Lesson 9 - Pray with persistence!

God does not always answer yes when we pray. Paul the Apostle was not healed when he asked God 3 times in 2 Corinthians 12. Sometimes God says 'no,' and sometimes He says 'not yet.' 

2 Corinthians 12:8-9 - Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. Each time he said, My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness. So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me.

Jesus told parables about being persistent in our prayers.

Luke 11:5-10 - Then, teaching them more about prayer, he used this story: Suppose you went to a friend’s house at midnight, wanting to borrow three loaves of bread. You say to him, A friend of mine has just arrived for a visit, and I have nothing for him to eat. And suppose he calls out from his bedroom, Don’t bother me. The door is locked for the night, and my family and I are all in bed. I can’t help you. But I tell you this—though he won’t do it for friendship’s sake, if you keep knocking long enough, he will get up and give you whatever you need because of your shameless persistence. And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.

Luke 18:1-8 - One day Jesus told his disciples a story to show that they should always pray and never give up. There was a judge in a certain city, he said, who neither feared God nor cared about people. A widow of that city came to him repeatedly, saying, ‘Give me justice in this dispute with my enemy.’ The judge ignored her for a while, but finally he said to himself, ‘I don’t fear God or care about people, but this woman is driving me crazy. I’m going to see that she gets justice, because she is wearing me out with her constant requests! Then the Lord said, “Learn a lesson from this unjust judge. Even he rendered a just decision in the end. So don’t you think God will surely give justice to his chosen people who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will grant justice to them quickly! But when the Son of Man returns, how many will he find on the earth who have faith?

If you don’t see an answer, keep asking. Start a list of your prayer requests and watch for answers. You will start to see God at work in your life if you are persistent in prayer.