Perpetual Prayer

Perpetual is defined as never ending or never changing. If you find yourself stuck in a perpetual prayer, this post is for you.

I'm currently reading Jesus One and Only by Beth Moore. I was reading it as I was using the elliptical machine at the gym the other night, which makes highlighting passages a bit tricky, but I always manage. Beth is writing about Zechariah and Elizabeth and how they prayed for years and years to have a child. She writes,

Have you almost given up on God answering an earnest, long-term prayer of your heart? Not becoming hopeless over a repetitious request can be terribly challenging...God does not have some limited supply of power, requiring that we carefully select a few choice things to pray about. God's power is infinite. God's grace and mercy are drawn deeply from the bottomless well of His heart. (pg 6)

As I read this, I was highlighting away on my iPad. This is kind of the echo of my heart right now. I'm growing weary of praying the same things over and over and only seeing small steps. And though my prayer is not necessarily of the magnitude of Zechariah and Elizabeth's, it is of equal importance to me. And I need all the encouragement humanly possible to keep going.

She goes on to write,

Do you have a long-standing prayer concern? If you have received a definitive no from God, pray to accept it and trust that He knows what He's doing. If you haven't, don't grow weary or mechanical. Like Zechariah and Elizabeth, continue to walk faithfully with God even though you are disappointed. Walking with God in the day-in/day-out course of life swells your assurance that God is faithful and enjoyable even when a request goes unmet. Recognizing all the other works God is doing in your life will prevent discouragement as you await your answer. Zechariah waited a long time for God's answer, but when it came, it exceeded everything the priest could have thought or asked. (pg 6, emphasis mine)

By this time, I had highlighted practically the whole page. And read it twice. And should probably have it tattooed on my arm. 

If you're nearly ready to give up on something you've been praying for, press on. We find in 1 John 5:14:

This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.

No matter what it seems, God always hears us. There is comfort there.