I am a dog person. But I have fallen hard for a feline friend that I have named Prince Charming. Isn’t he so handsome? Prince Charming is a stray cat that started hanging around our house last summer. At first, he totally ignored us. Then, he ate treats and food that we put out for him. Eventually, on one fine day, when he was curled up in a patio chair (and I was feeling exceptionally brave), he let me pet him. We have been fast friends ever since.
What makes this cat so special is the joy he brings when he shows up at my back door looking for his daily ration of treats and food. There were times in the fall when it was like clockwork. I would wake up, go downstairs, start the coffee, and open the back door. There he would be, just waiting on me to get there. His patience would be rewarded with treats, and I would pet him and let the sound of his purring make my heart smile.
Then winter came. His visits became more sporadic primarily because we have a very kind-hearted neighbor who lets all of the neighborhood strays camp out in his garage when the weather is bad. When Prince Charming is absent, I miss him. I go to the back door many times throughout the day, open it, step out onto the porch, and look for him. I’m always looking for him.
You might remember that a couple of weeks ago, the weather was pretty rough. Here in Mount Gilead, we got about 8 inches of snow with some ice mixed in. The temperatures were pretty low too, and I went for days and days without a visit from Prince Charming. But I looked. Over and over again each day, I opened that back door and looked.
Finally, on Thursday morning last week, I opened that back door around 7:00, and he was there waiting on me. Oh, the joy! It might sound silly to you, but remember, I am pretty crazy about that cat. I did a little squeal, ran for the treats, took his bowl, and put the food in it. Then, as he ate, I spent some time petting him and listening for that purr.
When I came back in the house, a thought struck me. Hope is why I kept looking when that cat disappeared for several days. It is hope that led me to that back door over and over again. I had an expectation that on one of those times when I opened the door, I would see what I had been waiting for.
As I thought about it more, I was reminded of what Jesus taught us about prayer.
“‘Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.
You parents—if your children ask for a loaf of bread, do you give them a stone instead? Or if they ask for a fish, do you give them a snake? Of course not! So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him.'” (Matthew 7:7-11, NLT)
I love this version because it accurately captures the verb tense from the Greek. Keep on asking, keep on seeking, keep on knocking. There is persistence implied here. Why? Because of hope. It is hope that keeps us looking (asking, seeking, knocking).
“Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.” (Romans 8:24-25, ESV)
“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1, ESV)
I think there have been many times that I have prayed about something without hope that God would actually hear and answer, demonstrating the smallness of my faith. I asked one time, and then that was it. To use the cat analogy, I never opened the back door and looked for it. There was no expectation.
That is NOT how Jesus taught us to pray. We are to persist. Keep asking, keep seeking, keep knocking. Keep going to the back door to look. Our prayers should fill us with a hope that keeps us looking for the answer because we know it’s coming. Consider the account of Elijah and his servant, Gehazi.
“Then Elijah said to Ahab, ‘Go get something to eat and drink, for I hear a mighty rainstorm coming!‘
So Ahab went to eat and drink. But Elijah climbed to the top of Mount Carmel and bowed low to the ground and prayed with his face between his knees.
Then he said to his servant, ‘Go and look out toward the sea.’
The servant went and looked, then returned to Elijah and said, ‘I didn’t see anything.’
Seven times Elijah told him to go and look. Finally the seventh time, his servant told him, ‘I saw a little cloud about the size of a man’s hand rising from the sea.’
Then Elijah shouted, ‘Hurry to Ahab and tell him, ‘Climb into your chariot and go back home. If you don’t hurry, the rain will stop you!’
And soon the sky was black with clouds. A heavy wind brought a terrific rainstorm, and Ahab left quickly for Jezreel. Then the Lord gave special strength to Elijah. He tucked his cloak into his belt and ran ahead of Ahab’s chariot all the way to the entrance of Jezreel. (1 Kings 18:41-46, NLT)
Elijah’s faith sent his servant to look seven times. He was confident that his prayers were being heard, and hope kept looking.
I don’t know about you, but I am in need of an infusion of hope in some of the places of my heart – the kind of hope that keeps looking for answers to prayer when they seem to be elusive. I want to learn that persistence – the confidence that when I pray, my Father hears, and His answers are on the way. I want the hope that keeps me looking over and over again, waiting for the moment when the door opens and then answer is right there in front of me.
Dear Father, please increase our faith. Help us to be persistent in confident prayer, knowing that You hear us and You answer us when we call. Give us hope that keeps looking. Amen.
-Dana
Two Sisters. One Amazing Savior. 