The Persistent Woman

“I will continually seek God for guidance and know that He will give me what I need, when I need it. I will always lean on Him. I will be persistent.”

One day Jesus told his disciples a story to show that they should always pray and never give up. “There was a judge in a certain city”, he said, “who neither feared God nor cared about people. A widow of that city came to him repeatedly, saying, ‘Give me justice in this dispute with my enemy.’ The judge ignored her for a while, but finally he said to himself, ‘I don’t fear God or care about people, but this woman is driving me crazy. I’m going to see that she gets justice, because she is wearing me out with her constant requests!’” Luke 18:1-5 (NLT)

Persistent. 

If there were ever words I would want to describe my prayer life, this would be one of them. The definition of persistent is to continue trying to do something, even though it is difficult. 

I love this parable in Luke about the persistent widow. She knew what she needed, and she would not stop. Even when things were getting difficult for her, she just kept going. I can’t help but laugh at verses 4-5 that state that the judge ignored her for a while, but he finally gave in because she was driving him crazy. She was persistent! 

Let’s face it…motherhood is HARD. Trying to juggle all the things gets exhausting. Trying to make sure your kids grow up to be decent human beings who love the Lord brings it to another level. All too often, I find myself trying to figure out how to handle the ups and downs of life on my own. As we are entering into the unknown and scary world of the pre-teen years with my daughter, I find myself feeling unequipped. I’ve prayed for guidance and direction, only to feel as if those prayers were falling on deaf ears. 

It wasn’t until I was praying recently that I felt the strong conviction that I was only doing “emergency prayers.” 

I was only going to God when things were bad, tough, or I felt that I needed immediate answers. While God hears my emergency prayers, there is so much more to prayer than just that. I knew at that moment, my prayer life needed to change. I needed to be persistent. 

A persistent prayer life is what I will claim for my life. I will continue to pray even though the times are difficult. I will pray, and I will never ever give up. I will repeatedly come to the throne of Jesus and lay my requests at His feet. I will not grow tired or weary when I feel as if my prayers have not been heard, because I know my God hears me. I will continually seek God for guidance and know that He will give me what I need, when I need it. I will always lean on Him. I will be persistent. 

Action Steps: 

• Take some time to reflect on what your prayer life looks like right now. Ask yourself the questions: Am I just praying those “emergency prayers”? Or, am I going to God each and every day, no matter the circumstance - good or bad? 

• Start a prayer journal. List out the requests you're praying over so you can repeat your prayers each and every day. Be persistent in prayer and talking with Jesus. 

• Listen to the song “Talking to Jesus” by Elevation Worship, and reflect on the importance of prayer and the effect it can have on your family

Prayer: God, You are so good. I am so grateful that You want me to always come to You, no matter the need. You hear me, and You know my greatest wants and desires for my kids and my family. I pray that I am always seeking You and praying, even when times are good. I pray that when times are bad, that I am leaning into You even more. I want my prayer life to be persistent in that I never give up, even when times get hard. I love You, Lord. Amen. 

Written by Kara, a mom who wants to be persistent

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