“This is the lesson: never give in, never give in, never, never, never, never—in nothing, great or small, large or petty—never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense. Never yield to force; never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy.”
Winston Churchill
And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint
Luke 18:1 (KJV)
I have often heard that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different outcome. While there is some truth in that statement, there is one area where it is not necessarily true: Prayer.
In Luke 18:1, the word “faint” means not to stop. In these verses, Jesus tells the parable of a widow who refuses to give up asking for justice. Eventually, the magistrate does what she asks because he realizes that she is never going to give up. We should be like the widow when we are praying for God to do something the world sees as impossible, like praying for the salvation of a loved one, the return of a prodigal child, the healing of an addict. The world says praying for such thing is crazy, but God doesn’t work on man’s level.
8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. 9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.
Isaiah 55:8-9
God’s ways are different than ours, and sometimes He asks us to do things that sound a little crazy even to us. Yet, when we do them, He always comes through for us. Over the next few weeks, I want to take a closer look at a God kind of crazy to see what God has to teach us in these moments.
There are several things I have been praying for that the world might consider a waste of time, not the least of which is becoming a full-time writer one day. That doesn’t stop me from praying because I think God has put some things in my heart and mind that He wants me to share. Besides, I serve a God that makes the impossible possible when He sets His mind to it.
But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.
Matthew 19:26
When God tells us to pray and not give up, it teaches us to trust Him and His power, and it teaches us persevere through difficult times. When we are praying for something that is in God’s will, He will see it through even if it is not in the way we planned. If it is not in His will, let the prayers change us so that we align ourselves with Him, trusting that He knows best. In the meantime, don’t give up because prayer truly changes things even if it us that it changes.
I often remind myself of the saying, “If God leads you to it, He’ll be faithful to lead you through it.” Sometimes I need a lot of reminding. We’re not writing because we want to, we’re writing because we have to. God has moved us to share what He’s placed upon our hearts. Will continue praying for Him to hear our prayers and move us to align with His will and plan. God’s blessings young lady.
Thanks, J.D.