When you want to give up, don’t stop praying.
Hi everyone, please meet Kathleen O’Malley Taylor, my good friend and writing critique partner of three years. We’ve grown so much together as writers and as friends.
I’m at the Blue Ridge Christian Writer’s Conference this week and asked Kathy if she would be my guest blogger. Kathy is a fantastic fiction writer, working on her new website and loving her garden. Please welcome her.
When you want to give up, don’t stop praying.
Jesus told the crowd during his Sermon on the Mount, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” Matthew 7:7. It sounds so simple, yet we rarely see an instant manifestation of our prayers.
When I pray for something that lays heavy on my heart, I feel faith-filled, patient, and confident at the beginning of the journey. I know Jesus is by my side. I’m hopeful it is only a matter of time before He answers, even though my experience has taught me prayers can take years, sometimes even decades, before there is a response. When the wait is long, impatience and frustration creep into my prayer life. What I discovered recently is when we grow frustrated in our prayer life, God offers us encouragement if we are open to hearing from him in ways we don’t expect.
One day, I was riddled with self-doubt and a sense of hopelessness about my future. I had recently moved, was new to the area, and was feeling lonely. Driving in the car relaxes me. I enjoy the sights. I took a ride down an unknown side street while sharing my discouragement with God, and on the front lawn of one home I passed was a wooden sign, almost as tall as me, with the words spray painted in large, black letters: Don’t Give Up. I drove back and forth a few times, rereading the sign, wondering if I imagined it. Each time I passed, the words stared back: Don’t Give Up. The message was clear.
Recently, while praying in my car for something I had been petitioning God for years, I poured out my disappointment to the Lord and wondered if He had heard me. What did I have to do to see my request align with God’s will and timing? I need advice, I pleaded and turned on the radio, adjusting the station to Klove Christian Radio, and Matthew West’s Christian song hollered back at me, “Don’t Stop Praying, Don’t stop calling on Jesus’s name.” I sat back in the driver’s seat, feeling rather stunned. He really does hear me, I thought as I drove home. For a listen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpbZqMJ-B44
Sometimes, if too much time passes without a response to a prayer, I give up. But I can tell you God doesn’t. For years, I prayed for the opportunity to purchase a small house with a garden, even though I knew it was beyond my financial means. After a decade, I stopped praying and surrendered to the idea that it was not meant to be. However, I’d still drive by houses that looked so pretty and say, ‘Oh, Lord, isn’t that lovely and Oh, what a marvelous garden this home has,’ and thank Him for letting me enjoy viewing the homes of others.
Last year, I bought a house fifteen years after I began praying for one and five years after I decided God’s answer was no.
So don’t give up, and don’t stop praying.
Kathleen O’Malley Taylor is a former journalist and has published in local and national publications. She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers. Her most recent work is a devotional, “God’s Not Through with You Yet,” published in The Courage to Write, edited by Lucinda Secrest McDowell and Rachel Britton. Kathy lives in Massachusetts.
The Conversation
Two poems, both authors unknown:
The man whispered, “God, speak to me!”
And a meadowlark sang.
But the man did not hear.
So the man yelled “God, speak to me!”
And the thunder & lightning rolled across the sky.
But the man did not listen.
The man looked around and said, “God, let me see you!”
And a star shined brightly.
But the man did not see.
And, the man shouted, “God, show me a miracle!”
And a life was born.
But the man did not notice.
So, the man cried out in despair, “Touch me, God, and let me know you are here!”
Whereupon, God reached down and touched the man.
But the man brushed the butterfly away and walked on.
===============================
I asked God to take away my pain.
God said, “No. It is not for me to take away your pain, but for you to give it up.”
I asked God to make my handicapped child whole.
God said, “No, her spirit is whole; her body is only temporary.”
I asked God to grant me patience.
God said, “No, patience is a byproduct of
tribulations; It isn’t granted, it is learned.”
I asked God to give me happiness.
God said, “No, I give you blessings. Happiness is up to you.”
I asked God to spare me pain.
God said, “No, suffering draws you apart from worldly cares and brings you closer to me.”
I asked God to make my spirit grow.
God said, “No, you must grow on your own, but I will prune you to make you fruitful.”
I asked for all things that I might enjoy life.
God said, “No, I will give you life so that you may enjoy all things.”
I ask God to help me LOVE others, as much as he loves me.
God said… ”Ahhhh, finally you have the idea.”
Thank you, Lisa, Kathleen and Merritt for your contributions this morning. I did have a prayer that was answered instantly. I prayed for God to remove my compulsion for alcohol and it was done. I do not practice total abstinence but the preoccupation in my mind is gone. Thank you, God. Amen
Hi Shelia,
Wow! Thank you for so much for sharing your testimony, a witness to God’s love and care, and your faith in Him. Amen!
give it up.”
I asked God to make my handicapped child whole.
God said, “No, her spirit is whole; her body is only temporary.”
I asked God to grant me patience.
God said, “No, patience is a byproduct of
tribulations; It isn’t granted, it is learned.”
I asked God to give me happiness.
God said, “No, I give you blessings. Happiness is up to you.”
I asked God to spare me pain.
God said, “No, suffering draws you apart from worldly cares and brings you closer to me.”
I asked God to make my spirit grow.
God said, “No, you must grow on your own, but I will prune you to make you fruitful.”
I asked for all things that I might enjoy life.
God said, “No, I will give you life so that you may enjoy all things.”
I ask God to help me LOVE others, as much as he loves me.
God said… ”Ahhhh, finally you have the idea.”
(Author unknown)
Merritt, Wow! These are beautiful poems.
Thank you so much for adding to this discussion and supporting us with these ideas! Blessings to you!
Thank you,Kathy, for this reminder to keep praying! God always hears us, and that’s a comforting thought.
Hi Stephanie, Thanks for dropping by and letting Kathy know your thoughts. God is good. Amen!
Kathy this is such a wonderful reminder not to give up. With so much going on in ourselves it can be just as easy but remembering it’s in His time & not our own is key. Great article. Many blessings to you.
Thank you Desiree for your stopping in and supporting Kathy! She passes on blessings to you also!