Have you ever prayed about something, but then over a period of time you forget what you were praying about and stopped? You might even remember that prayer request a month or a year later and wonder what ever happened to that person or situation. We generally stop praying for things because they are either out of sight, out of mind, or we become distracted and simply move on to other, more pressing, and urgent matters. In the above passage, Paul urges the Church of Ephesus to always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. Why would Paul want us to keep on praying for something? Doesn’t God already know what we are praying for and all the details of that request? Why do we need to keep on praying for anything? The idea of persistence in prayer has less to do with God and more to do with the nature of our own hearts and minds. As humans, we forget, we move on, and we prioritize urgent things over important things. Our minds are not like God; we change, we grow weary, we get bored, and we lose faith. But God wants our hearts and minds to be more like his. He wants us to remember the important things and to keep those thoughts and prayers on the top of our minds and the tip of our tongues at all times. This is why we should pray with persistence and keep on praying for the Lord’s people. Our prayers can be the overflow of a heart aligned with God, but our prayers can also be a reminder to get back into alignment with God. We can reinforce to ourselves what is truly important. How many times have you been encouraged or reminded of God’s goodness simply by overhearing the passionate and enduring prayers of another? Persistence is contagious, and so is passion. We can come back into alignment with God’s will and desire through the bold prayers of others, and we can also be that prayer warrior for another who can be encouraged by our persistent posture toward God.

Prayer is not listed in chapter six of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians as one of the weapons of spiritual warfare, yet prayer is critical in this realm because prayer strengthens all the armor and weapons of spiritual warfare. Spiritual weapons are rooted in prayer, which is the Christian’s most powerful resource. This is another reason we should keep on praying because our armor and spiritual weapons constantly need to be used, sharpened, and strengthened. George Muller, known as one of the greatest prayer warriors of all times had this to say about the power of persistence in prayer: “It is a common temptation of Satan to make us give up the reading of the Word and prayer when our enjoyment is gone; as if it were of no use to read the scriptures when we do not enjoy them, and as if it were no use to pray when we have no spirit of prayer. The truth is that, in order to enjoy the Word, we ought to continue to read it, and the way to obtain a spirit of prayer is to continue praying. The less we read the Word of God, the less we desire to read it, and the less we pray, the less we desire to pray.”

That’s a remarkable thought! One of the ways we learn to love prayer is through prayer. Think about that in your own life. How can you be more persistent in prayer this week? What are some things that are important to pray about, yet you have found yourself not praying for them?