Don't Give Up!

“The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.” James 5:16

May I share a story with you that I pray will inspire you to never give up praying even if the answers to your prayers don’t come immediately?  You may have heard of this story before, but every time I hear it, I am reminded of the importance of persistent prayer.

The story is about a wealthy insurance broker who was caught up with gold fever and headed to Colorado along with some of his friends to invest in a mining venture.  They formed a corporation and bought expensive equipment to mine a wealthy vein of gold ore in Colorado. I read this story in the book, Effective Prayer Life, by Chuck Smith.  Chuck Smith shares that after the corporation paid off its debts, the vein of gold ran out.  The investors continued to mine, but in the process, ran themselves back into debt again while finding no gold.  In their frustration, they decide to sell the mine and all of the equipment to a junk dealer for only a few hundred dollars.

The junk dealer hired a geologist and the geologist came back with a report which stated: “If you’ll dig three feet past the point where they quit you’ll find that same vein of gold.”  The junk dealer became the wealthiest mine owner in the state of Colorado.  Chuck Smith said, “Just three more feet! I wonder how many times we, too, stop three feet short of victory.”

Chuck Smith shared this important insight, “Many times we give up a little bit too soon.  Whenever Satan begins losing his grip he makes a last, desperate lunge. This is when we all too often become tired and give up, quitting just short of victory.”

What have you been praying for?  Have you become discouraged because a great concern on your heart goes unanswered?  Or, has a great concern you have been praying for seem to be getting worse?  Don’t give up!  We are to keep praying until we see the answer or until God has given us a peace in our heart about an unchanged situation. This is called resting in His will and trusting His ways more than ours.  I can assure you that God will answer us according to His best for our situation – which is always better than ours! Remember, your fervent prayers accomplish great results – don’t give up!

“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”1 Thessalonians 5:16-18