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Keep Praying: Learning to Trust God Through Prayer
Prayer is one of the most important practices in our relationship with God. It is more than bringing a list of needs before Him—it is an ongoing conversation in which we speak, listen, seek guidance, give thanks, and learn to trust.
Throughout this week’s readings, Jesus teaches His followers not only how to pray, but also how to keep praying. Again and again, we are reminded that God hears us, God cares for us, and God is good.
Pray and Don’t Give Up
In the Parable of the Widow and the Judge in Luke 18, Jesus uses contrast to teach about persistence. If an unjust judge eventually responds to someone who continues to ask, how much more can we trust our loving God to hear His people?
Jesus wants His followers to pray faithfully and not give up. There will be times when answers seem slow or circumstances remain unchanged. Persistent prayer keeps us connected to God during those seasons. It reminds us that our faith does not depend upon receiving an immediate answer.
When prayer becomes difficult, remember how God has been faithful in the past. Give thanks for His blessings and continue bringing your needs before Him.
Lord, Teach Us to Pray
The disciples regularly saw Jesus praying. His example made such an impression that they asked Him to teach them how to pray. Jesus responded with the prayer we know as the Lord’s Prayer.
Jesus demonstrated that prayer wasn't something reserved for emergencies. It was a regular part of His life and relationship with the Father.
The same can be true for us. Prayer can become part of the rhythm of our days—a few quiet moments in the morning, a conversation with God during the day, or time spent listening and giving thanks at night.
The important thing is to begin. Regular prayer helps deepen our relationship with God.
Persist in Prayer
Luke 11 gives us another picture of persistence through the story of a neighbor asking for help. Like the widow who continued appealing to the judge, the neighbor keeps asking.
These stories remind us to persevere.
Persistence isn't about convincing God to care about us. God already cares. Instead, persistent prayer helps us continue trusting Him. It gives us hope and reminds us that God is greater than the problems before us.
When you're struggling to keep praying, remember the times God has helped you before. Let yesterday's faithfulness give you confidence to trust Him with today's needs.
Ask, Seek, and Knock
Jesus gives His followers three simple instructions in Luke 11: ask, seek, and knock.
We weren't created to navigate every challenge through our own strength. We need God's grace, wisdom, guidance, and help.
Ask God for the help you need. Seek His will when you don't know which direction to take. Knock when you need God to open the way before you.
Prayer invites us to stop relying entirely upon ourselves and recognize our dependence upon God. Jesus modeled this throughout His ministry, and He invites His followers to become people of prayer as well.
God Is Good
Why can we continue asking, seeking, and knocking?
Because God is good.
In Luke 11, Jesus points to the way caring parents provide for their children. If imperfect people understand how to give good things to those they love, how much more can we trust our Heavenly Father?
Our confidence in prayer ultimately rests not in our ability to pray perfectly, but in the character of the One to whom we pray.
God knows us. God hears us. God loves us. And because God is good, we can approach Him with trust.
Make Prayer a Daily Rhythm
This week's readings leave us with a simple challenge: keep praying.
Pray when you know exactly what you need, and pray when you don't know what to say. Pray when God's presence seems close, and continue praying when you're waiting for an answer. Ask for help. Seek God's will. Knock on the door. Give thanks for God's faithfulness.
Most importantly, follow the example of Jesus and make prayer a regular part of your relationship with God.
This week, consider setting aside a specific time each day to pray. Begin with gratitude, bring your needs before God, spend a few moments listening, and close by praying the Lord's Prayer.
Ask. Seek. Knock. Persist. And trust that God is good.
Weekly Prayer & Study Guide
Monday – Read Matthew 27-28; Luke 2:36-38, 21:1-3; Acts 6:1-6, 9:36-43; I Timothy 5:3-8, James 1:27. Care for Widows. The expectation regarding the care of widows was clear. Regard for those in need—including the widow, the orphan, and the foreigner—was grounded in God’s mercy on the Israelites when they were in bondage in Egypt. God will vindicate the widows and the orphans. Therefore, those who abuse such powerless persons will surely suffer God’s judgement. Widows had a place of honor in the early church, and Luke mentions many widows in his Gospel and in the Book of Acts including Anna who never left the Temple but worshiped there with fasting and prayer night and day, the widow who gave two copper coins, and the widows who were present when Peter raised Tabitha who was also called Dorcas. In our church, our Care Ministers minister to widows and homebound people. As you pray, who is God calling you to bless and offer care?
