Pray with Persistence

Sometimes people will say, "I am just not worthy to approach God." I hate to break this news, but we never were worthy. We are not worthy. And we never will be worthy. So let’s get over that. It is not about worthiness; it is about the grace of God.

Do you think you are more worthy to go to God when you read your Bible every day or pray regularly than when you have messed up or have had an impure thought or have said an unkind thing? We don’t approach God on the basis of our worthiness. We approach God on the basis of His grace.

When the pagan mother approached Jesus, begging Him to deliver her demon-possessed daughter, she didn’t say, "Have justice on me." Rather, she said, "Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David!" (Matthew 15:22). Don’t ever say, "God, deal with me justly," because Hell is what we deserve. Rather, say, "Have mercy on me," like this woman did. Jesus said, "Those the Father has given me will come to me, and I will never reject them" (John 6:37).

So whatever your problem is, bring it to Jesus. Whatever you are struggling with will not come as a shock or surprise to Him. And when you pray, seek to find the will of God. The reason Jesus gave this mother everything she asked for was because she aligned her will with His. We find the will of God by reading the Word of God, the Bible. Then we will understand the heart, mind, and purpose of God.

Pray according to God’s will, and don’t give up. Pray with persistence. It may seem like He is not listening. But there may be a barrier that He wants you to hurdle. So don’t back down.

One way we can be certain we are praying according to God’s will is by praying for the salvation of those who do not yet know Christ. As 2 Peter 3:9 tells us, ‘[God] does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent.'” Let’s be praying that those who hear the gospel at Harvest America would repent and turn to Him.