The One About Jesus -Persistent Prayer + God's Will for You

Part 1: The Power of Persistent Prayer

So I once heard a priest say in his homily that being persistent is one of the most important parts of praying. He said that he had a list of people he prayed for and after continually praying for someone he eventually took their name off the list because they didn't need the specific prayers he had been giving them before.  This has stuck with me for a very long time, at least three years. 

In the book of Luke, chapter 18, Jesus tells this parable:  “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought.3 And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’ 4 “For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think, 5 yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come and attack me!’”(Also on a side-note, the text that I bolded is basically the moral of the story so feel free to just read that part)

This parable was used by Jesus to tell his disciples that persistence in prayer is very, very important. 

So when I was a young 12-year-old and I had not a care in the world. I really, really, wanted to be a jr. bridesmaid in my brother's wedding. So I prayed and I prayed and I prayed! And I got to be one! And during the same time I was praying and praying to get asked to be a weeping woman in my church's passion play, yes it was stupid I know, but that's what I wanted. Anyway, shockingly I got to the part! It was especially weird since it was my first year ever doing it. Now I don't want you to think that God is gonna answer every one of your prayers with the answer you want. But in some way, shape, or form he will eventually, in his time, not yours, answer your prayer. 

Part 2: God's Will 

So quick question you know how people sometimes want stuff that actually would be really bad for us like I don't know maybe we wanted to go to a certain school, but it actually would have been an awful fit. So that's why we have parents because they are smarter and have more experience than us with this stuff. But even parents make mistakes sometimes (shocking I know! I'm still trying to accept it!) like maybe they wanted to take a job but they really would have hated it who's to stop them? Or what if your parent agrees to let you go to that school? Who could stop you from going?

The answer is God. God knows what's best for us. Because who do we ask for advice, older/wiser people. And who is the wisest/oldest of them all? God. It's as simple as that. Now maybe sometimes God will let you go to that school or take that job, but always know it his always his will that things happen the way they do. Maybe he let you go there so you could help someone else,  or so you could learn from that experience, or maybe we won't ever know. Just remember my mom's motto "thy will be done". 

So one time I really wanted to be on this soccer team, but unfortunately, due to my schedule I could not. Now for some reason, I was really upset by this I cried and yelled at my mom for ruining my life because of course, it was her fault (I am not really sure how), you know the usual. Anyway, one of my mom's friends talked to me about it and told me about how she had been unable to play for a sport's team and had been upset just like me. But she said she ended up getting to play a different sport instead, which she liked better and she made great, new friends! Now you can guess what happened to me, yes I found a new team and I loved it! I made great friends and it was a better fit for me! 

Although I didn't know it at the time, it was all God's doing. And I am very grateful! So that's why when something happens that we are really upset by we just need to trust in God and just remember it's all for the best. Now I know that it is easier said than done, especially in more extreme cases than my story, but just remember "thy will be done". 
P.S. did anyone notice my friends reference (in the title) I was pretty proud of it :)