Every four years when I have opportunity to watch the Summer Olympics, I am reminded of my competing in Track and Field as a 100-meter, 200-meter, 4×100-meter, Long Jump, and Triple Jump competitor. I was competitive in our conference in these events and enjoyed competing with other young men who had become friends over the years. We were short distance/sprint specialists, and for the most part, you would not find any of us in a race beyond 400 meters, maximum!
In High School, I decided to try Cross Country. I discovered long distance (in this case 3.2 miles) was not my strong suit. It was not until Elijah’s elementary school was sponsoring a 5K race when he was in 2nd grade, that I decided to try again. I half-heartedly trained for the 5K, and on race day I felt optimistic with a mix of apprehension that I was ready for the race. I ran the entire race, but never took up running as a daily discipline.
Perseverance is a major part of running long-distances and it is a major part of our daily lives as followers of Jesus. When I consider my prayer life and how I come to God in relationship, I discover I tend toward being a sprinter in prayer. I give God my prayers, hope He quickly answers (in the way I want Him to answer), so I can move to the next event. When God does not answer as quickly as I want or the request seems to call for more perseverance in prayer, I grow weary and “throw up my hands” in defeat.
When Jesus was preparing to go to the cross, he took Peter, James, and John with him to Gethsemane. He said to them, “I am deeply grieved, even to death; remain here, and stay awake with me” (Matthew 26:38). Jesus invited these special disciples to stay awake and to join him in prayer. When he returned to them, they were sleeping. Jesus said, “So, could you not stay awake with me one hour? Stay awake and pray that you may not come into the time of trial; the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Matthew 26:40-41).
It is easy to become weary in our life of prayer. The body is tired; the spirit is tired; and the mind is tired. It is easy for us to give up in the time of prayer. Jesus invites us to pray even more fervently that we will not give up and for us to seek strength for the hour of prayer.
As students are returning to school in the United States, they will face adversity, new concepts, and days when they are tired. We will encourage them to keep pushing forward to new discoveries. I think we should heed our own advice as we grow in our prayer life.
There may be days when our prayer life is more like a sprint. We discover new insights, our prayers are answered, and we sense God’s movement in short order. Yet, there will be times where we will need to persevere in prayer, knowing we are involved in a marathon.
How is Jesus calling you to persevere in prayer? How is Jesus inviting you to “pray that you may not come into the time of trial?”
Prayer: Lord, sometimes I become tired in my prayer life. I want to sprint, when you are inviting me to persevere. Give me the strength to stay the course and grow in my life of prayer. In Jesus’ name. Amen.