Tuesday – Read Mark 1-3; Luke 18:1-8. The Parable of the Widow and the Judge. Jesus taught by contrast: God is not like this unjust judge. If even a bad judge can be persuaded, imagine how much more God wants to listen to your prayers. The real question is, will the Son of Man find faith on earth? Luke said Jesus wanted his followers to learn that they should always pray and not give up. Have you ever persisted in prayer? If so, what effect did the experience have on you? What are the things that make you most likely to give up on praying? What experiences or beliefs lead you to persist in prayer? Spend some time thanking God for hearing your prayers and for all of the ways that God has blessed you.
Wednesday – Read Mark 4-5; Luke 11:1-4. Lord, teach us to pray. The disciples often saw Jesus praying, and so they asked him, “Lord, teach us how to pray as John taught his disciples.” Jesus taught them the prayer we now call the Lord’s Prayer. He also taught them that God was eager to bless them and give them the gift of the Holy Spirit. It is important for us to continually spend time speaking and listening to God in prayer. This is one of the ways that we grow in our relationship with God. Jesus continually modeled this to his disciples. Jesus prayed regularly. He prayed in the morning to begin his day and in the evening after a hard day’s work. When, where, and how often do you pray? How can you make your practice of prayer more like Jesus’ practice of prayer? Ask God to help you make prayer a daily part of your life.
Thursday – Read Mark 6-7; Luke 11:5-8; Romans 12:9-13; I Thessalonians 5:16-18. Persist in Prayer. The Parable of the Widow and the Judge is a twin of the Parable of the Neighbor in Need. Both parables illustrate the importance of persistence in prayer. They each feature a person in need persistently pressing a request. If a neighbor or an unjust judge will respond to an urgent or repeated request, then our gracious God will also respond to those who call out in need. Through these parables, Jesus encourages us to persevere in prayer. Persevering in prayer gives us hope and reminds us that God is bigger than all of our problems. As you pray, spend some time praising God for God’s goodness and all of the times God has helped you in the past. Then, make your requests to God knowing that God will help you in the present.
Friday - Read Mark 8-9; Luke 11:9-10. Ask, Seek, and Knock. When Jesus came to earth and saw thousands of weary, beaten-down people losing their daily battles in life, he shook his head and said to the people, “You should pray more. That’s what you should do.” Jesus said, “You should ask, and you should seek. You should knock. There’s no good reason why you should fend off all of the help that heaven is willing to send your way. There is no good reason why you should try to do all these things on human strength alone. You weren’t designed to be able to do that. So, why don’t you just ask for heaven’s help? Why don’t you seek heaven’s guidance when you need guidance? Why don’t you knock if you need God to open a door for you?” Jesus knows that it will be nearly impossible for us to live out his teachings on our own strength, so he teaches his disciples to be people of prayer who consistently ask for God’s help. Only by persistently asking, seeking, and knocking at heaven’s door through prayer will you find grace to obey Jesus’ challenging demands. God created you and knows you by name, and God always has time to listen to you. So, why would you not make your requests known to God and ask for God’s help? Jesus says it is very simple. When you ask for God’s help, you can expect God to help you. When you seek God’s will, the Holy Spirit will help you find it. When you knock on Heaven’s door, God will open the door. Prayer was an essential spiritual practice for Jesus, and Luke tells many stories of the times and ways in which Jesus prayed. As you pray, ask for God’s help, seek God’s will for your life, and knock on Heaven’s door. Conclude your time of prayer by saying the Lord’s Prayer.
Saturday – Read Mark 10-11; Luke 11:11-13. God Is Good. Bread and fish were the staples of the Galilean diet. Good fathers are responsive and caring towards their children and would never respond to their child’s request for bread or fish by mockingly substituting a stone or a snake. When Jesus says, 11 “If you then, who are evil…” he is acknowledging that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Jesus does not include himself among sinners because he is without sin. If, even sinful fathers know how to give good gifts to their children, how much more should we expect our Heavenly Father, who is good and righteous, to give good things to his children who ask him. Believing that God is good, we can approach God in prayer and expect God to extend grace to us and help us to seek God’s will for our lives. As you pray, give praise and glory to God and thank God for God’s goodness.