Pray without ceasing. I will therefore that men pray every where, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting.
— 1 Thessalonians 5:17, 1 Timothy 2:8
O LORD, how long shall I cry, and thou wilt not hear! even cry out unto thee of violence, and thou wilt not save! Why dost thou shew me iniquity, and cause me to behold grievance? for spoiling and violence are before me: and there are that raise up strife and contention. Therefore the law is slacked, and judgment doth never go forth: for the wicked doth compass about the righteous; therefore wrong judgment proceedeth.
— Habakkuk 1:2-4
For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;
— 1 Timothy 2:5
For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it. Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens;
— Romans 8:24-28, Hebrews 8:1
For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.
— 2 Corinthians 12:8-10
I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, which shall never hold their peace day nor night: ye that make mention of the LORD, keep not silence, And give him no rest, till he establish, and till he make Jerusalem a praise in the earth.
— Isaiah 62:6-7
But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.
— Isaiah 40:31
I said, Surely thou wilt fear me, thou wilt receive instruction; so their dwelling should not be cut off, howsoever I punished them: but they rose early, and corrupted all their doings. Therefore wait ye upon me, saith the LORD, until the day that I rise up to the prey: for my determination is to gather the nations, that I may assemble the kingdoms, to pour upon them mine indignation, even all my fierce anger: for all the earth shall be devoured with the fire of my jealousy.
— Zephaniah 3:7-8
Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
— James 4:7
If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.
— John 15:7
Persistent Prayer, by Martin Luther.
And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you.
— John 16:23
When black and dark clouds take away the clear sun and cover it, the need rises high. The devil comes to assault us and bring fearful and terrible thoughts into our hearts. We lose faith, and we leave prayer undone. It is no small thing for the conscience to speak, “ah, you are not to pray?” You are not of Christ? Let Paul and Peter pray for you. God will not hear you. You have no faith and are possibly not elected. You are not suited for holy works. The devil will try to bring a man to despair in this way. Do not stop praying, and never give up. Rather say, I cannot argue whether I am pious or wicked, worthy or unworthy. I have no time for that. I have something different and more important to do. Even when God waits very long, we must not give up prayer. We are to firmly believe that in the end, He will say, “yes,” although He does not do that clearly now yet. He has already secretly spoken, “yes,” in his heart. The time will come that you will see and experience it.
If only you do steadfastly continue to pray and make supplication, as we see in many biblical examples. Joseph was calling unto God for twelve years or more whether God would help him, and his condition only grew worse. The more he prayed, the worse it got. To this day, Christians experience the same. When we continually cry unto God, we do not see improvement, but the condition gets worse, as it did with Joseph. But, if God would have delivered Joseph sooner, he perhaps would have been glad, but he would have been herding swine. Through God’s deferring until his perfect time, Joseph became lord over all of Egypt, so that in the entire Bible you will not find a man that was more gloriously exalted than Joseph. God will still do the same to us when He rejects our prayers and we nonetheless cling to Him. He will answer with yes, and not with no, for his Word cannot lie—whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you. John 16.
Our mind is greatly offended in cases of delay, and needs God to hear immediately. But it is important and necessary not to be offended. Our Lord God can delay the hearing of our prayer by a year, by two years, three years, or even longer. Beware not to lose hope and faith from your heart. In the end, He will show that He wills to give more than we prayed for. The more we earnestly ask or wish to receive, the more He will surely give unto us.
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