Don’t Stop Praying

 By: Grace Metzger

But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your
 prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you
 a son, and you shall call his name John.
‭‭Luke‬ ‭1‬:‭13‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Very recently my pastor was spoke a bit about Zechariah and Elizabeth in his sermon. It has been stuck in my head ever since. To those who are unaware of the story I’ll give you a very quick run down; Zechariah and Elizabeth are faithful followers of God. Although they’ve been married for a long time they reached old age without bearing a child. They never lost hope and God blessed them by allowing them to have a son in their old age, who became John the Baptist. 

The specific part that got stuck in my mind from that story was the angel saying “For your prayer has been answered.” The angel confirmed that they never gave up hope, they continued to pray for this blessing. This is huge, imagine being 70 years old and still praying for a baby. Dr’s probably told you it’s impossible, your friends ridiculed you for believing that it could be done, or maybe your family begged you to let go of this dream and move on. But you didn’t listen to them. You choose to trust in God over what anyone said and God blessed this. 

Pray without ceasing.
‭‭1 Thessalonians‬ ‭5‬:‭17‬ ‭ESV‬‬

This might not seem like a big deal to some but for those who have prayed for something for years without any success so far it’s an incredible and inspiring story. I wish I could say I was like Elizabeth and Zechariah and I continued to pray even when I didn’t see results but I didn’t. To give you a bit of backstory on myself, I have a condition that causes tumors to grow on my body, it’s estimated that I have over 100. I have lived with this painful condition since I was four. I’ve been prayed over by some of the most powerful prayer warriors I’ve ever known, had others receive prophecy that I would be healed, and yet as I got older I lost the belief that God would heal me. 

And whatever you ask in prayer,
 you will receive, if you have faith.
Matthew‬ ‭21‬:‭22‬ ‭ESV‬‬

God could have given Elizabeth and Zechariah a baby the first time they asked for one. I can’t say for certain I know why He didn’t, but I do believe that He waited to show the power of praying without ceasing. He gave us this incredible story to show us that just because it hasn’t happened yet doesn’t mean it’ll never happen.

I believe that we choose to trust what the world says over believing that God can do amazing things. The world tells you that you will never be healed, you can’t have kids, getting that job is impossible, or that you’ll never get out of this depression. But God says to trust Him, in Proverbs 3:5 He says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.”

Are we trusting God with all our heart? Do our prayer reflect this trust? We can’t give up just because our prayers haven’t been answered yet, God has His timing and it is much better then our own. What would have happened if God blessed Elizabeth with a baby instantly? Maybe that baby wouldn’t have been around to baptize Jesus? Maybe they wouldn’t have ever encountered an Angel of God. Instead they became someone people can look up to, they became a story that shows God hears our prayers and will bless us one day.

Maybe I won’t be healed tomorrow, next week, or even next year. But God hears my prayer and He isn’t giving up on me. God hears your prayers too! He hears all of your requests, He can hear you when you cry out to Him. So pray! Pray for what the world told you is impossible, pray for that dream you gave up on, pray for that one person you started believing will never come to Christ! God still hears you and still does miracles!

Discussion question!

How do you stay consistent in prayer when it’s hard?