Persistence Pays Off

27 Aug

O Lord, you have probed me and you know me;
you know when I sit and when I stand;
you understand my thoughts from afar.
My journeys and my rest you scrutinize,
with all my ways you are familiar.  (Ps 39:1-3)

Today is the feast of St. Monica, the mother of St. Augustine.  If anyone would have had a reason to give up in prayer, it certainly would seem to have been Monica.  She prayed for years for the conversion of her pagan husband and son as well as for her mother-in-law.  It seemed as if her prayers were not heard and would never be answered.

However, she did not give up.  She persisted in offering good example and she persisted in prayer.

Eventually, her prayers were answered.  Her mother-in-law, husband, and son all came around and her son became one of the church’s greatest saints.

There are times that we pray for things or pray for people.  When our prayers do not appear to be answered in a short period of time, we often give up thinking that God is not listening or that our prayer intentions are not important enough for God to hear.

God wants us to persist in our prayer.  Doing so helps us persist in our faith.

FAITH ACTION:  Is there someone — or something — for whom you have been praying a long time and are tempted to give up?  Renew your prayer today and trust that God will answer in His good time.