Beloved | A Letter From Dr. Janice Pender
Persistent Praying
Greetings, Beloved!
I can’t believe we are only four months away from the holiday season! I trust you are having a great start to August. For many teachers and students, this is the busy back-to-school season. This time of year prompts me to pray especially for our educators, students, families, and those who may be walking through difficult seasons.
Prayer is a heart posture of surrender (Luke 22:42; Philippians 4:6–7). When we pray and talk to God, we acknowledge that He is the One who can bring change in our lives and direct us according to His purpose (Proverbs 3:5–6; Psalm 138:8).
I want to encourage you to practice persistent prayer. God hears us when we pray according to His will (1 John 5:14), and persistent prayer teaches us to keep trusting Him even when the answer does not come as quickly—or in the way—we hoped.
Throughout Scripture, we see people who persisted in prayer. Abraham interceded for Sodom (Genesis 18:23–33). Moses persevered in praying for Israel (Exodus 32:31–32; Deuteronomy 9:25–29). Hannah poured out her heart before the Lord as she prayed for a son (1 Samuel 1:10–11).
We are encouraged in Ephesians 6:18 to “pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.” Romans 12:12 reminds us to “keep on praying,” and 1 Thessalonians 5:17 tells us to “never stop praying.”
Yet, if we are not careful, we can become discouraged and stop praying. We may wonder, Does God hear me? Is anything happening? Why hasn’t God answered yet?
Jesus understood this temptation. That is why He taught His disciples about the importance of persistent prayer: “He told them a parable on the need for them to pray always and not give up” (Luke 18:1).
Jesus told the story of a widow who repeatedly came before an unjust judge seeking justice against her adversary. The judge neither feared God nor respected people, but this widow refused to give up. She kept coming! Eventually, because of her persistence, the judge granted her request.
Jesus then makes a powerful contrast: if an unrighteous judge will respond to persistence, how much more can we trust our righteous and loving God? “Will not God grant justice to his elect who cry out to him day and night?” (Luke 18:7).
Beloved, persistent prayer is not about wearing God down. It is about refusing to give up on the God we trust. We keep praying because we know He hears us. We keep praying because we know He loves us. And we keep praying because even while we are waiting for our circumstances to change, God is at work—and He is also changing us.
So, what have you stopped praying about?
Is there a person, situation, dream, or burden you have quietly given up bringing before God?
Take it back to Him today. Pray—and keep on praying.
“Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.” Romans 12:12
Keep praying, beloved!
Dr. Janice Pender
I can’t believe we are only four months away from the holiday season! I trust you are having a great start to August. For many teachers and students, this is the busy back-to-school season. This time of year prompts me to pray especially for our educators, students, families, and those who may be walking through difficult seasons.
Prayer is a heart posture of surrender (Luke 22:42; Philippians 4:6–7). When we pray and talk to God, we acknowledge that He is the One who can bring change in our lives and direct us according to His purpose (Proverbs 3:5–6; Psalm 138:8).
I want to encourage you to practice persistent prayer. God hears us when we pray according to His will (1 John 5:14), and persistent prayer teaches us to keep trusting Him even when the answer does not come as quickly—or in the way—we hoped.
Throughout Scripture, we see people who persisted in prayer. Abraham interceded for Sodom (Genesis 18:23–33). Moses persevered in praying for Israel (Exodus 32:31–32; Deuteronomy 9:25–29). Hannah poured out her heart before the Lord as she prayed for a son (1 Samuel 1:10–11).
We are encouraged in Ephesians 6:18 to “pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.” Romans 12:12 reminds us to “keep on praying,” and 1 Thessalonians 5:17 tells us to “never stop praying.”
Yet, if we are not careful, we can become discouraged and stop praying. We may wonder, Does God hear me? Is anything happening? Why hasn’t God answered yet?
Jesus understood this temptation. That is why He taught His disciples about the importance of persistent prayer: “He told them a parable on the need for them to pray always and not give up” (Luke 18:1).
Jesus told the story of a widow who repeatedly came before an unjust judge seeking justice against her adversary. The judge neither feared God nor respected people, but this widow refused to give up. She kept coming! Eventually, because of her persistence, the judge granted her request.
Jesus then makes a powerful contrast: if an unrighteous judge will respond to persistence, how much more can we trust our righteous and loving God? “Will not God grant justice to his elect who cry out to him day and night?” (Luke 18:7).
Beloved, persistent prayer is not about wearing God down. It is about refusing to give up on the God we trust. We keep praying because we know He hears us. We keep praying because we know He loves us. And we keep praying because even while we are waiting for our circumstances to change, God is at work—and He is also changing us.
So, what have you stopped praying about?
Is there a person, situation, dream, or burden you have quietly given up bringing before God?
Take it back to Him today. Pray—and keep on praying.
“Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.” Romans 12:12
Keep praying, beloved!
Dr. Janice Pender
Posted in Brook Women
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