Perseverance in Prayer

But, beloved, we are convinced of better things concerning you, and things that accompany salvation, though we are speaking in this way. Hebrew 6:9

On March 1, 1997, an F5 tornado ripped through the town of Arkadelphia, AR, where I was a college student. Two days later as I stood in what remained of a family’s house and attempted to help clean up the mess, I felt overwhelmed. Claustrophobic in wide open spaces. Completely lost in the middle of friends and familiar places.Physically sick though I was healthy. The massive weight of uncertainty and problems that had no immediate end pressed down on my shoulders with an almost unbearable impact. I had lost nothing, experienced no damage. Yet, I might as well have lost as much as that family did.

Over the years, I’ve struggled with interceding for others for the same reason. Although I passionately love to be part of prayer that girds others up in a struggle, I frequently struggle just as I did after the tornado when I don’t know how or when the mess is going to be cleared away. I know it will happen, but the mess itself is such a weight on my soul that leaves it hard for me to persevere.

Just this morning the overwhelmed feeling hit me as I looked at my prayer list. Houses that won’t sell. Marriages that are struggling. Unending sickness stealing life away. Sin and selfishness destroying lives and families. The weight can be crushing. And, to be honest, the temptation can be to just lay a blanket prayer across the list so that I don’t have to interact too deeply with the pain. Instead, I cried out to the Lord to give me a persevering heart in prayer.

Then I read Hebrews 6. The first half of the chapter just weighed me down more. Such discouragement! But then comes the pivotal verse 9. We are convinced of better things. The chapter ends with a discussion of the hope that we have for those who belong to Him.

So often my prayers are caught up in the despair of current circumstances. Perseverance in prayer comes when I am caught up instead in the joy of hope. The hope that comes from the peace of God. The hope that comes when I keep my eyes on Him instead of the circumstances. That is my challenge – to remember to focus on His hope rather than the circumstances. Only then can I find perseverance in prayer.