One day Jesus told his disciples a"); document.writeln("story to show that they should always pray and never give up. \'There was a"); document.writeln("judge in a certain city,\' he said, \'who neither feared God nor cared about"); document.writeln("people. A widow of that city came to him repeatedly, saying, Give me justice"); document.writeln("in this dispute with my enemy. The judge ignored her for a while, but finally"); document.writeln("he said to himself, I do not fear God or care about people, but this woman is"); document.writeln("driving me crazy. I am going to see that she gets justice, because she is"); document.writeln("wearing me out with her constant requests!\' Then the Lord said, \'Learn a"); document.writeln("lesson from this unjust judge. Even he rendered a just decision in the end. So"); document.writeln("don\'t you think God will surely give justice to his chosen people who cry out"); document.writeln("to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will grant"); document.writeln("justice to them quickly! But when the Son of Man returns, how many will he find"); document.writeln("on the earth who have faith?\'1
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We like things to be uncomplicated:"); document.writeln("follow a few steps and reach the desired result. However, prayer cannot be"); document.writeln("reduced to a simple formula. Prayer is ongoing communication with the Heavenly"); document.writeln("Father that involves listening, speaking, and acting on what we hear from Him.
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God has promised to answer our"); document.writeln("prayers, but He often waits before answering. He does so for several reasons:
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Preparation. Sometimes God has to"); document.writeln("prepare us for what He wants to give us. We may have attitudes or behaviors"); document.writeln("that are not aligned with His will (James 4:3).
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Spiritual growth. The Lord can make us"); document.writeln("wait to test our faith or deepen our relationship with Him.
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Time. God\'s calendar often does not match ours. He knows what He wants to accomplish in and through us.
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God includes delays as part of our"); document.writeln("prayer life. In certain situations we, like the persevering widow in Luke 18,"); document.writeln("have to persist before the Lord gives us His answer.
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Jesus tells us to \"ask, seek, and"); document.writeln("call\", a way of life that demonstrates confidence in God\'s promise to"); document.writeln("respond to His children.
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Suggested Prayer: Heavenly Father,"); document.writeln("what a privilege it is to know that I can ask you, seek you, and call you. I know"); document.writeln("that you listen to me carefully and with unconditional love. Thank you that I"); document.writeln("can approach the throne of grace with confidence to obtain mercy and find"); document.writeln("grace. Thank You for Your faithfulness and because I can talk to You all day"); document.writeln("long and You are always available. Thank you for so much love. In the name of Jesus I pray,"); document.writeln("Amen.
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1. Luke 18:1-8 (NLT).
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Today\'s Encounter"); document.writeln("was written by: Rosina N.
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This and other devotionals by Richard (Dick) Innes can be read online.
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