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Persistent Praying

Writer: goldenstateservicesj
goldenstateservicesj
Apr 18, 2021
2 min read

“Hear my prayer, O LORD, and let my cry come to You. Do not hide Your face from me in the day of my trouble; incline Your ear to me; in the day that I call, answer me speedily.” (Psalm 102:1-2)

The example of persistence is hard to miss in these opening 2 verses of Psalm 102. In fact, 5x in these 2 verses, the psalmist begs God to hear Him. The 5 requests in vs. 1-2 are essentially the same thing:

  • “Hear my prayer” (vs. 1)

  • “Let my cry come” (vs. 1)

  • “Do not hide Your face” (vs. 2)

  • “Incline Your ear” (vs. 2)

  • “Answer me speedily” (vs. 2)

This is a mosaic of supplication and it models persistence. Consider each of these 5 petitions.

  1. “Hear my prayer, O LORD” (vs. 1). This cry for God’s intervention comes when human resources are proven insufficient. He is not saying this because God never hears his prayer but because he expects God to hear.

  2. “Let me cry come to You” (vs. 1). Crying tells us this was not a silent petition.

  3. “Do not hide Your face from me in the day of my trouble” (vs. 2). To turn one’s face away is a sign of wrath and to turn one’s face towards something/someone is a sign of favor. He prays this because God does not refuse to look graciously upon his children in trouble. As a shepherd, God doesn’t sit around letting his sheep get eaten by the wolves.

  4. “Incline Your ear to me” (vs. 2). He wants God to bend His ear toward Him with all the attention closeness would imply.

  5. “In the day that I call, answer me speedily” (vs. 2). He wants immediate evidence of his prayer being heard.

So, there is definite persistence here. He expects God to hear; he will not be silent; he hopes God’s answer will be favorable; he wants God’s full attention; He wants an answer quickly. This is diligence in praying.

There is nothing wrong with being repetitious with our requests. When you are desperate you want to be heard.

James M. Boice observes, “The impression intended is that this is no passive or halfhearted petition, no mere formal ‘saying of prayers.’ Quite the contrary. It is an impassioned prayer because the situation out of which it grows is desperate. Desperate conditions make for strong petitions.”

Don’t be afraid of persistence. Until God answers, keep asking. Don’t give up praying until God has said, “Yes” or “No.” 

 
 
 

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