Have you been praying and nothing happened? Have you prayed, and prayed and prayed and things are getting worse, not better? Are you about to give up on prayer? There are times when we can be easily discouraged not seeing immediate results. Let’s look at the parable Jesus mentioned and see what the Lord Himself tells us about prayer.
A Story We can Learn from
Luke 18:1-8 is a very popular passage of the Bible, Jesus gave a parable that is applicable to the Christian life. The parable is about a persistent widow. One unique thing about this woman is that she did not give up trying. Jesus used this because it’s a fact that nothing in this life will be easy but then we must be connected to the superior power. This Judge in this story can be likened unto God and the woman is the Christians. We can see that this woman didn’t stop going to meet the judge until she was attended to properly.
It is true they say, “Winners never quit and quitters will never win,” but it is also true that everybody in this world will be faced with challenges that can cause one to lose hope. The difference between the believers and the non-believers is we believers have a strong backup which is Jesus. We stay focused and never to be frustrated. Before there could be any thought of giving up, there would have been troubles, problems, and trials. God sometimes allow these things to happen to us to test obedience. God allowed Job to be tested to see if he would curse Him, but Job remained faithful to God to the end. If you are going through hard times, just consider the reward – for every work, there is a reward. If we can go through these hard times in life and we persevere, it builds our faith and makes us stronger. This is the time we should increase the intensity of our prayer.
It’s a thing to pray and yet it is another thing to be persistent in prayer. We don’t know what we might face in the next hour, and that is why we must not stop talking to God. Communicating with God is what Christians must not joke with. The English dictionary states prayer as “a solemn request for help or an expression of thanks to a superior being.” This means any request you make from someone superior to you is called prayer. It could be in the form of asking or giving thanks for what has been done for you.
Communication is Important in a Relationship
Sometimes we find it difficult to pray every day, this may be due to limited time. We always have one thing or the other to do. But no matter how busy we are, we still get to communicate with people, and business partners, or anyone we are in a relationship with. Communication is an important thing in a relationship. It helps the relationship to grow because you will be able to pour out your mind to your partner – when communication dies, the relationship dies. In this same manner, to build a strong relationship with God, we must make sure the communication doesn’t die. The way we can communicate with God effectively is through prayer. God Himself wants us to speak with Him as a friend, He wants us to call to Him. Jeremiah 33:3 “Call to Me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.”
Are our Feelings Make the Right Predictions?
Another reason we why we may get tired of praying is because we rely on our feeling, we believe we can do it all alone without the necessity of asking God for help. The parable Jesus gave in the book of Luke 18 about the widow, every time I read this story, I relate it to what’s happening right now – if anyone needs justice and then he or she was being pushed around, it would be easy for the person to give up. Sometimes when we ask people for something and they keep postponing the time they will grant our request, we tend to give up. This widow was not like that, she was persistent, she continued to go to the judge. She knew she would get the answer someday. This is what Jesus wants from us, He doesn’t want us to give up – answers to our prayers are on the way.
Jesus has always been telling us to pray. Luke 18:1 “Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart.” You should be like that widow that will never give up on God. It’s time you stand to your feet and let the devil know you are strong, let him know you are not giving up. Jesus could have refused to say nothing on prayer but He was more concerned about it. In this life, there will be struggles, there will be challenges that will face us heavily. Jesus has told us these things that will happen. That is why He repeated it again in Matthew 26:41 “Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
Quitting is Not an Option
This parable is to encourage Christians to continue praying. Jesus knew that doing all these works He gave us to do, there would be challenges, temptations and trials, and unpleasant situations but He told us never to stop working. John 16:33 “I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth, you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” If we want to be identified with Christ, if we want to be more than a conqueror, then we must never lose hope and never quit – quit is never an option for any believer. A wonderful example of someone who never gave up is the widow in the Bible. The widow kept appealing to the Judge to give her justice against her enemies until the judge answered her.
In this video you can hear my testimony about how hard it was for me to believe for my mom’s salvation. What I could only see was the worst scenario, until one day…
God is Not Silent
God has a good plan for us, it is a plan that when it comes to past, people will choose to follow our God and give Him the glory – through that, we are expanding. But in this world, everything seems hard, there are forces that are raging, they want to limit us and bring us down and that is why Paul warned in Ephesians 6:12 “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” These are the powers that will want to confine us or restrict us from spreading the power of God. Don’t think God is silent to your prayers, He hears them.
