Meep once tried to steal food out of mouth. You might think that is obnoxious, but it also shows a lot of perseverance. Meep is tenacious, especially when it comes to food. I can push her away and she bounces right back because she is convinced that she must have whatever it is I am eating. Part of her attitude comes from her breed personality, but it also comes from the fact that she was starving to death, literally, when I found her in my yard. I intended to feed her in the carport, but she zipped past me into the house and that was over 12 years ago. I think she is a firm believer in Matthew 7:7-8, but she doesn’t always get what she wants because it’s not always good for her. I think the same is true of our Heavenly Father.
Ask, Seek, and Knock
Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.
Matthew 7: 7-8
Many times, we read these particular verses out of context and think if we just keep knocking until our knuckles bleed that God will give us what we ask. However, the previous verses were about the importance of prayer as a means of communicating with God and the necessity of always being in prayer. We should always be inquiring of God to know what His will is and ask for what we need or want, and God will always answer. Sometimes the answer is no because God knows it’s not best for us. I don’t give Meep things she begs for when I know they will make her sick. God will answer one of three ways: 1) yes 2) no 3) not yet. We must leave it up to Him to know best, accept the answer, and keep on praying because prayer is communication not just a means of getting what we want.
Patience is a Virtue
And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint; … And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them?
Luke 18:1, 7
Jesus tells the parable of the widow who complains to a judge, and he does what she asks because he knows she will keep pestering him. The point being that if a corrupt human will do the right thing if you persist enough that God being holy will answer His children’s cries. These verses are also about always praying, but to be patient and faint not “though he bear long with them.” God is listening and working on our behalf, but He is doing it in His own way and in His own time.
Perseverance is also a Virtue
But after hearing about Him, a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit immediately came and fell at His feet. Now the woman was a Gentile, of Syrophoenician descent. And she repeatedly asked Him to cast the demon out of her daughter.
Mark 7:25-26
If you know something is the will of God, then persevere in praying for it to come to pass. Sometimes God’s answer is no, but we think if we keep pounding on the door that He will change His mind. God doesn’t change. The point of prayer is to bring us into alignment with God’s will. If He says no, then we need to let it go, which is easier said than done. If he says not yet, we continue to pray with the assurance it will come to pass in His time and in His way.
Perseverance of Meep
If you know what you are praying for is in God’s will, then I hope that you will pray with the perseverance of Meep. To paraphrase a movie, Just keep praying! God will bring it to pass no matter how bleak it may seem in the moment.
Pentatonix – “The Prayer” – OFFICIAL VIDEO (youtube.com)
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Small Prayers: Is Anything Too Small for God? – The End Of My Yarn (lindalyle.com)
Truth! When I’m in the times of asking/seeking/knocking, when I’m not (yet?) sure if His answer is yes, no or not yet, it almost always seems like “this is the hardest” — but the Word says to persevere. As our pastor has often said “do what you know to do until you know what to do” — and that is usually praying! And allow God to bring you “in to His Will”!
Thank you for this reminder!!
Great thoughts here Ms. Linda. I try to pray fervently, until I hear a word from God. Sometimes that word is, “No, it’s not what I want for you.” Other times, it’s, “Wait, I’m working on the other end of the solution.” I too am learning to wait. Give Meep a bite of something for me. I miss him, and you my friend.
Miss you, too. Thanks for the comment.