“I tell you, if he does not get up to give him the loaves because of their friendship, he will get up to give him whatever he needs because of his persistence.”
Luke 11:8 (NAB)
Persistence is a highly valued trait by God. Jesus told many parables about persistence. Today’s scripture comes from the parable of a man waking his friend up at midnight to borrow loaves of bread. His friend is annoyed by him, since his family is asleep, the household is shut down and all the doors are locked for the night. Jesus said, even if he doesn’t give him anything because of their friendship, he will do it because of his persistence.
Persistence transcends the worry of what anyone thinks of them, like the hemorrhaging woman, who crawled on her hands and knees into the dense crowd, just to reach and touch the hem of Jesus’ garment, and when she touched it, she was healed.
One of the most unusual ways that Jesus taught persistence, was when He went to the region of Tyre and Sidon and a gentile woman approached him, begging Him to deliver her daughter from the torment of demons. His disciples whispered to Jesus to send the woman away, since she was not from one of the tribes of Israel. Jesus pretended to keep dismissing her and played along with his disciples, but He was actually testing her persistence.
He finally told the woman that it wasn’t proper to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs. The children represented the children of Israel, and the dogs were the gentiles. Jesus tested her persistence by saying that He came only for His own people, but He knew that she would never give up.
The humble yet resolute woman quickly replied, “Yes Lord, but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from the table.” I can just imagine the expression on Jesus’ face at the moment she said that. She was tough and not easy to turn away, even by the Son of God. That kind of persistence makes God smile.
Jesus was so pleased by her comment that He praised her faith and persistence, in front of all who were there, including His disciples. He told her, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted”, and at that moment, her daughter was instantly healed and delivered. (Luke 15:28)
I believe Jesus told us these stories, to show that God wants us to persist in asking, seeking, and knocking. Jesus encouraged us to keep praying, even when it looks hopeless. He wants us to never think that He is bothered by our persistence, because it actually makes Him happy, and reaps a reward in the end.
I tried to put myself in the place of those women who came to Jesus or the man knocking on the door in the parable, and I might have given up and turned away, since the odds were against all of them. When I read the response Jesus had toward them, it makes me want to be more persistent, seeing how much it pleases Him.
Most of the time persistence is born out of habit. It’s something we develop through practice and experience. Aristotle said that we are what we “repeatedly” do. Excellence is a habit that develops over time, and to Jesus, persistent faith is a form of excellence.
Jesus inspires us to do the same as the man knocking on the door and the woman who crawled through a crowd to touch Him.
He smiled at the gentile woman’s words of persistence, though she was not from the chosen tribes of Israel.
Persistence is not a gift or a talent dropped upon us from heaven.
It’s a trait that grows through practice. It’s formed in the deepest part of our human spirit, as our will sets aside all pride and self pity, and keeps persisting, refusing to give up. It’s knowing that our persistence never annoys the Lord, but causes Him to smile.
Lord, help us to always practice persistence in our prayer life, and to show the same faith as the examples you gave us. Amen
