Pray Continually

Does it feel like you’ve been praying for a long time and haven’t seen any results? You’re not the only one. We wish we could pray one time and immediately see an answer. But that’s not how God works.

Instead, the Bible gives us this encouragement: “Pray continually” (1 Thessalonians 5:17). Not just one time. Not just when you’re at church. Not just when you’re in trouble. Pray continually.

There was a woman who did that in the Bible: Hannah. You can read her story in 1 Samuel chapters 1 and 2. Hannah was married and longed to have children, but God had closed her womb. For some reason, God didn’t allow her to conceive. So what did Hannah do? She prayed continually.

Hannah didn’t just pray for a child one time. She prayed again and again over a number of years. Everytime she and her husband went to worship the Lord, she prayed, sometimes weeping bitterly. Do you know what that’s like? Years went by, but Hannah didn’t stop praying.

Until, suddenly, God gave her a child! Hannah gave her son a great name: “Samuel.” It means, “God hears.” Hannah must have often felt like giving up. Hannah must have often felt like God wasn’t listening. But that couldn’t have been further from the truth. God heard and answered in his time.

So don’t give up. Don’t give in. You and I can’t see how God is working behind the scenes. But we can do this: Pray continually!