More than four years ago, my husband and I began to pray for the sale of a business we own. This business had been causing us problems and arguments in our marriage for over 20 years. It was a profitable business, but we came to the conclusion that we needed to get rid of it for the best interest of our marriage. So we prayed for over four years and we had not gotten an offer or any real interest.
A problem came up in November related to this business. We have some very wise friends who we meet with when we are having a disagreement that we can't resolve in our marriage. They have been married for over 45 years and they are great role models to help us in times of tension. We are so grateful to God for them and we both value their opinion and have great respect for them. We scheduled a meeting with our friends to seek counsel and resolution.
One of the questions that came up during our meeting was, "How often do you pray together about selling this business?" We thought about it and realized our prayers were very sporadic. What they counseled us to do was to pray EVERYDAY together for the sale of our business. So we made this commitment to pray together everyday for the purpose of the sale of this business.
Within a few weeks of this commitment, we got an offer on the business. WOW! This really encouraged our prayer! We went through the process of getting everything together and working with our client over the next month. And we continued to pray everyday! The deal was set to go through on January 6th. Just before Christmas, my husband received a phone call from someone else with another offer on the business. Two offers in a matter of 6 weeks when we had not received an offer in 4 years! We were praising the Lord and we continued to pray and seek His guidance in this deal.
On January 6th, the first deal fell through. We were shocked! It was a disappointing day for both of us as we were so excited to have closure in this area of our lives. But, we realized God had seen all the details in the future and had provided all we had needed to answer this persistent prayer. Last week, our second deal was finalized. During the time between the failure of the first deal and the closing of the second, we prayed and prayed.
As I spent time with the Lord and continued to pray, He lead me to some scriptures about persistent prayer. Luke 18:1 says, "Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them they should always pray and not give up." He told a parable about a widow who kept coming to a judge day and night to seek a ruling over her adversary. This judge did not fear God or care about men. He kept refusing her request until finally he gave her the judgement she asked for because her persistence wore him down. At the end of this parable, Jesus compares this judge with God and says, "Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will He keep putting them off? I tell you, he will see that they get justice quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find (persistent) faith on the earth?" (Luke 18:6-8)
This scripture hit me straight in the heart. It was a promise directed to encourage me. So I started crying out day and night. I wanted the Lord to see persistent faith in my life! It hurt my heart to read that statement. I wanted Him to find persistent faith. And I let go of doubt and prayed in faith. I encouraged my husband that we were not counting on the plans of men but on the faithfulness of God. I was sure this sale was God's will and I took every thought captive that interfered with the outcome I was praying for. I simply believed no matter what! And what fueled this belief was a deep desire to bless Jesus who constantly blesses me.
As I have realized God's gracious answer to our prayers, I have increased my prayer time on a daily basis. I have added things to my list that I believe are His will but seem impossible at this time. My husband has joined me in praying for our next miracle! Whatever we have given up on in the past has become the cry of our hearts day and night! We are committed with the grace and help of Jesus to have persistent faith on this earth! I pray this story encourages you to cry out day and night to Jesus for the answer to whatever you have given up on! He has given us a promise. Our part is to "always pray and don't give up!"
