There is something that I probably kind of knew, but didn’t really think about until probably about a year ago. The idea of how prayer is not just a onetime event, but it’s persistent. What I mean by that is the idea that if you’re praying for a family member or even praying for a future generation, that prayer is not just a one time “when you pray it that’s the end of it”. It’s persistent. It goes on, so there’s value to praying for your families or praying for the next generation. Your prayer is valuable. Your prayer still goes on.
It makes me think of this.
I have this picture in my mind of the old country home and the big tree out front. The tree that everyone met under. The tree that everyone carves their names into. The tree where the swing was hung. The tree that meant so much to the family. But that tree was not always big and sturdy and strong. The tree was originally planted by someone who knew they would never see the fruits of what that tree would produce, but they knew the value it would have for future generations. A father planted the tree for his child, knowing very well that he would not be there by the time the child would be able to appreciate the tree in its full splendor. The father was doing it not for himself, but for the child. And the trees’ growth was persistent, going beyond the father’s physical life. That’s how prayer is.
I’ve heard it described as this. We have a pocket full of seeds. Everything we do, everything we say, the way that we live our lives, we are constantly planting seeds behind us. Those seeds can be for good or for evil. It’s up to us how we’re planting them. Not all seeds will take root, but some will. And when they do, they’re persistent. There’s value in that. So, it’s easy, especially when we’re not looking at things in long term, to look at our prayers and think, “Is this even working? Is this even worth it? I pray for this family member, and it seems like they’re constantly just getting in worse and worse situations.” But I’m telling you, sometimes a tree takes an awfully long time to grow and an even longer time to produce fruit. Sometimes that tree must go through bad weather. It must go through hardship to be able to grow strong and sturdy. But does that mean that planting the tree wasn’t worth it? No. It’s very much worth it. But the reality is we may not see the production of that fruit in our lifetime, but that makes it no less valuable. That doesn’t mean that God doesn’t still make good on his promises. Even beyond our lifetime, prayer is persistent. God doesn’t forget our prayers.
So, be encouraged. If anyone has been praying for something over and over. If you’ve been praying for a lost loved one. If you’ve been praying for a bad situation and it’s hard to see where any of the fruit is coming from that prayer, trust that it may just take time. It may take more time than we have. But God’s promise is still there even after we’re not.
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