Is there something you really need or want from God?
Do you have unsaved family members? A child or grandchild needing a job? An answer to a medical question? An attitude change toward a situation? Financial provision? The willingness to forgive someone? A new hunger to spend time with God?
Before the birds began to sing this morning – and about an hour and a half before I wanted to rouse from sleep – our cat was on the bed trying to get my attention. It’s hard to sleep through a cat’s determined actions to wake someone up. She’s normally pretty chill unless something in her world is wrong, so it didn’t take me long to realize she probably couldn’t find her food bowl because I had cleaned the laundry room yesterday and moved it to a new spot. Finally and reluctantly, I got out of bed, went downstairs, and showed her the new location of the food bowl. I haven’t seen the cat since.
Our exclusively indoor cat (obviously) depends on her human family for care, and not being able to find her food was a middle-of-the-night crisis for her. So, she came to me – loudly and persistently – for help. This reminded me of the story of the persistent widow in Luke 18:1-8 NIV.
“Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought. And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’ (Imagine a cat purring loudly, circling around you, even nipping you in the face to get your attention.)
“For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come and attack me!’” (Even when you don’t want to get out of bed, sometimes you have to.)
“And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?” (The cat wouldn’t allow me to keep putting her off.)
Persistence paid off for the cat, for the widow, and it pays off for us. Ask God your questions. Ask God for your wants and needs. Have faith that God hears you. He told us to seek after him because he is a good Father God who will give his children good gifts.
“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!” (Matthew 7:7-11 NIV)
What is it you need to persistently petition God about?
God,
Thank you that we can come to you when we need and want things. Thank you for hearing our prayers and answering them – sometimes in ways or timing we don’t expect, but always answering. Help us to be persistent in our prayers and to have faith that you hear and will answer. As we ask, seek, and knock, pour out your good gifts into our lives, we pray in Christ’s name. Amen.