And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? (Luke 18:7)
Look up the word “persist” in the dictionary and you’ll see a definition along the lines of: “to continue steadfastly in some purpose, in spite of obstacles or discouragement.”
Persistent would be an applicable word to describe Mac O’Grady. You may recall that name; O’Grady played on the PGA Tour in the 1980s.
You could argue that anyone who makes it to the PGA Tour has persistence. Achieving Tour status is difficult, and there are usually some challenges and setbacks along the way.
Like many others, Mac earned his PGA Tour card through Q-School. But his journey was far from ordinary.
O’Grady made his first Q-School attempt in 1971 and failed to get his card. There was nothing unusual about that; only a handful of players qualify each year.
What makes O’Grady’s case unique is that he ended up trying and falling short 17 consecutive times, acknowledged as a Q-School record.
But in 1982, eleven long years after beginning the process, Mac broke through on his 18th attempt, earning his Tour card for the 1983 season.
The good news is that O’Grady’s tenure on the Tour was not a “one and done” deal. He competed for several years, finishing in the top ten 18 times, capturing two titles, and winning over $1.1 million during his career. Mac O’Grady’s story shows that it pays to be persistent.
The value of persistence is also demonstrated in the Parable of the Persistent Widow. It’s a short story that I won’t recap here, other than to say its purpose is stated in the first verse: “Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.”
In today’s world, where technology has made instant gratification the norm, having to wait for something can be extremely challenging. We can become impatient and frustrated to the point of deciding to cease our prayers.
But doing that plays right into Satan’s hands. He knows he cannot keep God from answering prayers, so he tries to keep us from asking, or to give up too soon.
Prayer is a two-way street. God’s role is to determine when and how He answers. Our role is to do the asking and to be persistent. The life of 19th-century preacher D. L. Moody provides a wonderful example of persistent prayer.
Moody carried a list of 100 non-Christians that he prayed for all his life. Over time, as prayers were answered and one became a Christian, Moody would cross their name off his list. By the time he died, 96 had become believers, and the remaining four gave their lives to Jesus at Moody’s funeral.
Be persistent in prayer. Remember Jesus’ guidance to always pray and not give up. And as Psalm 27:14 tells us, “Be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.”
Prayer: Heavenly Father, help us to be persistent in our prayers and to wait patiently for Your response, with the expectation that Your will be done. Amen.