Believing is Not Seeing
Most of the time we rely on the popular saying, “seeing is believing.” For this reason, we feel we are wasting our time since we are not seeing the result. The damage this will cause is that it will make us give up on prayer and God himself. What we need is faith, without this faith we can’t please God and if God is not pleased with us, our prayers might have no impact.
Praise Jesus & Do Not Give Up
In whatever you do, just don’t stop praying – “pray without ceasing.” If it seems the answers to your prayers are not coming forth, don’t stop praying still. Don’t let the feeling of “I want it now” take over you that you begin to feel God is not listening to you when you pray. The answer to your prayer may be delayed due to some reasons that you might not know too. James 4:3 “You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.” When this happens, the best thing to do is to praise God instead of giving up because all things work together for good. Romans 8:28.
A.W. Tozer said, “sometimes I go to God and say, “God, if thou dost never answer another prayer while I still live on this earth, I will still worship thee as long as I live in the ages to come for what thou hast done already.” God has already put me in debt that if I were to live one million millenniums I couldn’t pay him for what he has done for me.”
If you have been encouraged please comment below. If you struggle in not seeing results, let me know. I will pray for you.
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So glad I came across your YT channel. You have been such an encouragement. I have really been
struggling financially and have felt such despair about it. This really helped!
Hi Kathy. Thank you very much for your kind words. I thank the Father He gives us these connections. I will pray for you financial breakthrough.? I command you, Poverty, leave in Jesus Name. Thank You Jesus!? Thank You Lord for Kathy, and I give praise you are going to turn things around for Kathy’s good.The Scripture is: For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly. (Psalm 84:11). Nothing will be withheld anymore. Blessings
I don’t believe that God & Jesus love me. I have had , and currently suffering from so many problems that I have come to believe that God is tormenting me on purpose. If God isn’t going to let me have some true happiness for once in my life, then I wish he’d leave me alone. God blesses others but torments me. I have had so much bad happen to me that when I relate it to other people, they don’t believe me. All I have is anger towards God. And to those who think I’m crazy or over reacting, I’d truly like to see how you would feel if you went through half of what I have!
Hi Tony,
God is love and this is the truth. You can argue all day long but truth is still truth. There is a thief, devil, who has only one thing in mind – to steal, slaughter, and destroy. God is not your enemy.
Yes, we live in a fallen world. Yes, tribulations will come. We can’t avoid them but, do not allow the lies of the enemy enter your heart.
God can turn your problem around if you believe, don’t panic and don’t blame God for everything. It is easy to blame someone else, especially God, the One who we do not see. We can create problems for ourselves and devil can create problems too. But God is the One who can deliver you from your problems and from the evil one.
God can turn things around in your life!
God loves you, Tony. You feel it or not, believe it or not – He loves you. We pray that you will experience God’s love!
Blessings,
Haly
Am one also , right now am just ask God to teach me how to pray
Hi Sila,
It’s so awesome you have that desire to learn about prayer. The Lord will help you with that. Trust Him!
It might be of help to you if you can read from the book of Psalms and speak like you talk to God. But do not be to stressed about it. One sentence from your heart is much better than many words.
We pray blessings over you and your family!
Haly
I’ve been praying for God to restore and mend my relationship he has showed me he has a plan for me and this person in my dreams I try to keep believing but its so hard when I’m waiting for the dream to come to pass and when I haven’t see. The change in my situation or the person I’m trying to fix things with i know God hears me I would just like to see my dream come to pass and for him to perform a miracle.
If tragedy is great enough in one’s life and prayer does not subdue the issues I believe that most christians prayer life will become stagnant and eventually evaporate. Mine came to that point after great injustice in a horrid place called Wyoming. God never rectified the injustice even one iota so I became discouraged. I wish it were not so, but I simply cannot pray or open a Bible again since both instruments now trigger me mentally back to the worst time in my life at the hands of four people who raped the Bill of Rights and engaged in malicious prosecution.. In those trying days I prayed and read the word religiously but God was nowhere to be found. So now to pray or read the word would cause me more trauma. I wonder why Christ gave so many instructions to “pray” yet the results (or answers) are so frequently unheard. I believe that there’s little point in prayer since God seems to be somewhere far away and unwilling to help “His children.” Besides why pray, then receive no response, and become discouraged?
