NEVER GIVE UP!

“Everyone who asks, receives.

Everyone who seeks, finds.
And to everyone who knocks,
the door will be opened.”
Luke 11:10 NLT
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I recently read about Winston Churchill’s last public speech – a commencement address. He was so frail he had to be helped to the podium. After standing there for a long time, he finally spoke – “Never give up! Never give up! Never give up!” Turning from the podium he was helped back to his chair. There was a dead silence - then the entire audience exploded into thunderous applause.

No matter how noble our cause, we will never succeed if we lose heart and give up. In this age of “instant this and instant that” we want results at the flip of a switch - the click of a mouse - a voice command or the touch on a screen. We sometimes wish we had that kind of control in our prayer life, but we don’t, and that’s good! We don’t always know what’s best. We need the help of the Holy Spirit to know what we should pray for. John tells us: “We are confident that the Lord hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases him. And since we know he hears us when we make our requests, we also know that he will give us what we ask for.”

We all have people or situations we have been praying for, and we believe we are asking for what “pleases him,” but nothing seems to be happening. There have been times we have gotten discouraged and felt like quitting.

“One day Jesus told his disciples a story to show that they should always pray and never give up.” He told the story of the widow who repeatedly asked a wicked judge to grant her justice, but he kept ignoring her. Finally he said, “this woman is driving me crazy. I’m going to see that she gets justice, because she is wearing me out with her constant requests!.... Then the Lord said, Learn a lesson from this unjust judge. Even he rendered a just decision in the end. So don’t you think God will surely give justice to his chosen people who cry out to him day and night?”

Teaching about prayer at another time, Jesus told the story of the man who had unexpected company late at night. At midnight he knocks on the door of a friend asking for bread. The friend says, “we’re all in bed and everything is locked up, I can’t help you now.” But the man shamelessly keeps on knocking till he finally gets the bread. Jesus concludes the story by saying, “So I tell you, keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you.”

NEVER GIVE UP!!