Daily Devotion

Perseverance in Prayer

“Then Jesus told them a parable about their need to pray always and not to lose heart.” (Luke 18:1)

Jesus tells this parable, Luke reminds us, for one reason: so that we would not lose heart. The widow keeps coming, day after day, to an unjust judge who neither fears God nor cares about people. She has no power, no influence, no guarantee that her voice will ever matter. All she has is persistence.

At first, nothing happens.

Many of us recognise that space—the long stretch between prayer and answer. We pray for healing, for reconciliation, for justice, for change. We pray once, twice, a hundred times, and still nothing seems to move. Silence begins to sound like indifference. Delay feels like denial.

Yet Jesus does not compare God to the unjust judge in order to diminish God’s character, but to highlight the contrast. If even a reluctant, self-interested judge can be worn down by persistence, how much more will a loving, faithful God hear the cries of those who belong to him?

Persevering in prayer is not about wearing God out. It is about being shaped while we wait. In the praying, our trust deepens. In the waiting, our dependence grows. Prayer keeps us connected to God’s heart even when circumstances remain unchanged.

Lent teaches us to stay in that place—to keep showing up, to keep asking, to keep trusting—believing that God’s justice, mercy, and timing are surer than our impatience.

In an old stone church, a caretaker once noticed a steady drip of water falling from a cracked gutter onto the steps below. At first, it seemed insignificant—just a quiet, regular tap. Months later, the stone had begun to wear away, leaving a visible hollow.

The drip had not been forceful. It had not been hurried. But it had been faithful.

Prayer often feels like that drip—small, repetitive, easily overlooked. Yet over time, faithful prayer shapes us, changes situations, and opens spaces for God’s work in ways we may only notice later.

A Question to Ponder

Where am I tempted to give up praying because the answer feels delayed—and what might it mean to keep coming to God anyway?

Prayer

Faithful God,
when our prayers seem to echo back in silence,
give us the courage to keep asking.
When waiting feels heavy
and hope begins to fade,
help us not to lose heart.

Teach us to trust your timing
even when we do not understand it.
Shape us through faithful prayer,
and keep us rooted in your love.

May our persistence be not stubbornness,
but deepening faith—
as we wait for your justice,
your mercy,
and your peace.
Amen.

A Simple Lent Practice

Choose one prayer you have been holding for a long time.
Name it again before God today—not with urgency, but with trust—and place it deliberately in God’s care.