Keeping the Faith; Never losing Hope; Always Loving

Luke 11:9 “And 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.

Jesus is giving a teaching on prayer. He uses an analogy of going to wake someone up in the middle of the night because you need something and if they don’t come at the first knock to just keep knocking and have them open the door not because they are friendly but just to keep you from knocking. He then begins to compare our parenthood versus God’s parenthood and makes it clear that if we as sinful beings know how to listen and respond to our children then won’t God be that much more equipped to capably respond to our requests. There is this sense of persistence that Jesus is calling for in prayer. Its as if God is interested in more than just the requests; God wants to be in a relationship with us. Calling us to persistently cry out in prayer which brings us closer to God because we are spending more time with God. Perhaps Jesus wants us to see that prayer is more about growing closer to God then getting what we desire; as we seek and know for what we desire we grow closer to God in the process and this is what God wants from His children.

Sometimes I feel as if my prayers are so repetitive; I feel that they are falling on deaf ears or that I am going through the motions and nothing is happening. This verse inspires me to practice annoying prayer; to practice the kind of prayer that God will have to answer to just get me off His back. The great thing is though, I learn today that God loves annoying prayer because in annoying prayer God gets to spend more time with me and this is what God desires. This verse motivates me to continue in the daily pleading with God for the souls of those here in Fayetteville; it motivates me to continue pleading with God to send Crossroads more people; it inspires me to continue pleading with God to give birth to this new church; it convicts me to continue pleading with God for the longings of my heart; it give me comfort in knowing that my seeking and knocking are not done in vain but through persistent, annoying prayer I will find and the door will be opened all while I grow closer to Jesus Christ.

Lord, I come to you today asking that you will give birth to Crossroads UMC. I am pleading with you that you will use Crossroads to reach 1000’s of people here in Fayetteville. I am asking you to make us the heartbeat of the gospel in our community. Lord, bring new people into Crossroads; cause our Life Groups to grow; show me what our next steps are. God, I’m not going to leave you alone until you do this; I will wrestle with you and not let go until you deliver us into a vibrant community of faith. Expand our territory and bring others into the this same annoying prayerful lifestyle of Crossroads UMC. Use our prayers to bring us closer to you; thank you for showing me this verse today and convicting me to continue the path of persistent, annoying prayer as a practice of annoying faith. Amen!!!

I am excited today that annoying prayer is the practice of annoying faith which leads to a closeness with God that requires a response on His behalf.