Never Stop Asking

Never Stop Asking

Because he bends down to listen, I will pray as long as I have breath! Psalm 116:2

IMAGINE BEING INVITED TO BRING any need or desire you can imagine—for yourself and anyone else —into the court of a king. You have caught the attention of His Majesty, and he wants to hear what’s on your heart. He wants to know your needs and wants, along with the needs and wants of those beyond the palace. He’s interested in your opinions on what he can do to make his kingdom as bright and beautiful as possible. Would you come with a short list or have trouble thinking of things to say? Would you want to limit your requests out of respect or turn down his generosity because it just seems like too much? Probably not. You’d go in with everything you’ve got.

There are some flaws in that example, of course. God doesn’t exactly promise to give us everything we could ever want. But he does want to hear it, and he also wants us to bring the needs and desires of others to him too. He places no limits on what we can talk to him about. Some things are ripe for his action; others may take a while or need to be redirected into a more reasonable or beneficial request. But he invites us into an inexhaustible conversation to bring his Kingdom into our lives and the world around us—on earth as it is in heaven. It’s an astonishing invitation.

There’s no sense in imposing limits on a conversation he has made limitless. There’s no reason to hold back. As we learn what he is like and how he wants to work, we may adapt our prayers to fit his nature, character, and purposes. But even then, will we ever run out of things to say? Not likely. Prayers unprayed are prayers unanswered. That’s so unnecessary.

God will not answer every prayer with a yes, but he will never stop listening to them if our hearts are inclined toward him. We have nothing to lose and everything to gain by continuing the conversation. We need his intervention in our lives. The world desperately needs it too. Never stop asking for it as long as you have breath.

You know the value of prayer; it is precious beyond all price. Never, never neglect it.