When we want something, need help or guidance and we don’t get the answers right away, we tend to pray repeatedly and to keep praying. And there is nothing wrong with repeatedly asking for the same thing. As long as what you are praying for is within the will of God.
It is totally acceptable to keep asking until either God grants your request or removes the desire from your heart. Sometimes God makes us wait for the answers to our prayers so we might learn patience and perseverance. God answers prayers in His time, not ours.
Sometimes we ask for something when granting it is not yet in God’s timing for our lives. If we ask for something that is not in God’s will for us, the answer may be no. We must still present our requests to God and wait for God to present His will to us. Pray repeatedly, keep on asking, keep on knocking on His door, keep on seeking answers.
If it is God’s will, He will grant your request, or He will put the realization into your heart and mind that what you seek is not His will for you.
Did Jesus pray repeatedly?
There is a lot of talk amongst Christians about the good and bad of repetition. Chanting repetitive prayer is not always looked upon favorably. Let us not forget that Jesus prayed three times in the garden of Gethsemane, saying the exact same words each time. It is not the repetition that is the issue. It’s the vanity. God looks into our heart, not solely at our words.
While the memorization of basic prayers offers an essential support to the life of prayer, it is important to remember to savor the meaning of the words of the prayers you are repeating. Formal prayer should not be the mindless moving of our lips. Prayer should be a formal expression of clearly understood and heartfelt sentiments.
There are many things we might pray for repetitively though the answers may never come or may be answered in ways we can’t understand. God wants us to pray every day for things like:
- The salvation of the world
- Peace on earth
- The safety of our children
- The health and well-being of our family and friends
- Our community and it’s leaders
- Our church leaders
- Our soldiers fighting for our freedom
- The poor, the sick, and the hungry
- To grow more love in our hearts
- To better love and serve the Lord
“Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you.” (Matthew 7:7)
“But I tell you this—though he won’t do it for friendship’s sake, if you keep knocking long enough, he will get up and give you whatever you need because of your shameless persistence.” (Luke 11:8)
We must never give up in prayer, we must persist. We are told to pray without ceasing but to mutter the same exact phrases over and over may become meaningless if your heart is not in the words you are saying. Always be sincere and honest in your prayer as you pray repeatedly.
Even with a good heart and with the purest of intentions, we may unknowingly pray for things that can harm or hurt us and others. God always listens and in all His loving goodness, he may give us what we pray for because He knows what is good for us far more than we can know.
Sometimes we pray for things like a lost love. We miss the person and dream of ways to get them to love us again, to have a second chance,
The truth is, we don’t always know what we want or more to the point, what is best for us. Only God knows what is right and good for us. Humans are stubborn, and will we continue to ask God for things that can harm us. If we persist in our prayers, God may not answer the way we want Him to, but He will grant us something far better. The person whose love we lost was most likely not the right person and at some point, if we pray to God to grant us what is best for us, the right person will come along.
God truly rewards fervent prayer – even if you sometimes do not know what you should pray for. Stick with your praying. God will tell you what to pray for. Keep praying and be persistent.
