The other night I settled into the couch to rest after a long, busy day. As I reached for my phone to scroll through social media, an alarm from my bedroom began to sound. This alarm has a habit of going off at odd times, and I still haven’t figured out how to stop it from ringing randomly.
I did my best to ignore the persistent beeping. The more I tried to tune it out, the more distracted and irritated I became. I was tired and didn’t want to get up and walk across the house just to silence it, so I resisted at first and tried to carry on.
I kept busy with other things, but after a while my attention kept drifting back to that steady alarm. Pretending it wasn’t there stopped working — its insistence pulled me back until I had no choice but to go and turn it off.
While listening to that alarm, a simple lesson about persistence in prayer came to me. When a request before God is as persistent as an annoying alarm, God will not ignore it. The problem many of us face is that we give up far too soon. We pray once, twice, even several times, then grow tired and stop. Sometimes answers do come quickly, but not always. Often we must keep pressing on:
Pray
Until
Something
Happens
Don’t lose heart. Keep pressing in until you see the answer. Imagine someone knocking persistently at your door — eventually you respond. Jesus taught persistent prayer in the parable of the friend at midnight (Luke 11:5–13). That friend would not give up asking for help, and his persistence paid off.
Keep seeking, keep asking, keep knocking. Scripture reminds us that everyone who asks receives (Luke 11:10). That promise includes you and me. Be like the persistent widow in Luke 18:1–8, who would not relent in seeking justice from the judge. Her consistent petition wore him down until he granted her request. It takes faith and determination to pray that way.
May our prayers be so fervent and continuous that God is moved to respond. When I finally walked to my bedroom and silenced the alarm, I reflected on the simple but powerful lesson it offered. I am more convinced than ever to bring my requests before God continually — night and day.
May our prayers keep beeping in heaven until they are answered.