Keep on Praying

I’ve been thinking and reading a lot about prayer since 2021 rolled in. I reflected on how long I’ve been praying for certain things to happen that hasn’t happened yet. I thought about how many people prayed for their sick loved ones to live, but they ended up passing away anyway. I thought about how many times we pray, and do so in faith, yet, we still don’t get what we pray for. Naturally, I struggled. It was really hard to negotiate that a loving Father would see His children crying out to meet their needs; yet, He does nothing. Earlier today, I found myself reflecting on the same things. I was honest with God about my struggles and truthfully, I asked Him for help, because I felt myself losing hope. I felt myself losing faith in prayer. In the moment of my despair and honesty with God, I was reminded of moments in the past when He came through for me. I was firstly reminded of moments when He showed up on my behalf and answered simple prayers that I didn’t even take seriously. Then, He reminded me of the moments when He literally showed up and blew my mind. As I reflected on these moments, I was reminded that when we find ourselves struggling to believe for our present and even for our future, we must remember moments in the past when God showed up. We must hold on to those moments when He made a way when there seemed to be no way. We must remember the times when He opened a door that we thought never could open. I realized that we mustn't allow our current struggles and disappointments to cause us to lose our faith in the power of God. He is still able. He is still good. He still answers prayer.

After God brought all these moments to my attention, I was reminded of Matthew 7:7-8 (NIV), which says, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.” When I thought about this verse, I automatically returned to the moments when I prayed, yet what I asked for did not come to pass. However, I felt encouraged to keep on praying anyway because I thought about the times in the past when I prayed and God did answer. The thing is, I'm learning that we won’t always understand the ways of God. We won’t always understand why He chooses to do certain things or not to do certain things. Isaiah 55:8-9 tells us that God’s ways are not like our ways, nor His thoughts like our thoughts; but, we can trust His heart and we can trust that His Word is the truth. His Word tells us that everyone who asks receives. This means that God hears every prayer that we pray and He will answer them. It may not always be the answer that we want, but we can trust that He always works for our good (Romans 8:28). So, I will keep on praying, and I encourage you to do the same. I know that many of you are still recovering from the trauma that 2020 brought to many of our lives. You may have prayed and prayed and prayed and felt like God has just abandoned you; but, He hasn’t. He will answer your prayer and it will always be for your good. In this new year, don't give up on prayer.

Keep on praying because God hears.