Q: I pray for people at my church. How long is too long to continue praying for someone? If you constantly feel the need is it okay to continue?  —Donna

A: “Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for,” Jesus promised in Matthew 7:7. Knowing that we lack endurance and can be easily distracted and often discouraged, Jesus taught 2 parables (Luke 11:5-8, 18:1-8) to encourage us “that [we] should always pray and not give up” (Luke 18:1). Similarly, Paul told us to “never stop praying”

(1 Thessalonians 5:17). This doesn’t mean that we have to pray 24/7 (for that would be impossible and impractical), but that we remain in a spirit of prayer at all times. Conversing with God is a privilege that we’re to be alert and faithful in—to be earnest and disciplined. Prayer is something we commit to and devote ourselves to in perseverance (Luke 21:36; Romans 12:12; Colossians 4:2; 1 Peter 4:7).

Like you, the Apostle Paul was burdened for the believers in the Church. He told the Ephesian Christians that he had prayed for them constantly and continuously. And Paul persisted and persevered in praying for their growth and maturity: “I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better” (NIV, Ephesians 1:16-17). He reminded us to “pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion . . . and be persistent in your prayers” (Ephesians 6:18).

We have to keep on praying until one of these 3 things happen: 1) The answer comes (it could be a “Yes” or “No”); 2) The circumstances change; 3) God changes the burden on your heart.

I hope this poem will encourage you to persevere in praying for others:

“Pray on, then, child of God, pray on;

This is your duty and your task.

To God the answering belongs;

Yours is the simpler part—to ask.” (Chisholm)  —K.T. Sim

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