Persistence from Faith

 

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered at Pilgrim Reformed Church on Sunday morning, the 16th of August, 2026.  If all went well, a recording of the service may be available on our YouTube streaming channel: 

https://www.youtube.com/@pilgrimreformedchurch1992/streams for the older services or https://www.youtube.com/@pilgrimreformedchurch3115/streams for later services.]

I bet somewhere along the line you’ve heard the expression, “The squeaky wheel gets the grease.”  It’s usually applied to mean that the people who complain the loudest or make the most noise are the ones who get what they want, while the quiet people, those that don’t make a fuss, are usually ignored.  The quiet person may have just as great or greater need than the louder person, everyone may think they’re OK since they’re not complaining.  There’s another expression, that, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”  Well, if we don’t know it’s broken, we can’t fix it.

Now, the complainer usually gets on our nerves after a while, but it can be an effective tool for them.  So while it may be an irritating practice, constant, loud complaining can be a way to get what you want or need.

After feeding the five thousand, and Jesus walking on the water and Peter trying to, Jesus and His disciples sailed back across the sea to the town of Gennesaret, on the northwestern shore of the Sea of Galilee.  This town was not far from Capernaum, kind of the homebase for Jesus during His ministry.

I imagine they were all pretty exhausted – physically and emotionally – after that night on the stormy sea and what transpired between Jesus and Peter.  And then here come some Pharisees, all the way from Jerusalem, just to harass Jesus, berating Him about His disciples not following the Jewish tradition of ceremonial hand washing before eating, of all things.  Jesus told the gathered crowd that it is not what goes into the mouth – food and drink - that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth - words.  For what comes out of the mouth comes from the heart, and from the heart comes evil thoughts, murder, adultery, all sexual immorality, theft, lying, and slander.  He referred to the Pharisees as the blind leading the blind, causing others to follow them on the road to perdition.

All of that is just to set the stage for what came next.  Please listen and follow along as the Apostle Matthew reports what came afterwards, in verses 21 through 31 of the 15th chapter of his Gospel account, and I’ll be reading from the New Living Translation of our Holy Bible this morning…

21 Then Jesus left Galilee and went north to the region of Tyre and Sidon. 22 A Gentile woman who lived there came to him, pleading, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! For my daughter is possessed by a demon that torments her severely.”

23 But Jesus gave her no reply, not even a word. Then His disciples urged Him to send her away. “Tell her to go away,” they said. “She is bothering us with all her begging.”

24 Then Jesus said to the woman, “I was sent only to help God’s lost sheep — the people of Israel.”

25 But she came and worshiped Him, pleading again, “Lord, help me!”

26 Jesus responded, “It isn’t right to take food from the children and throw it to the dogs.”

27 She replied, “That’s true, Lord, but even dogs are allowed to eat the scraps that fall beneath their masters’ table.”

28 “Dear woman,” Jesus said to her, “your faith is great. Your request is granted.” And her daughter was instantly healed.

29 Jesus returned to the Sea of Galilee and climbed a hill and sat down. 30 A vast crowd brought to Him people who were lame, blind, crippled, those who couldn’t speak, and many others. They laid them before Jesus, and He healed them all. 31 The crowd was amazed! Those who hadn’t been able to speak were talking, the crippled were made well, the lame were walking, and the blind could see again! And they praised the God of Israel.

--Matthew 15:21-31 (NLT)

Let us pray…  Father God, thank You for letting us know that it’s OK to be persistent when asking You for something we need.  Through our faith, we know that You can take care of any need we may have, and we know that You know what our needs are before asking.  But You do so love to hear from us, Father, when we come to You in prayer, even if we come begging all the time.  Father, please open our hearts to receive Your message, Your word, this morning.  Touch each of us with Your most Holy Spirit that we might be moved to better serve You.  In the precious name of Christ Jesus we pray.  Amen.

The little Today in the Word magazine once noted that, “Early African converts to Christianity were earnest and regular in private devotions.  Each one reportedly had a separate spot in the thicket where he would pour out his heart to God.  Over time the paths to these places became well worn.  As a result, if one of these believers began to neglect prayer, it was soon apparent to the others.  They would kindly remind the negligent one, ‘Brother, the grass grows on your path.’”

I think that a good prayer life is very important to our spiritual health, but sometimes it can be easy to tell when someone hasn't spent as much time with God as they should.  Their path has become obscured, overgrown.  They may not even be able to find their way anymore.  We could all stand to check our own path, to see how high the grass has grown.

The woman in our scripture reading knew that Jesus could do what she asked, if He were only willing.  Although she was a Gentile, she recognized Him as Lord, even as her Lord, and used the Jewish expression “Son of David”.  Her faith gave her the strength and courage to be persistent, even when facing the Lord.

