A few years ago I transitioned from my career in radio to a position in ministry at a growing church. It was ten years after I had graduated high school and ventured out on my own, so it felt like a God-send that it would involve moving back closer to my mom and dad’s farm. And, honestly, returning to my childhood bedroom sounded like a nice reprieve. Surely, I thought, I’ll meet my husband within the year and move right on to the next phase of life.
And, as I settled in at home, I developed this habit where every time I put my key in my car and turned the ignition, I would pray. My commute was about 25 minutes, but usually I’d spend just a few minutes petitioning the Lord and then move on to calling my sister (Dawn) or singing along with the radio. Often, I didn’t feel like praying. Most times! But I was committed and stayed persistent.
What happened, as I prayed each day, is that these prayers turned into declarations. For example, I would pray for my family: “I bless my family and declare that every single member will come to salvation this year and are passionately loving and serving Jesus. No accident, illness or trauma will come against us and each one of us will walk out the fullness of our days and the destiny He’s ordained for us. Thank you Lord for blessing our businesses, bringing new contracts and customers, and expanding our territory…”
And so forth!
Well, in that, I of course was praying for my husband. And again, because I was doing it so consistently, it became a persistent prayer for a “strong, godly, intelligent man with strong people skills, an entrepreneurial spirit, who would treat me like a queen and be an amazing father to my children.” That was my dream man! I don’t remember how I specifically chose each of those qualities, but somehow it’s what I landed on. And that truly was the desire of my heart.
You can hear the full story and how the Lord brought me to the man of my dreams in our wedding highlight video here: https://vimeo.com/221206743
But let me get to the moral of the story: it’s not about the specific prayer I prayed for my husband. It’s about persistence. Some of us need a breakthrough in our health, or with our children, work, or maybe it is finding your spouse. In Luke 18:1-8, Jesus tells the parable of the persistent widow. There’s several lessons in this story, but the language that Jesus uses paints the picture of a boxing match and implies that her constant coming were like blows to the jaw of the judge. And even though he was unjust, because of her persistence, in the end he granted her wish.
And how much more does a loving Father in heaven respond lavishly to our constant coming to Him in prayer. He is loving and He is willing. So the encouragement is to come and keep coming and see what He will do on your behalf.
Link to podcast for full sermon “Persisting In Prayer”:https://ithehouse.podbean.com/e/persisting-in-prayer/
Diana
