Don’t Give Up!

Luke 18:1 –

‘Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.’ 

Liam is part of our team at Urban Devotion and is one of the best youth workers I know.

Years ago we were running an overnight residential together for some 11-12 year old lads. The residential was an adaptation of something I used to put on for older, rougher, tougher lads. It was a survival challenge which involved chopping wood, cooking over an open fire and sleeping in shelters they had made themselves. 

I quickly discovered that these younger lads were not like the older ones and one in particular - we’ll call him Kyle - was sorely lacking in confidence. He was adamant that he would not be sleeping in his shelter. We used humour. This didn’t work. We tried a little tough love. That didn’t work either. We resorted to bribery. Nope.

I gave in and started putting up the tent we had brought with us as a fall-back option. Liam’s response was different. He sat with Kyle. He was patient. He was kind. He was encouraging. Slowly Kyle’s disposition changed and he ended up sleeping in the shelter that night. It was a triumph of Liam’s perseverance and persistence.

This week we are going to look at how we grow our resilience in prayer so let’s kick off with some honesty. I have experienced deep disappointments in prayer - family members who don’t know Jesus, friends who live with devastating illnesses, situations that appear unchanged. 

I imagine you may have similar stories and I can’t give you easy explanations but I can tell you that Jesus’s response is more like Liam’s than mine. Let Jesus patiently sit with you. Let him show his kindness to you. Let him encourage you to always pray and never give up.

Prayer – Lord, please help us today where our faith feels battered and our prayers are running dry. Help us persist so that we are people of prayer who never give up.