Consistently Persistent

But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering.
For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea
driven with the wind and tossed.
For let not that man think that he shall receive
any thing of the Lord. James 1.6-7

One of our instructions for prayer is that we should pray with consistency – that’s the “nothing wavering” part of the verse. Most obviously, you shouldn’t pray to have something one day, and then pray not to have it the next. But very few of us are so mixed up that we pray for opposites.

So where does “nothing wavering” lead us? This gets a little trickier. It’s easier to be eager for something one day, and not so eager the next. If you pray for something today, and pray every day for a month, and you don’t get it, what will you do? Give up? Keep praying? Pray but only a little?

God never promised to answer all prayers immediately. Some prayers cannot be answered immediately. If you pray for greater wisdom, God will give it to you, but becoming wise takes time. If you give up on this kind of prayer after a short time, you will never see the result you desire. Effective prayer is consistently persistent. It persists over time, and is consistent regardless of circumstance.