She looked at me with sadness in her eyes and defeat echoing
in her voice and said, “I’m tired of putting myself out there and getting my
heart stomped on.”
My heart broke for her. I knew how she felt because I felt
the same way. Every time a new guy has entered the picture, I have tried to
remain optimistic. I have wanted to believe that maybe this one would be different,
maybe this one would work. Instead like my friend, I always seem to be the one
left with my heart broken. I always seem to be the one left feeling like I just
wasn’t enough.
How many times are we supposed to keep trying before
throwing in the towel and telling God that we give up? How long do we keep praying
for something when it appears that the answer is always going to be “no?”
How long do we keep praying that we’ll find the “one?” How
long do we keep praying that our prodigal child comes home? How long do we keep
praying that our marriage will get better? How long do we keep praying that
we’ll have a baby? How long do we keep praying that our loved ones will come to
know Jesus?
I could make a list of hundreds of requests that people have
prayed over and over about and the answer never seems to change. In fact,
sometimes the situation feels like it gets even harder. It’s difficult not to
get discouraged and question whether or not you should even continue praying
about it. Sometimes the words to a repeated prayer begin to feel empty;
sometimes you don’t even know what to pray anymore because you feel like you’ve
used all the words up.
I sometimes wonder if God grows tired of my repeated request
that He will fulfill my desire to be a wife and a mom. But I believe in my
heart that He doesn’t.
Then Jesus told His
disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.
–Luke 18:1 (NIV)
God wants us to bring everything to Him---our dreams,
burdens, joys, sorrows, and hopes. I am learning more and more how important it
is to be completely real with God, so I tell Him my frustrations, I ask Him
questions and I even tell Him when I’m angry at Him.
He is mighty and He is strong---God does not tire at hearing
repeated requests. In fact, I have to believe that it brings Him joy when we
continue bringing the same petition to Him. For in continuing to bring it to
Him, we are choosing to trust in His awesome power. We are showing our belief that
He continues to work miracles and do the impossible. God really can do
anything---may we continue to remember that and to lay all of our requests at
His feet no matter how many times we bring the same ones.





