BE RELENTLESS
Luke 18:1-8
Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. 2 He said: "In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought. 3 And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, 'Grant me justice against my adversary.' 4 "For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, 'Even though I don't fear God or care what people think, 5 yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won't eventually come and attack me!'" 6 And the Lord said, "Listen to what the unjust judge says. 7 And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? 8 I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?"
A few weeks ago I was very blessed to sit and interview one of thw greatest fisherman of all time, Al Lindner, from Baxter MN. It was an amazing time talking about how Christ had changed his life. We didn't talk much fishing, but mostly just about the goodness of God.
As I contemplated what made Al such a great fisherman it came to me.... He was so good, because he was relentless in his pursuit of fish. He never gave up.
This is a great example of how our prayer life should be when God has laid something on our hearts. Not the things for our own personal gain, but the things for His glory.
Several years ago we laid to rest a very good friend. Just a few short weeks prior to his passing Linda, Micah a I had a chance to share the Gospel message with him and then pray together. I wasn't sure if at the time he comprehended what we talked about or not... But a few days later I learned something that boosted my confidence in my friends eternity
I was honored to officiate the funeral for our friend. I did my best to give a clear plan of Salvation that was tied to the funny stories and examples of the life that had just ended. While presenting the Gospel message Linda and I both noticed a young man smiling and nodding to the message. We didn't know who he was, but he seemed to understand the good news being shared.
After the service and the lunch and then a time of visiting in the friends yard, we prepared to leave. As Linda, Micah and I were getting in the truck the young man, Chad, that had been nodding came up and introduced himself.
With a big smile Chad explained that I helped answer 25 years of prayers. He told me that he had come to Christ 25 years earlier and had been sharing Christ with our friend, who was his uncle, ever since. He had been praying that his uncle would accept God's gift of salvation for all that time without success... Then God put his aunt and uncle into our lives for the last few years of hi life.
Chad was relentless in his prayer for his uncle's soul. He never gave up and it wasn't until his uncle's funeral that he learned after all those years of sharing and praying that God had honored his prayers.
We left there that Saturday lifted to know that we had been used by God to answer the persistent prayers of another.
What or who has God put on your heart to pray about? Are you persistent? Do you trust that God will honor your prayers even if it takes 25 years?
James 5:16
Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.
If God has lead you to pray, don't give up, be relentless.
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