He Likes to be Asked:
Persistence in Prayer and in Missions

It is a beautiful experience when a prayer receives an immediate answer, sometimes even before the words are fully spoken. However, the human experience of prayer more often involves a significant delay between asking God for something and receiving His answer. This reality underscores the vital importance of being persistent and enduring in prayer. This principle extends beyond personal petition, proving essential for effective work on the mission field.

Persistence in Prayer

God’s Desire to Be Asked Persistently

Reflecting on this theme, consider this scene from C.S. Lewis’s The Magician’s Nephew, one of The Chronicles of Narnia. 

Now they were over the top of the cliffs and in a few minutes the valley land of Narnia had sunk out of sight behind them. They were flying over a wild country of steep hills and dark forests, still following the course of the river. The really big mountains loomed ahead. But the sun was now in the travelers’ eyes and they couldn’t see things very clearly in that direction. For the sun sank lower and lower till the western sky was all like one great furnace full of melted gold; and it set at last behind a jagged peak which stood up against the brightness as sharp and flat as if it were cut out of cardboard.

“It’s none too warm up here,” said Polly. 

“And my wings are beginning to ache,” said Fledge. “There’s no sign of the valley with a Lake in it, like what Aslan said. What about coming down and looking out for a decent spot to spend the night in? We shan’t reach that place tonight.”

“Yes, and surely it’s about time for supper?” said Digory.

So Fledge came lower and lower. As they came down nearer to the earth and among the hills, the air grew warmer and after traveling so many hours with nothing to listen to but the beat of Fledge’s wings, it was nice to hear the homely and earthy noises again—the chatter of the river on its stony bed and the creaking of trees in the light wind. A warm, good smell of sun-baked earth and grass and flowers came up to them. At last Fledge alighted. Digory rolled off and helped Polly to dismount. Both were glad to stretch their stiff legs.

The valley in which they had come down was in the heart of the mountains; snowy heights, one of them looking rose-red in the reflections of the sunset, towered above them.

“I am hungry,” said Digory.

“Well, tuck in,” said Fledge, taking a big mouthful of grass. Then he raised his head, still chewing and with bits of grass sticking out on each side of his mouth like whiskers, and said, “Come on, you two. Don’t be shy. There’s plenty for us all.”

“But we can’t eat grass,” said Digory.

“H’m, h’m,” said Fledge, speaking with his mouth full. “Well—h’m—don’t know quite what you’ll do then. Very good grass too.”

Polly and Digory stared at one another in dismay.

“Well, I do think someone might have arranged about our meals,” said Digory.

“I’m sure Aslan would have, if you’d asked him,” said Fledge.

“Wouldn’t he know without being asked?” said Polly.

“I’ve no doubt he would,” said the Horse (still with his mouth full). “But I’ve a sort of idea he likes to be asked.”

This simple exchange from a children’s book offers a powerful reminder. It echoes scriptural passages suggesting that God truly delights in us asking Him and waiting on Him as we persist in asking. This is reflected in human relationships, particularly as parents, who sometimes encourage children to come and ask for things. It signifies that children see the parent as their father, the provider who desires good things for them. Similarly, the Bible shows God sometimes delays provision until a request is made, multiplied, and even endured over generations. This speaks volumes about having God as our Father and approaching Him in prayer. The idea is not just that God likes to be asked, which He does, but that sometimes He likes to be asked persistently.

The Lesson of the Persistent Widow

We can identify scriptural examples where prayer is met not with an immediate answer, but with a delay or an unexpected response. Luke chapter 18 contains the Parable of the Persistent Widow. Jesus tells this parable featuring an unjust judge who fears neither God nor man. A widow pleads for justice against her neighbor. The unjust judge is unwilling to grant her request, but she “badgers him so much and annoys him so much with her persistent asking” that he finally concedes. While the comparison of God to this unjust judge might seem strange, that is not the parable’s main point. The central message, stated at the beginning, is that His followers “ought always to pray and not to lose heart”. The parable uses an extreme example – a pagan, self-centered, powerful judge who provides because the petitioner is persistent. The implication is a “how much more” principle: if such persistence works with an unjust judge, how much more effective will it be with our just, gracious, kind, and loving Father who desires to give good gifts.

Developing Faith and Character Through Delayed Answers

In many cases, the delay in receiving an answer to prayer seems intended to allow our faith to develop as we persistently ask God. God is not a “rabbit’s foot” or a “genie” obligated to answer based on our actions. He has His own agenda, and His timing is rooted in what brings Him the greatest glory and cultivates our own “faithful end and enduring faithfulness and sometimes in longsuffering rather than in the long sought relief that we want”. There is no doubt about this. This period of wrestling in faith and being persistent allows one to learn more about God’s character. Some delays are due to God’s desire for us to become more like Him in character – specifically, developing long-suffering, enduring, and patient qualities. The Psalmist David acknowledges God’s nature as “merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness”. The gap between David’s plea and God’s supply exists because God’s nature, even towards the unjust, is to be slow to anger and exercise long-suffering patience. To be like Him requires this character, which is built only by “suffering long”. Instantaneous answers would preclude the learning of long-suffering. Thus, delayed answers can be a faith-building process.

