21 Days of Prayer - Day 5 Devotional

Grit is something that has been talked about in many arenas of life, from sports to education to business. According to Angela Duckworth, a researcher and professor at the University of Pennsylvania, it is one of the key predictors of success in any endeavor. She defines grit as having passion and perseverance and goes on to say that grit is about “having a goal you care about so much that it organizes and gives meaning to almost everything you do.”

While this is a characteristic we don’t often associate with spiritual matters, it has profound significance when it comes to prayer. This definition of grit is exactly how Jesus describes how we should pray. In Luke 18, Jesus told his disciples a parable of a widow who persistently brought her case to an unjust judge. Although this judge had no regard for God or man, he eventually granted the widow’s request because of her persistence. Jesus finished the parable by saying, “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!” Luke 18:7-8 NLT

Notice that Jesus says God will respond to those who cry out to him. That phrase is translated elsewhere in the Bible as a shout, a war cry, or a roar. When it comes to matters of prayer, passion makes a difference. The posture and tone of our prayers can have a lot to do with the answers we receive.

Jesus finished the parable by saying that the Father is looking for those who will call on Him day and night. We are talking about those who not only have a passion for the Kingdom of God, but people who are willing to seek God until they see His will done. It is one thing to feel a passing burden that causes you to whisper a quick prayer, but it is entirely another thing to persistently and passionately call on God for an answer.

To really see revival take hold in our lives, our families, our church, and into the community around us, it will require passion and persistence in prayer!

Scriptures
Luke 18:1-8 (NLT)
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[a] returns, how many will he find on the earth who have faith?”