Not Giving Up.

Jesus told stories. In the bible they are called parables. As He would teach, He would break out into a story that would be a way that He was inviting His audience to think deeper. "Well, I don't want to think deeper", maybe someone felt. Ok, then don't. But you're invited. Maybe there is a whisper in one of Jesus' stories that pushes you just a but farther along in putting your faith in Him. That's a gift.

The way that Jesus usually told his parable stories was to tell the story and then later, He would explain what the story meant and why He told it. But it seems that there is one story where He broke from that pattern. In the bible book of Luke, chapter 18 and verse 1, He did it differently. Before He told the story, He told the disciples why He was telling them the story just prior to telling the story. I wonder why He switched up His pattern? Was He looking for some variety that day? Was it the topic of this particular story that seemed so urgent and important that He wanted them to pay attention in a different way from the start?

This is what He said...."Jesus told His disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up." Always pray. Not give up.

I don't always pray. I tend to give up.

I struggle to pray as I seem to want. There is battle there to be sure. I walked and talked with a friend one day. We talked about this weird thing where thinking about doing something can trick you into thinking that you've done it, but you really haven't. You've just thought about doing it. That happens to me some with praying. There are times when I'm just not praying.

I don't want to give up, but I do. Jesus invited close friends into a garden one night to pray with Him. I think part of the reason He wanted them to pray with Him was because He was about to go through something really heard. Really hard. We remember that story especially next week. They kept falling asleep. Me too. But Jesus didn't disown them. He kept inviting them. That is something that I think many of us have in common. We are ones that Jesus keeps inviting to pray and not give up. That's a pretty cool group to belong to.

There is a ministry called Young Life. It seeks to love high school students and share the love of Jesus with them. Young Life has impacted the lives and eternities of hundreds of thousands of hearts. Mine included. The first Young Life gathering took place at Gainesville High School in Gainesville, Texas in 1939. But the beginnings of Young Life are actually traced to 6 years earlier in 1933. Directly across the street from Gainesville High School was a house where Mrs. Frazier lived and most every Monday morning for six years, SIX YEARS, 5 or 6 elderly women got down on their knees and prayed for the movement of God in the lives of the high school students at Gainesville High School. Six years later, Young Life was born right across the street. Coincidence? No.

What do you want to talk to God about? What do you want to ask Him for? Tell Him how great He is AND tell Him the things that you long for, even the things that you can't possibly see happening....ever. Remember that even though we're falling asleep, He keeps inviting. We're not being beat up by Jesus because giving up is something we're familiar with. We're being brought back to Him over and over and over again to keep talking to Him, even if it seems like a billion starts. Maybe the "not giving up" is ok to still be on the table for us sleepy prayers because He's not giving up. Perhaps faith is growing as we string a billion start overs and lots of sleepy prayers together along the way.

What are things that you want to persevere in prayer about? Worth pondering. It's not ultimately about us not giving up, it's about the life changing reality that He doesn't.

There's more.