Examples of Long-Term Prayer and Waiting

Almost everyone who loves the Lord Jesus and has experienced His goodness can relate to specific long-term prayers.

• Many long to see their children and grandchildren come to know and walk with Him. This desire is often their daily prayer, demonstrating “enduring persistent faithfulness of going to the Father”.
• Mark’s wife prayed for her father’s salvation for eight years. Despite him appearing an unlikely candidate, God brought about a crisis, and he became a believer after her persistent prayer. This was a result of “kind of shaking the tree and asking the Lord for that mercy”.
• Abraham waited 25 years for the birth of his son Isaac after receiving God’s promise of being the father of many nations. The purpose of this gap was to build Abraham and Sarah’s faith.
• The people of Israel waited over 400 years in slavery in Egypt for God’s promised deliverance. This is waiting across generations – “longsuffering by definition”.
• John’s daughter who prayed about marriage from a young age finally married at 35 after many years of waiting. Her husband had also been waiting. The wedding felt “supercharged with glory” due to God’s provision in His timing after many years of persistence.

There is “something special about God delaying and then giving and us being persistent in prayer and then receiving in his own timing”.

Persistence in Missions

The Need for Persistence in Uphill Work

This idea of persistence in prayer significantly influences our work as missionaries with PassionLife. PassionLife’s work addresses the global abortion crisis, where 97% of abortions occur outside the U.S. This requires serving “where the need is greatest”.

Years of experience have shown that missionaries sometimes “self-censor” or too readily “take no for an answer” out of fear of losing access to a mission field. If a government says no, the immediate response might be to stop. However, extensive mission field experience teaches that a posture of faith and persistence, of not quickly relenting in the face of resistance, is often instrumental in achieving breakthrough.

Missions work is inherently challenging; it is always “uphill”. An analogy we use is ants at a picnic: if you block them one way, they go around, over, or under. This is the desired posture: not accepting ‘no’ as a final answer, but viewing it as a temporary challenge. If convinced of God’s call, boldness and persistence are the “required sauce” for breakthrough. It requires faith to trust God’s calling and that He will provide a “secondary way around” obstacles. There must be an expectation of a workaround when many doors seem closed. Surprising things happen when one goes “full bore”; while original plans may fail, a better plan often emerges through persistent prayer and pursuit. This involves constantly seeking God’s way, power, and provision from different angles. This persistence characterizes nearly all essential aspects of missions work.

Examples of Persistent Mission Work

Examples from mission experience illustrate this necessity:

• Church Planting in Asia: Missionaries were the first in an area closed to foreigners for decades. When the government challenged them through harassment, visa rejection, or arrest, their attitude was to “fight and defend the ground God had given us” and “pivot and come back a different way”.
• Establishing an NGO: In Asia, establishing an NGO seemed impossible for foreigners. A local co-worker, driven by persistence, applied despite skepticism. Against the odds, he obtained the official NGO license, fundamentally changing the work. This taught that while there is a time to relent, generally speaking, most people tend to withdraw too quickly.
• Facing Resistance in Cuba: PassionLife missionaries and partners have faced reminders from the Cuban government to “stay in their lane” and in the face of intimidation required persistence. Even facing arrest in missions presents a moment of decision: retreat or meet the challenge.

Persistence and Discernment

The Apostle Peter promises that following the Lord will bring trials. This highlights the importance of discernment in conjunction with persistence. It is vital to discern whether trials are consequences of one’s own mistakes or sin, or whether they are resistance from Satan. There comes a time to discern when to continue fighting and when the Lord is leading them to relent or withdraw. For instance, when Mark’s family served as missionaries in Asia, first they sensed the need to strive and endure in the face of hardship but they eventually sensed it was time to leave. In God’s providence that sense coincided with the local church being prepared to continue on in their abcense. For the most part, challenges are tests of whether we will rise to meet obstacles and expect to overcome them, unless circumstances clearly show otherwise. This mindset, that obstacles are to be overcome, is central to PassionLife, requiring both persistence and discernment.

Conclusion: Prayer for Persistence and Discernment

Therefore, prayer is requested for PassionLife’s missionary work, that we would be granted both persistence and discernment. These twin qualities are essential for navigating the challenges of proclaiming the Gospel and defending life on the global stage, trusting God’s timing and His ways even in the face of delay and resistance.

This article is adapted from the episode transcript.