Are We Being Persistere?

Persistere...persistere?  What is that?  Are we ready for a little Latin lesson today?   Here is some help in pronouncing the Latin word  above "persistere"...

How to Pronounce Latin. 

If you look at the word you may be able to determine what persistere means.  Persist or in the title above...persistent is what I would like to focus on for just a minute...

Jesus tells us about being persistent in a parable to his disciples and more specifically about being persistent in our prayer life and to keep praying until an answer comes...

I love this part...

The judge ignored her for a while, but eventually she got on his nerves."

Imagine that?  Her persistence paid off.  Are we that persistent when we go to God with our prayers or do we pray about it a few times and then forget it quickly and move on to the next thing we want or need?  We can be such a fickle bunch can't we in our prayer life as well as our relationship with God?!

Now I do not wish to get on God's nerves by praying endless repetitive prayers or endless hours of prayer that do not come from the heart - this widow in the story did not do that.  She went in, pleaded her case and she left but she did so daily and as it says above...

"...with her constant coming!"

She was consistent!  She constantly came before the judge even when he didn't respond or answer her right away - she kept on and on - believing that he would hear her pleas for justice.  I can just imagine the character building that took place within her not to mention her faith...her hope...that this judge would hear her eventually.  She had faith that justice would prevail no matter how long it took - she had faith!

I think the problem some of us face is we don't stay consistent and give up hope and faith especially when we don't get the answer we think we should receive in the time we think it should be done.  God may delay in answering our prayers but know that He has his reasons and will do what is best for us and the situation.  Sometimes it is in that delay that builds the character within us (and others) that He is seeking.  Could it be He is looking to see our faith in the answer?  Yes!  And in the end, He is looking to see who is still there, praying, hoping, having faith and seeking after Him with consistency in our walk with Him.

"But the question is:  When I, the Messiah, return, how many will I find who have faith [and are praying]?"

Sometimes God answers in a way that we don't expect or want.  He chooses the best way for all considered.  It may not be the answer we were looking for but it is...His Answer.

If this evil judge responded to this widow [Widows and orphans, during the times when Jesus was telling this parable, were among the most vulnerable and can still be so today.  I think that is why there was so much emphasis on caring for them in the Old and New Testaments because they had no one to watch out for them.] how much more will God respond to those of us...His children...that He loves?!  If only we had the faith.  If only we realized how much He does love us and know that we know that we know that He will indeed answer our cries for help no matter how long it takes.

There has been a situation in my life that I have had to be constant in prayer about for over 13 years now.  That's a long time...but I keep on keeping on.  I am not doing so every single day but I do bring it before God and in all honesty, more of it had been in a complaining tone than one that was seeking help.  I was feeling right sorry for myself over the whole thing.  One can get very weary in asking the same thing over and over, day after day, year after year and soon you begin to complain instead of seeking help and guidance.  In this situation I have tried everything I could possibly think of and redid those things just in case I missed it the first or second try.  I wanted to make sure that I was holding up my part of it and not just sitting around waiting for an answer without doing what I needed to do.  I have asked God if there was something I have done or said that I need to ask forgiveness for and if so, I will gladly apologize so that things can be made right.  But to no avail I felt abandoned.

My mixture of pleading and complaining brought no hope of ever finding resolution.  I went through different periods or phases of character building in the past 13 years that is for sure and I am thankful for every single bit of it.  The first phase was of extreme hurt.  That phase I think lasted the longest.  I just couldn't understand what it is that I did or said and it seemed the harder I tried the worse the situation became.  The second phase I went through was anger.  This is where one needs to be careful and not let their anger in a problem become sinful in nature.  I failed many times on that front during this time but I think because I was in constant prayer over it - God was quick to let me know this was not the way to go!  I flipped back to the hurt phase and had to work through it again and again.  Then back to anger but it became a justifiable one and not sinful.  I am not talking about justifying retaliation or getting back at them.  God will take care of all that in His own way.  I am talking about the kind that you begin to say, "This far and no further.." and you place those, not only offending you but causing you strife in your walk, at arms length.

I finally did this after years of struggle.  Were there hits coming my way?  You bet.  Hits from those I held near and dear to me and not just in this situation but from others too.  Could I have been hurt anymore?!  You bet.  I was accused of things I would have never dreamed of all because I made the decision to not allow those to hurt me any longer.  Satan was determined to keep me in bondage to this very thing I sought freedom from.  If he couldn't get me in one way - he was sure going to try it from another - and it almost worked!  Last year was a tough year.  I even went through times of wishing I had not said anything just to keep the peace even if it meant me continually getting hurt in the process.  This is where I struggled with the whole "turn the other cheek" thing.  Jesus tells us to do that but it doesn't mean you allow the situation you are in to continue.  Sometimes it means being the bigger person and walking away from the fight...and that is just what I did.  I walked away.  A saying that came my way around this time (Godly timing I believe) and one I have shared here before is...

I took a stand to not tolerate the hurtful things said and done to me and to my family and I knew that in taking this stand there would be some upsets or shockwaves afterwards.  I think it took some growth on my part to be able to take the stand but also the hits that followed and to be able to forgive.  But God had not forgotten me or my prayers!  Some wonderful things happened and those somethings I believe were some small steps but important ones for me and my entire family.  I needed to see it.  I needed to feel it.  I needed to know that it came from God my Heavenly Father that loves me no matter how many times I falter.  Most importantly, God showed me the reason behind the hurtful things done and said to me and my part in the whole thing too.  It truly was an Aha! moment.  With that came the understanding I needed in order to move on and not harbor the hurt and anger I had been feeling all these years.  Praise God I could finally go forward and not be held captive of what had been going on.  I finally had peace! 

Through this whole process I learned so much about myself and how important my values are and what they mean to me but that God thinks so too!  He knew my heart.  He knew I was human too and needed that from Him to feel His strength and guiding Hand.  He knew I needed that confirmation from a loving Father to His child after so many years of pleading.  He did hear me! 

This was and is an answer to one of my many prayers concerning this situation.  I continue to pray for healing of relationships and hope that one day we can be together without strife but in love.  This is not only important to me but to one I love dearly - my husband.

Let us continue to be persistere in our walk with God and in daily prayer and to not lose hope or faith in those things that are important to God too!  Don't forget that!  I hope that in the end...He finds us all having faith and in prayer before Him!

 Love and God's Blessings to You All,

  Catherine