My wife (Dale) and I enjoy walking on the Canal Trail, especially this time of year when everything is so green. But there is sometimes a price that I have to pay for those walks. It’s not unusual during warmer weather for me to end up with a tick or two attached to the lower part of my body. I generally pull off those ticks with a simple pair of tweezers. You do have to grasp the tick firmly, as close to your body as is practical. But one particular day I got hold of a tick that just would not let go. Every time I tried to pull him loose, it just didn’t happen. So I would grasp a little firmer and pull a little harder. He popped loose about the fourth attempt, and the blood flowed! That rascal was determined to hang on. But I was determined I was not going to walk around with a tick attached to my body!
Jesus said (using a different analogy) that we are called to be determined in prayer. He made the point numerous times. On one occasion, he said that we were to be like the man who keeps knocking on his friend’s door in the middle of the night because he is desperate to borrow loaves of bread. Another time he pointed out that the woman who kept calling on the unjust judge got an answer purely because of her persistence. While I don’t contend that we bend God’s arm and force Him to answer just because we keep pestering Him, the Scripture does declare that one of the qualities of faith is perseverance. And, too, faith is often conceived in the womb of desperation. Christians learn to persist in prayer during seasons when they are under pressure, desperate for an answer from on high.
Rev. Rick Rogers - Roanoke Church
richardgrantlandrogers@gmail.com