparation.

We Do Not Always Know What to Ask

Romans 8:26 tells us that we do not always know what we should pray for.

The Holy Spirit helps our weakness.

This should create humility in prayer.

Sometimes what appears to be the perfect answer from our perspective may not actually be best.

We should be willing to pray:

Lord, teach me what I should be asking for.

God Sees What We Cannot See

Sometimes people receive exactly what they thought they wanted only to discover that it brought unexpected problems.

We see the immediate moment.

God sees:

• The future
• The consequences
• Our character
• Other people affected
• Our eternal good

Faith trusts His wisdom as well as His power.

God Is Willing to Give

Romans 8:32 asks:

If God did not spare His own Son, how will He not also freely give us all things with Him?

The cross proves that God is not stingy.

Prayer is not an attempt to convince an unwilling God to become generous.

He has already demonstrated His generosity at Calvary.

The primary question may not be whether God is willing to give.

It may be whether we are ready to receive.

Three Questions for Every Prayer

Pastor Rusu offers three excellent questions to ask when bringing a request before God.

1. Am I asking for the right thing?

Is this request truly consistent with God’s will?

2. Am I ready to receive it?

What would happen if God answered immediately?

Would the blessing strengthen me—or overwhelm me?

3. Am I asking selfishly?

Am I asking merely to consume the blessing myself?

Or could this answer enable me to bless others?

These questions transform prayer from a shopping list into spiritual growth.

Ask So That You Can Give

The parable of the man asking his friend for bread at midnight contains an important detail.

The man was not asking for bread merely for himself.

A guest had arrived.

He wanted something to give.

Christian prayer should have this same spirit.

God blesses us so that we can bless.

Give What You Need

If you need friendship, become a friend.

If you need love, love others.

If you are concerned about scarcity, practice generosity.

If you need encouragement, encourage someone else.

God’s blessings are designed to flow through us.

The Prayer That Seemed Unanswered

The sermon closes with a moving story.

A Christian soldier named Roger Sims was hitchhiking home after leaving the military.

A businessman picked him up.

During the drive, Roger felt convicted to speak with the man about Jesus.

The businessman eventually pulled the car over and surrendered his life to Christ.

Years later, Roger contacted the man’s family.

He discovered that the businessman had died in an accident later that same day.

The man’s wife had prayed for her husband’s salvation throughout their marriage.

After his death, believing her prayers had never been answered, she stopped speaking to God.

But the answer had already come.

She simply did not know it.

God May Be Working Where We Cannot See

This is one of the great challenges of persistent prayer.

We often judge God’s activity based on what we can see.

But God can be working in places completely hidden from us.

Our inability to see the answer does not prove that nothing is happening.

Faith keeps praying.

Faith keeps trusting.

Faith refuses to lose heart.

Why This Message Matters

Many Christians carry unanswered prayers.

Some have prayed for years.

Some are tired.

Some wonder whether God heard at all.

Jesus speaks directly to those hearts:

Always pray and do not lose heart.

God is not the unjust judge.

He loves His children.

He gave His Son for us.

And He is working even when we cannot see how.

Practical Application

This week:

• Identify one long-term prayer you have nearly abandoned.
• Bring it before God again.
• Begin thanking Him instead of merely repeating your request.
• Pray consistently for someone who needs salvation.
• Identify one character trait God needs to develop in you.
• Ask whether you are ready for the blessing you want.
• Ask the Holy Spirit to teach you what to pray for.
• Look at current trials as opportunities for spiritual growth.
• Ask how the answer to your prayer could bless someone else.
• Refuse to interpret silence as abandonment.

Closing Appeal

Do not lose heart.

The answer may already be unfolding.

God may be changing circumstances.

He may be working in another person.

He may be enlarging your capacity.

He may be changing the request.

Or He may be changing you.

Keep praying.

Keep trusting.

Keep thanking Him.

The God who gave His Son is not reluctant to hear His children.

Short Prayer

Heavenly Father, teach us to pray and not lose heart. Forgive us for the times we have mistaken delay for indifference. Give us faith to trust You when we cannot see the answer. Teach us what to ask, enlarge our capacity to receive Your blessings, transform our characters, and help us pray faithfully for those who need salvation. Above all, make our prayers unselfish and use every blessing You give us to bless others. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Discussion Questions

• Why did Jesus tell the parable of the persistent widow?
• How can we reconcile believing we have received with praying without ceasing?
• What is the difference between persistent prayer and persistent begging?
• Which kinds of prayer should be repeated continually?
• What is the difference between problem-oriented and goal-oriented prayer?
• How can trials enlarge our capacity?
• Could you currently be unprepared for something you are asking God to give you?
• What three questions should we ask about our prayer requests?
• Is there someone for whom you need to resume persistent intercessory prayer?