She must have been seeking help for her daughter very persistently, maybe even annoyingly, for the disciples said that, “She is bothering us with all her begging.”  Still she persisted.  Jesus tried to ignore her, not responding to her pleas.  Still she persevered.  And her faith and persistence were rewarded.

I mentioned the importance of a good prayer life.  Our prayer life is strengthened when it is consistent.  In his first letter to the church in Thessalonica, the Apostle Paul told them – and us – to “never stop praying”.

Paul knew the importance of consistent, persistent prayer.  And so did Jesus.  Of all the people written of in our bible, none prayed more than Jesus.  Did you get that?  The Son of God prayed to our Father God more than anyone else recorded in our bible.  If that doesn’t show how important a good prayer life is, I don’t know what could.

We can read where Jesus often went off by Himself to pray.  He wanted to get away from the crowds, from His disciples, from the noise and distractions of the day so He could spend some good, quality time with His Father.  We saw that when, after feeding the five thousand and as His disciples struggled against the storm on the sea, Jesus went up on the mountain, by Himself, to pray.

Yes, Jesus knew the importance of prayer.  Please listen as Jesus tells a story about persistence and the power of prayer, as reported by the Apostle Luke in the first 8 verses of the 18th chapter of his Gospel account…

1 One day Jesus told His disciples a story to show that they should always pray and never give up. 2 “There was a judge in a certain city,” He said, “who neither feared God nor cared about people. 3 A widow of that city came to him repeatedly, saying, ‘Give me justice in this dispute with my enemy.’ 4 The judge ignored her for a while, but finally he said to himself, ‘I don’t fear God or care about people, 5 but this woman is driving me crazy. I’m going to see that she gets justice, because she is wearing me out with her constant requests!’”

6 Then the Lord said, “Learn a lesson from this unjust judge. 7 Even he rendered a just decision in the end. So don’t you think God will surely give justice to His chosen people who cry out to Him day and night? Will He keep putting them off? 8 I tell you, He will grant justice to them quickly! But when the Son of Man returns, how many will He find on the earth who have faith?”

--Luke 18:1-8 (NLT)

That last question is scary, isn’t it?  When Jesus returns, who many people will He find on this earth who still have faith?

But again, the point is that persistence pays off.  Jesus is telling us to be persistent in our prayer, to let our faith drive our prayer life.  Persistent prayer strengthens our faith, just as daily exercise strengthens our muscles.

I don’t think a person would have to spend very much time here in our services at Pilgrim to realize that prayer is important to me.  After giving the opening prayer at a recent club membership meeting, a gentleman who knows me and my calling came up and said, “You may be Reformed Church preacher, but you pray like a Baptist.”  I took that as a compliment.

As I’ve said before, prayer is just our chance, our time, to talk with God.  It doesn’t need to be high-falutin’, filled with fifty-cent words, trying to reach up to heaven with our voice.  When I pray I’m just talking to my Father, my Daddy.  Most times I’m praying for other people.  A lot of times I’m asking for help.  Every time I’m thanking Him for something.

Some prayers are really short, some are maybe a little too long, at least according to some when they’re waiting for me to get through so they can dig into their meal.  But I’m persistent in praying, led by my faith.

So do like I do.  Follow Jesus’ lead.  Pray persistently, and you will feel your faith become stronger than ever before.  In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord.  Amen.

Let us pray…  Almighty God, thank You for adopting us into Your family so that we can call You Father, Daddy.  Thank You for giving us the opportunity to come to You any time we want, asking for whatever we want, even though You know exactly what we need.  Thank You for giving us so many examples in our bible of people coming to You in prayer.  And thank You most of all when You always listen to our prayer.  We put all our trust in You, Father, knowing You can do anything You will.  Forgive us, please, when we ask for things we don’t need, but only want selfishly.  Remind us that You meet all our needs.

Please hear us now, Father, as we pause for just a moment so that each of us can speak to You through Your Spirit within us, promising to be more obedient to Your and our Lord’s commands, and seeking Your help to do so…

Lord Jesus, thank You for showing us how important it is for us to spend time with our Father God in prayer.  You showed this by Your own example, often going off to pray, getting away from distractions to talk with Your Father.  You set the bar for us, and we thank You.

Please help us be a better witness for You, Jesus - of Your teachings, of Your mighty deeds, and of Your love.  Please help us love in the same way that You love: selflessly, unconditionally, sacrificially.  Help us show Your love and God’s love as we reach out to others, sharing the wonderful Gospel message.  Help us carry out the mission You gave us, seeking the lost sheep and leading them to You.

Holy Spirit, please shield our minds and our hearts from Satan’s lies and the world’s empty promises.  Guide us around all the devil’s traps and snares.  Help us see though his temptations.  Help us keep our focus on the things of heaven and the needs of others rather than on anything this world might offer.  All this we pray in the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord.  Amen.