Keep It Up

Luke 18:1-8 And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart.He said, "In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected man.And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying,'Give me justice against my adversary.'For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself,'Though I neither fear God nor respect man,yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.'" And the Lord said, "Hear what the unrighteous judge says. And will not God give justice to his elect,who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them? I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes,will he find faith on earth?"

It seems like when we need to pray the most, and the enemy is attacking us with everything he's got, the distractions of life and nuances of everyday living capture our attention instead of praying. Persisting in prayer should come as easy as curling up with a new book by a favorite author or enjoying a spa day with girlfriends, but often prayer manages to be an afterthought, a faint memory when many of people can testify if it had NOT been for the prayers of the righteous, where would we be. My great-aunt used to prayer religiously from noon to one o'clock every afternoon. Like the faithful hands on the grandfather clock, her gnarled hands would turn off the credits of The Young and The Restless and spend time communicating with the Father. Even though her feeble body could not kneel, the humbleness of her heart and seriousness in prayers has always stayed with me. Hers was certainly an effective prayer life! But moving beyond time limits, it is my desire to be that committed-period! The Christian life not only expands our foundation for faith, it stretches our ability to go beyond what we can see to what we believe. As Jesus told the disciple, do not lose heart! It's a crazy world, but we serve a God who is always listening, even to our faintest cry, but we have to use the communication tool of prayer. We have the assurance that not only does He hear, but He answers, and quickly! Whatever you're going through, continue to be strong in the Lord and in His might and He will come through.

Psalm 5:1-3