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

I am always inspired to hear stories of people who have been faithful in prayer! People who have been diligent in praying when God doesn’t respond immediately. We all know that it’s all too easy to give up praying at the first hurdle. I think this is especially true when it comes to praying for healing.

We may pray once or twice but if we see no change then we get disappointed and give up. Being faithful in prayer means that we don’t give up believing that God could come through. It’s all too easy to use our disappointment in prayer as an excuse not to step out.

Growing up, I remember my Mum praying with a friend who had MS. Every Friday morning she would visit her and pray for her healing. My Mum prayed with this lady for 20 years!!! I would love to say that she was healed but sadly this wasn’t the case. The point i’m making here is not why didn’t God heal her but that my Mum never gave up believing. She was faithful in prayer. I remember being so challenged by my Mum’s commitment to pray in this particular instance because I always wondered whether I could have the faith and patience to do the same. This could have been a frustrating time for my Mum but instead she chose to put her faith into action.

We can’t just prayer when we feel like it. We can’t just pray when we are at church. We can’t just pray when life gets hard.

I think some of the reason why we find it difficult to pray is because we question whether our prayers really make a difference. Sometimes the problem can feel so surmountable that our prayers seem so feeble in comparison. The truth is, God has given us all authority under heaven. He hears our prayers and he responds. There is no weak prayer when we have the power of God backing us.  

Psalm 107:28-30 “Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. He made the storm be still, and the waves of the sea were hushed. Then they were glad that the waters were quiet, and he brought them to their desired haven.”