Pray Without Ceasing

“Pay attention to what the dishonest judge says. Will not God then secure the rights of His chosen ones who call out to Him day and night? Will He be slow to answer them? I tell you, He will see to it that justice is done for them speedily. But when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on earth?” Luke 18:6-8

The parable of the persistent widow teaches us to pray unceasingly, to never give up, especially when we do not see the answers we are asking for. This pandemic has been with us for most of 2020! We have prayed the virus will go away or a cure be found. Will we stop praying just because God has not given us what we want? 

I always keep in mind that Jesus never gave up praying. He would go off to the mountain by Himself to pray, to be with His Father. Perhaps like us, sometimes He would be at a loss for words, with all that He was facing. One time, He prayed, “Father, if You are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from Me. Yet I want Your will to be done, not Mine.” (Luke 22:42)

Can we pray like Jesus, if our husband is in a coma, our daughter has an incurable disease, our home was burned and we have lost everything? The ways of God are unfathomable. The Philippines was just hit by two consecutive strong typhoons and the damage sustained is just horrendous. So many people already reeling from the effects of the pandemic are hit again by the floods that inundated their homes, and destroyed their crops. Sometimes it can seem so hopeless. 

We always have to remember God never promised an easy life. But the God who gave us His only Son so that we could one day reign with Him in heaven, will not fail to answer our prayers if they are for our eternal good. We just have to put our faith and trust in Him, and never give up praying! 

Although we should act as if everything depends on us, much more should we pray as if everything depends on God, because it does!!! "More things are wrought by prayer than this world dreams of." (Alfred Lord Tennyson)