Blessings to you vapors,
Thank you for your honest comment. We would like to encourage you to let the things you cannot change go and let the things you can change in to your life. Yes, this world is messed up a big time but if you focus on that, it will never bring you joy, just more trauma and disbelief.
When we focus on negativity, it will create more negativity. The Lord wants you to enjoy your relationship with Him, enjoy your life here on the earth. Surround yourself with people who can encourage you, inspire you.
And continue encouraging others, doing good for others. Also, share your heart with God. He understands you more than any other.
We see a change is coming into your life. There will be a transformation. A “dark cloud” will be lifted up. You will also experience an inner healing. Things will make sense to you.
In Psalm 91:15 it says, “He will call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him.”
We pray the Lord will answer you!
Haly Ministries
I’ve been praying to God over a dream he gave me. Ive been asking him to mend my relationship and help us start over. He told me he had a plan for me and this person and ive been waiting for my dream to come to pass. Its just hard when I don’t see the situation changing or the change in the person as well. Ive been holding onto his dream he gave me but i really would like to see him move in my situation. I do believe in his miracles it just find it hard to keep the faith and the only reason i don’t give up is because of what he showed me but its so hard
Hi Jeremiah! Thanks for being open to share your struggle. We never need to worry because we have the Holy Spirit with us constantly (John 14:16). As you trust in His guidance, you will never walk in the darkness. Your steps will always be directed by Him! May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit! (Romans 15:13)
Shalom!
Haly
Please do pray for me. I have prayed so many prayers for my prodigal children and their wives for 20 years, and they seem farther from God than ever. Is it vain repetition to keep praying the same prayers over and over and over?
I used to pray for hours whenever I would walk each day, and now I find myself flattened, defeated, and giving up. And now the isolation of age and COVID have me in a bleak, dark place.
Every day is just one foot in front of the other. I do pray with my husband each evening, but I have lost my heart and my hope and all faith except my salvation faith. Please pray.
Shalom Ceejay!
Thank you for your message. It is quite hard to trust the Lord when you see the opposite. What I’ve learnt over the years is to let it go. We easily focus on what is wrong, or negative things. God is not like that. He is very positive.
Do you think God has got little or no interest in your children’s salvation? You know it is not true. God is more interested than us. We just need to give our children, grandchildren, family into God’s hand and continue our walk. You planted the seed, but there will be someone who will water it.
Never give up! Never see the worst scenario! Continue walking with God knowing that there is a time for everything.
We pray the Lord will give you peace and joy! May your heart be filled with His joy and laughter!
Blessings,
Haly
https://halyministries.com/let-go-and-trust-god/
But sometimes it’s best to give up praying. Sometimes it’s just not gods will for you to have, certain things can never be changed. I prayed for a resolution for a sex crime that happened 4 years ago. Nothing came from it, so I just have to move on and let go of this
Hi Mel,
Sorry, for a late reply.
Giving up is to admit a defeat. We pray and let God deal with the situation. Maybe we won’t see it in our lifetime. Many of our forefathers prayed and did not see immediate results. But it does not mean their prayers were not valid, empty, or weak. Their great-great kids had and still have a privilege to live in the blessings. Shall we give up on prayer? I don’t think so. But shall we demand our will be done? No. We see it or not, we pray and move on and let God be God and work all things together for good in His time.
May you prosper in all things as your soul prospers!
Blessings,
Haly
Thank you for your encouragement, it feels as if God brought me to this site, because I was just about to give up on my prayers.
I am praying for something I had waited for so many years, if not my whole life.
When I thought, that I finally was given the gift, I had lost it. I am confused and broken, not knowing what God`s will for my life is, but I am praying and putting all my hope in Him. Please, if you can pray for me, not to lose hope and believe that God is bigger that any Satanic plan.
Thank you, and God Bless You.