Several
years ago, I took one of my young grandsons on a ride. We were enjoying
ourselves while eating gummy bears. I was driving to buy him the latest Mario
movie, but I was keeping it a surprise. I had to drive quite a distance to
get it. As we were getting close, we were stopped at a traffic light, and a man
was crossing the street in a wheelchair who had no legs. My grandson asked me,
“How do you think he lost his legs?” I suggested that it might have been in a
war or a car accident. He said, “I would like to pray for him.” I responded, “I
think that is a good idea.” He began his prayer, and about 30 seconds later I
pulled up in front of a Redbox where I was planning to buy the movie. My
grandson immediately figured out what we were doing, and he interrupted his
prayer by saying, “I can’t pray looking at that.” I bought the movie, and then
he finished his prayer.
Often we have the same problem when it comes to prayer. We lose our focus, or we get discouraged. Jesus tells us to pray with perseverance. The Lord told a parable about a poor widow who persistently pursued justice from a judge who did not fear God or care about her. Still, because she would not stop, he finally said, “Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice…” (Luke 18:4-5).
When it comes to prayer, we must never give up, but like my grandson, we should try to remove the obstacles that rob our attention. We need renewed focus and perseverance. We must never give up in prayer!
