Faithful In Prayer

We will be wrapping up our three-part series on Romans 12:12, focusing on what it means to be faithful in prayer.

“Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.” (Romans 12:12)

How often do you pray? When you pray, do you truly believe God hears you? Do you have faith when you pray? As a follower of Christ, someone who has given themselves over to the Lord, Paul wrote that we should be faithful in prayer. In one regard, this could mean that we should be praying often. Jesus taught that we should be persistent in our prayers.

“One day Jesus told his disciples a story to show that they should always pray and never give up. ‘There was a judge in a certain city,’ he said, ‘who neither feared God nor cared about people. A widow of that city came to him repeatedly, saying, “Give me justice in this dispute with my enemy.” The judge ignored her for a while, but finally he said to himself, “I don’t fear God or care about people, but 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? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will grant justice to them quickly! But when the Son of Man returns, how many will he find on the earth who have faith?’” (Luke 18:1-8)

Sometimes we can feel like we are annoying God if we keep asking or praying for the same things over and over, but Jesus taught that we should indeed “cry out to him day and night.” We are instructed to keep on knocking, not to knock just once. Even though you may feel that God is not answering your prayer on your timetable, be faithful in your prayers and keep asking, seeking, and knocking.

Another meaning in Paul’s instruction to be faithful in prayer could concern belief.

“‘I tell you, you can pray for anything, and if you believe that you’ve received it, it will be yours.’” (Mark 11:24)

Do you believe your prayers are answered when you pray? Do you believe God hears you? Do you remember how much He loves and how much He wants to give His children good gifts? We must be faithful in our prayers, having faith that God hears us and answers our prayers like a loving Father. As people who have given their lives over to God, let us remember to be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, and faithful in prayer.

May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.