Praying Through

Today I need an extra measure of faith, don't you? I read from Matthew 15 and I can relate to the Canaanite women who found Jesus and brought to Him her most urgent need. She comes with a request for her demon-possessed daughter to be healed. Verse 23 says, "But He answered her not a word." I want to stop here because I know we all have an urgent need that has been presented to the Lord. I also believe we all have experienced God's silence. Warren Wiersbe's NT commentary explains that Jesus is not being cruel but that Jesus is building up the woman's faith. I would venture that you and I don't take times like these as faith-building exercises but rather get angry, give up or assume the silence means "no." Simply, we are quick to lose faith.

As we read on, the example of this mother grieving her daughter's situation continues despite the disciples' apparent desire to dismiss her. She continued through the silence and the obstacles that stood in her way to again simply plead for her daughter's restoration. "Lord, help me!" Let's note that Jesus inclines His ear to our simple cries of help. Not that He didn't hear her the first time, but this seemingly small act of faith and worship got a response. She was persistent. She knew that Jesus had the answer. She didn't quit.

I have been reading "The Circle Maker" by Mark Batterson, a wonderful book on prayer. Currently, I am reading the chapter called "Long and Boring." Here a few of my highlighted passages from this chapter.

"Praying through is long and boring, but it is the price you pay for miracles."

"Drawing prayer circles often feels like a long and boring process, and it can be frustrating when you feel like you've been circling forever. You start to wonder if God really hears; if God really cares. Sometimes His silence is deafening. We circle the cancer. We circle the children. We circle the dream. But it doesn't seem to be making a difference. What do you do? My advice: Stop, drop and pray. Keep circling. Circle for seventy years if you have to! What else are you going to do? Where else are you going to turn? What other options do you have? Pray through."

"We live in a culture that overvalues fifteen minutes of fame and undervalues lifelong faithfulness. Maybe we have it backward. Just as our greatest successes often come on the heels of our greatest failures; our greatest answers often come on the heels of our longest and most boring prayers. But if you pray long and boring prayers, your life will be anything but boring. Your life will turn into the spiritual adventure it was destined to be. It won't always get you where you want to go, but it will get you through."

I love a little saying I saw awhile back - "I'd give up chocolate but I ain't no quitter!" Today let's not give up on our long and boring prayers. Let's not be quitters. Let's have the faith to know that the results of our persistent prayers are miracles!

Blessings,
Kathy Withers

Kathy's on staff at America's KESWICK in the Development Department. Kathy has been married to her husband Dave for 26 years. They have two adult children. Kathy is active in her local church and has previously served as a Teaching Director for Community Bible Study. Her passion is to encourage women to deepen their walk with Jesus Christ by finding and living out the truths of God's Word.