Persistent Prayer

Devotional

Jesus has just had a very busy day.

He had taught in the synagogue at Capernaum (Mark 1:21), where he healed a man with an unclean spirit (vv. 22–28). After the service, he went to Peter’s home, where he healed Peter’s mother-in-law (vv. 29–31).

Then, Scripture says that “at sundown they brought to him all who were sick or oppressed by demons. And the whole city was gathered together at the door” (vv. 32–33). In response, Jesus “healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons” (v. 34).

But now it’s the next morning. Does Jesus sleep in? Does he take the day off?

Hardly: Mark 1:35 says that “rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed.”.

This was his pattern. He prayed “early in the morning” and late at night (Matthew 14:23). One time he prayed “all night” (Luke 6:12). He prayed before meals (Matthew 14:19) and before temptation (Matthew 26:36). He prayed “by himself” (Matthew 14:23) and with crowds (Matthew 14:19). Why?

Jesus understood that prayer positions us to experience God’s best. It is the means by which we connect directly with our Lord. When we read devotionals like this one, we are reading about God. When we listen to sermons, we are hearing about God. But when we pray, we are talking to God.

A carpenter must touch the wood he intends to shape. A surgeon must touch the body she intends to heal. When we pray, God “gets his hands on us.”

This is why continual prayer is taught so consistently throughout Scripture:

- 1 Thessalonians 5:17 says, “Pray without ceasing.”

-Colossians 4:2 tells us to “continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving.”

-And Romans 12:12 calls us to “rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.”

Jesus was clear about this as well in Matthew 7:7: “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.” A more literal translation of the original Greek language would say, “Ask and keep on asking . . . seek and keep on seeking . . . knock and keep on knocking.”

It’s not that persistent prayer “wears God out,” but it positions us to experience his presence and receive his grace.

So let’s respond today and position ourselves before the presence and grace of God as we spend time in guided prayer.

today’s devotional is written by Jim Denison