Earnestly Pray Without Ceasing

“So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him.” Acts 12:5 NIV

As I crossed the finish line of Saturday’s Frisco Railroad Run 50 mile race, I immediately hugged my husband and began to cry over the goodness of God. For more than ten hours I had been in silent prayer asking the Lord over and over again to give me the strength to continue running the race, and He had once again proved Himself faithful. Not only did the Lord answer that prayer, though, He provided cloud cover and cool temps for the entire race just as I had petitioned for as well. If that wasn’t enough to bring me to tears, what my husband said after I had regained my composure and accepted my hard-earned buckle, had me sobbing once again. “You’re going to be so happy honey,” he said. “Dylan is getting baptized!” “What? Are you kidding?” No,” he said with a huge smile on his face. “It’s true!” “That’s awesome!” I replied enthusiastically. “Praise the Lord for this answered prayer!” As we continued to celebrate God for His faithfulness in answering our prayer for our dear friend and fellow ultrarunner of many years to go all in for Jesus, we vowed to continue praying earnestly for Dylan (that he would continue to grow in knowledge and faith) and all the others on our prayer list (some of whom have been on there for countless years), no matter how long it took for those prayers to be answered. 

And, you know, when it comes to prayers, one thing is certain… believers should NEVER stop praying. Especially when they consider that some prayers, like the church’s prayer for Peter’s release from prison, happen quickly, while other prayers, like Hannah’s prayer for a son, aren’t answered for years. In fact, the church’s prayer for Peter was answered so quickly that when Peter arrived at Mary’s house (after the angel led him out), where the church was gathered and petitioning on his behalf, the servant girl who heard Peter’s voice at the door was so surprised that she forgot to let him in the house. 

So, whether you’ve been praying for someone or something for a day, a month, a year, or even a decade or more, don’t stop praying my friend. Especially when it comes to the salvation of a loved one! It’s that important!

Heavenly Father, thank You for reminding us that some prayers are answered quickly while other prayers take time, patience, and consistent petition before they’re answered. Help us to understand that Your timing is perfect Lord so we won’t lose hope or give up when we aren’t seeing results. It’s in your precious name we pray Jesus. Amen. 

Happy Running!

*Sweet Larry and I had the blessing of witnessing Dylan’s baptism (and many others!) yesterday and it was absolutely beautiful! Heaven was rejoicing along with us when he came up out of the water! You can view it here at about the 1 hour 12 minute mark. I hope it inspires you to accept Jesus as your Savior if you have not already done so.