Prepare for Easter

Tuesday, March 24, 2020

About My Father’s Business:

A Lenten Devotional Guide

Then He said to them, “Suppose one of you has a friend, and goes to him at midnight and says to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves; for a friend of mine has come to me from a journey, and I have nothing to set before him’; and from inside he answers and says, ‘Do not bother me; the door has already been shut and my children and I are in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.’ I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will get up and give him as much as he needs.”

Luke 11:5-8 NASB

Persistence is not a trait we often see today. We are a society of immediate gratification. If we don’t get what we want now, we go on to something else pretty quickly. In this passage, the Lord is encouraging persistence.

I had a lesson in the need for persistent prayer recently. Someone I love very much had for years resisted the Lord. I could see her great need for him, but she seemed totally disinterested. We talked on more than one occasion very seriously, yet she never seemed to hear. I prayed for her for years, knocking on God’s door to plead for her life, but it seemed hopeless.

Then one day I got a call, and in a very excited voice, she began telling me about some dramatic changes in her life. Our conversation took a decidedly different direction than usual, and she finally told me that she had never known such peace in her life. Her commitment to Christ was so dramatic, after years and years of resistance! I may have been close to giving up, but Jesus was not! Like Thompson’s poem, “The Hound of Heaven,” he had pursued her until she yielded! She has gained eternal life through her new faith, and I had a lesson in persistent prayer.

Father, Teach us to not give up. Teach us to keep on! Amen

About My Father’s Business:

A Lenten Devotional Guide
prepared for First United Methodist Church 

of Homosassa, Florida
Spring 2010
by Patience Nave, Christian Education Coordinator