What is the secret of effective prayer? Prayer which changes things? The more people you ask, the more answers you will get. Even so, some things will surface more often than others.
‘Faith’ - yes, faith is crucial. ‘Wisdom’ - how do we know what to pray for without wisdom? And compassion. Everything God does is moved by it.
Certainly compassion is key. But according to Jesus, there is another. Simple, comprehensible, available to all and within your reach and mine. What is it? Persistence.
Jesus told the story of a wronged woman who besieged a judge on behalf of her case. He was not a good judge, being uninterested in justice generally and her case in particular. The woman herself was under no illusion as to the true nature of the man on whose help she absolutely depended. But she had a secret weapon. She kept coming back! Each time she presented her case, she was met with indifference, procrastination and inaction. But every time she left unanswered, she returned, more determined than ever.
Finally the judge admitted he would have no peace until he addressed her case, so he settled it. Not because she had suffered a wrong. Nor because she presented her case so compellingly, he was won over. He was immune to the strength of her arguments, but he could not escape the fact she would not give up.
What do we learn from this?
She believed in her cause. If we are not convinced that the person we pray for, the situation we pray for matters, we will quickly stop coming.
She would not let disappointment weaken her resolution. Disappointment is an insidious thing. You don’t realise how deeply you have been affected by it until you realise that even as you pray, you are mentally preparing yourself for the prayer not to be answered. We will never know what could happen if we return one more time to the need that must be answered. Unless we keep on coming.
She would not be put off by her lack of success. For every time she left unanswered, she returned to begin again. We sometimes ask ourselves, ‘how long will this go on? When will it ever be resolved? At the end of the day, it won’t matter if we went away a hundred times still waiting for the answer. So long as we came back one hundred and one times!
She had nowhere else to go. If she had any other avenue of help, she would have taken it. It was this man or no one. So she kept on coming. We see the immensity of the need; the total inadequacy of the resources we can bring to it; the consequences if nothing changes. And there can be only one conclusion. Only the God who created this planet is big enough for the needs of this planet. There is nowhere else to go!
According to Jesus, it was not the strength of her case, nor how well it was presented, that won through. It was just that she wouldn’t go away!
I may not pray well, but I can pray. I may lack persuasion, but I can keep coming back. I may not have the words which seem to come easily to others but I can refuse to give up. I do not come to an unrighteous judge, but to a great high priest who feels the weight of human infirmity. My case will be heard and it will be answered. All I have to do is to keep coming back!