Getting Out the Vote
As a pastor, I’ve been spending more time studying & thinking about prayer recently because my church is doing a study on prayer. As part of this study, I came across the following (funny!) story that Jesus uses to teach about prayer:
As a pastor, I’ve been spending more time studying & thinking about prayer recently because my church is doing a study on prayer. As part of this study, I came across the following (funny!) story that Jesus uses to teach about prayer:
Suppose you went to a friend’s house at midnight, wanting to borrow three loaves of bread. You say to him, “A friend of mine has just arrived for a visit, and I have nothing for him to eat.” And suppose he calls out from his bedroom, “Don’t bother me. The door is locked for the night, and my family and I are all in bed. I can’t help you.”
But I tell you this, though he won’t do it for friendship’s sake, if you keep knocking long enough, he will get up and give you whatever you need because of your shameless persistence. 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. Luke 11:5-9 (NLT)
“Shameless persistence.” I love that phrase! Jesus encourages us, His followers, to be people who practice “shameless persistence” when we come to the Father in prayer. Don’t just pray about something for a week or a month or a year before giving up! That’s not “shameless persistence!”
KEEP on asking! KEEP on seeking! KEEP in knocking (pounding!) on heaven’s door so loudly, that everyone gets tired of hearing the pounding and in unison, they implore God to give you what you’re asking for so you stop pounding! That’s “shameless persistence!” And that’s what Jesus calls us too.
Show “shameless persistence” in asking God to deliver you from your addiction. Show “shameless persistence” in asking God to free you from porn. Show “shameless persistence” in asking God to allow you to love your wife selflessly & sacrificially. Show “shameless persistence” in begging God to be the man He created you to be. Show “shameless persistence” when praying for your church & country.
And as Election Day approaches, we’re bombarded with ads telling us why one candidate is exactly what America needs and how that candidate is someone who knows what is best for us & our nation. But my mind keeps going back to the simple story Jesus told above. Rather than putting my hope in the Democrats or Republicans or Independents or the TEA Party or in getting out the vote, Jesus reminds us that our hope can be in only one place…our loving heavenly Father. So let’s pray! To Him!
He’s the one who bends down to listen when we pray (Ps 17:6). He’s the one who loves to give us good gifts (Matt 7:11). He’s the one who already knows what we need (Matt 6:32).
So let’s be men of prayer. Let’s be men who pray with “shameless persistence.” Because that’s exactly what our families & our nation needs on Election Day and every day.
