Persistent Prayer Overcomes Delays and Opposition
- Michael E.B. Maher
- 3 days ago
- 7 min read
Luke 11:5-10 “And He said to them, "Which of you shall have a friend, and go to him at midnight and say to him, 'Friend, lend me three loaves; (6) for a friend of mine has come to me on his journey, and I have nothing to set before him'; (7) and he will answer from within and say, 'Do not trouble me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give to you'? (8) I say to you, though he will not rise and give to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will rise and give him as many as he needs. (9) "So, I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. (10) For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.”
Scripture is full of examples of those who had their prayers answered because they were persistent in their prayers. Our Lord Jesus on two separate occasions, taught on exactly this principle of being persistent in prayer. The first occasion is recorded in the above quoted passage of scripture. In Luke’s gospel when our Lord Jesus taught us the manner in which we should pray, He specifically linked it to being persistent in prayer (Luke 11:1-4). The above passage is the illustration that our Lord used to teach us the concept of being persistent in prayer. In this passage Jesus gave us the illustration of the man who went to his friend at an inopportune time to ask for assistance. Jesus taught us that it was not because of this man’s standing as a friend that he received his request, but rather it was because of this man’s persistence that his request was answered. We do not always understand why the answers to our prayers are delayed; nevertheless we have our Lord’s word that those who keep asking are the ones who eventually receive.
Luke 18:1-8 “Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart, (2) saying: "There was in a certain city a judge who did not fear God nor regard man. (3) Now there was a widow in that city; and she came to him, saying, 'Get justice for me from my adversary.' (4) And he would not for a while; but afterward he said within himself, 'Though I do not fear God nor regard man, (5) yet because this widow troubles me I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.' “(6) Then the Lord said, "Hear what the unjust judge said. (7) And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them? (8) I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?”
In the above quoted parable Jesus taught us that even an unjust judge who feared neither God nor man, granted the request of the widow because of her persistence. The point of this parable is not to equate God with the unjust judge, but rather to show us that if even an unjust judge responds to persistent requests, then how much more will our heavenly Father give us our requests if we are persistent in our prayers.
Matthew 15:22-28 “And behold, a woman of Canaan came from that region and cried out to Him, saying, "Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! My daughter is severely demon-possessed." (23) But He answered her not a word. And His disciples came and urged Him, saying, "Send her away, for she cries out after us." (24) But He answered and said, "I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." (25) Then she came and worshiped Him, saying, "Lord, help me!" (26) But He answered and said, "It is not good to take the children's bread and throw it to the little dogs." (27) And she said, "Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters' table." (28) Then Jesus answered and said to her, "O woman, great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire." And her daughter was healed from that very hour.”
So why do we sometimes experience delays in having our prayers answered? We have learnt earlier in this teaching that God answers our prayers when we pray in line with His will. Nevertheless scripture also teaches us that God does at times answer our prayers, even when our request falls outside of His express will. It is normally in these instances however, that persistence in prayer is required in order to obtain our answer. In the above quoted passage of scripture we have the example of the Greek woman crying out to Jesus for her daughter to be delivered from demonic possession. The scripture tells us that initially Jesus did not answer her one word; nevertheless she persisted in crying out to the Lord for help. Our Lord eventually spoke to her explaining, rather harshly, that her request was contrary to the will of God at that time. This woman however would still not give up, and because of her persistence Jesus said to her that she had great faith and that her request was granted. And so we see that being persistent in prayer can result in our prayers being answered, even when our request falls outside of God’s perfect will. How much more can we be assured of results when we pray in accordance to His perfect will.
Genesis 25:20-26 “Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah as wife, the daughter of Bethuel the Syrian of Padan Aram, the sister of Laban the Syrian. (21) Now Isaac pleaded with the Lord for his wife, because she was barren; and the Lord granted his plea, and Rebekah his wife conceived. … (24) So when her days were fulfilled for her to give birth, indeed there were twins in her womb. … (26) … Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them.”
We do not always understand the purposes of God. In the above quoted passage of scripture we have the extreme example of Isaac praying for twenty years for his wife Rebekah to conceive. And so even though Isaac was praying according to the revealed will of God, for God had promised Isaac multitudes of descendants (Genesis 17:19), He nevertheless delayed the answer to Isaac’s prayer for twenty years. But nevertheless Isaac was persistent in his prayer request, and God eventually granted him his request. So why did God take twenty years to answer Isaac’s prayer? Scripture doesn’t reveal that to us but I’m sure that Isaac knows the answer now that he is in heaven. Some things we will only understand when we go to be with the Lord.
Luke 1:5-13 “There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the division of Abijah. His wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. (6) And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. (7) But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both well advanced in years. (8) So, it was that while he was serving as priest before God in the order of his division, (9) according to the custom of the priesthood, his lot fell to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord. (10) And the whole multitude of the people was praying outside at the hour of incense. (11) Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing on the right side of the altar of incense. (12) And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him. (13) But the angel said to him, "Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your prayer is heard; and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John.”
Another example of delayed answers to prayer that we can look at is that of Zacharias. In the above quoted passage of scripture we see that Zacharias had been praying for many years for a child from the time that he and Elizabeth were first married and she was found to be barren. When God finally answered Zacharias’ prayer however, he was at least fifty years old. And so by the time that Gabriel appeared to him he had stopped praying for a child as he was now in his old age, but nevertheless God had heard his persistent prayers as a young husband and God blessed him with their son, John the Baptist. Clearly God’s timing was perfect according God’s calendar not according to man’s calendar.
Daniel 10:12-13 “Then he said to me, "Do not fear, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand, and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard; and I have come because of your words. (13) But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days; and behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left alone there with the kings of Persia.”
Sometimes the delay to having our prayers answered is because of spiritual opposition. In the above quoted example we see that Daniel’s prayer was heard by God on the first day that he prayed. And so God dispatched the angel Gabriel to answer his prayer. However, in the spirit realm there had been opposition to Gabriel getting through to Daniel, and it took three weeks for Gabriel to break through. Eventually the Archangel Michael had to assist Gabriel to break through. In all that time Daniel did not give up however, but continued steadfastly in prayer before God. In the natural it may seem as if God has not heard our prayer at times, but we are not called to walk in the natural but in the spirit.
Michael E.B. Maher
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