A Hearty Motivation

Persistence in prayer is a theme in Luke’s gospel including in chapter 11. In verses 5-13 Jesus uses an illustration involving a friend knocking on the door in need of bread to point out that the bread will be given as he persists. The second is Luke 11:9-13 which is the well-known passage about asking, seeking, and knocking.

As a parent, I find persistent questions challenging. I’m sure many parents can relate to this scenario: after committing to buy something for one of our kids we’re asked again and again, “When are you going to buy it? Are you going on Friday to get it? Do you think you’ll get it this week?”

To tell the truth, this actually makes me not want to get it for them. As a human father, persistence wears me down and brings up negative emotions.

I find it very interesting to see that God responds in the opposite way.

Jesus says we are to be persistent with our prayers and then reminds us that He is a good father and He welcomes such persistence.

Why is this? Does God need to be reminded of our requests?

Of course not! He’s not forgetful or negligent like us.

Persistence, then, must be for our benefit.

We can see this in action when Jesus engaged Peter in a series of persistent questions to touch his heart.

So when they had eaten breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me more than these?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” He said to Him, “Feed My lambs.” He said to him again a second time, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” He said to him, “Tend My sheep.” He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?” Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, “Do you love Me?” And he said to Him, “Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You.” Jesus said to him, “Feed My sheep. Most assuredly, I say to you, when you were younger, you girded yourself and walked where you wished; but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will gird you and carry you where you do not wish.” This He spoke, signifying by what death he would glorify God. And when He had spoken this, He said to him, “Follow Me.” (John 21:15-19)

This passage highlights that Peter is not grieved until Jesus asks him the same question for a third time.

To place this in context, this conversation took place after Peter denied Jesus three times, and Peter was likely feeling guilty. But I believe that it was more than just his guilt that broke Peter down.

Persistence, especially coming from Jesus, causes change in a person. Through persistence Peter was confronted with the weakness of his love and his inadequacy to follow Jesus in his own strength. This reality is what broke Peter.

Jesus then shows that this weakness is exactly what He’s looking for. He says that when Peter was young or immature, he walked in his own strength – doing what he wanted, when and how he wanted.

However, Jesus says when Peter is older and more mature, he won’t live by his own will or strength, but others will lead him to places that he doesn’t even want to go.

Submission to Jesus’ authority over our lives is a sign of maturity and is required to follow Jesus, but what is the main motivation for this submission?

We find it in this passage from John; “Simon son of Jonah, do you love Me?”

It is love for Jesus, and the knowledge of His love for Peter, that will enable Peter to endure and submit to His will.

We also need to learn to submit to Jesus and to be aligned with His will.

Prayer is a part of this. We are asking God to do something we cannot do, and dependent on His will and His action. How can we persist in prayer in a way that will align our hearts with His?

The Bible shows that not all persistence is equal, in fact when studying persistence in prayer I found these two opposing views: In Matthew 6:7 Jesus says “And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words”, but in James 5:16 it says, “The heartfelt and persistent prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.”

The verse in Matthew 6 describes the persistence of the flesh or of the immature Christian, and the verse in James is the heartfelt persistence of the mature Christian.

In both situations, people are being repetitive, or persistent, in asking but the difference comes down to their hearts.

Our relationship with the Lord and our perception of Him changes the way we approach Him in prayer. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Jesus tells the story of the good Father who gives good gifts to His children right after the one of the persistent friend who comes at midnight. We can only effectively persist in prayer in the full knowledge that He is a good and loving Father.

At times even mature Christians can have difficulty persisting in prayer. We can find ourselves running away from God rather than running to Him, keeping Him at a distance and forgetting that He is a loving Father.

When this happens, we need to step back and be reminded of God’s character and we do that by getting into the Word and meditating on the revelation of His love and goodness.

When we love Jesus, and are confident of His love for us, persistence in prayer has the opposite effect in our hearts than when we are doing it in the flesh. Rather than depleting our strength, it actually builds us up and strengthens us as we grow in our confidence that He will work out His loving, good will in the situation. This kind of persistent prayer aligns our hearts with God’s heart, and grows us in maturity, which is not natural, but rather the supernatural gift of God.

That day on the beach, Peter deserved, at the very least, to be confronted with a disappointed Jesus or even reprimanded for his denial. Instead, Peter was met with grace and love from Jesus and, even more, he was invited back into ministry.

This is the heart of our heavenly Father and knowing this truth will cause us to run to Him in tough times rather than running away from Him. He is the good and loving Father who will always give good gifts to His children and who eagerly invites us to keep asking Him.