Are You Nagging God with Your Prayers?
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Do you struggle to pray while in a season of waiting? Do you ever feel as though you're nagging God with your requests? If so, today's post is for you!
I am so blessed to be able to introduce you to guest poster Katie Beth from Our Seasons of Grace! Katie has graciously agreed to write today's post, and I am so glad to have her here at the Hallway Initiative.
While You Are Waiting - Katie Beth
When I was much younger waiting for something, I learned to not nag to my parents. Instead of annoying my mother with persistent questions or requests, I was quick to be quiet and instead, wait. I clearly remember a time when my mother became very annoyed with my requests and lost patience with me. I was quick to please so I soon resolved I would not annoy her again with questions or requests. Nowadays, I am sure I take that to the extreme and don’t ask at all because I don’t want to be seen as a nag.
This behaviour often tends to seep into my prayer life. I have found I will pray a prayer once, and that’s it. I don’t want God to think I’m being a nag with my prayers. Even when I want something so badly, I often feel like I'd just be annoying God with my requests.
But guess what? Guess what I am slowly learning when praying to our Heavenly Father?
When we approach our Heavenly Father, we are not nagging or annoying. When we have prayer needs, we are not nags.
God wants to hear our requests. And He wants us to keep asking.
A couple of months ago, I was privileged with the opportunity to attend the True Woman conference. Talk about being convicted and encouraged! The overall theme was Crying Out to God. In one particular session, Janet Parshall talked about the widow in the book of Luke who approached a judge everyday while waiting for his answer. Since then, prayer has been on my mind more than usual.
The widow is an example for us: she always asks and she never gives up. Every day she approaches the judge. And every one of those days, she pleads for mercy. She doesn’t hesitate to go to the judge. She doesn't go to him one day and then stop because she's concerned that she'll be a nagger. She persists.
God still hears our prayers even if we pray them once. But we can look to the widow and be encouraged to approach God every day without being a nag.
The beginning of this passage in Luke 18 even says, ‘Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and never give up’ (NIV). Jesus may have been talking to his disciples at that time, but I am confident we can use this advice as well:
We should always pray and never give up praying.
The apostle Paul is another example on how we should pray. On numerous occasions Paul talks about praying continuously. In almost every letter he wrote to a church, he said he was praying ‘always’, and 'continuously' for them.
Other verses by Paul tell us to ‘be constant in prayer’ (Romans 12:12); ‘in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be known’ (Philippians 4:6) and ‘pray without ceasing’ (1 Thessalonians 5:17).
These verses give me assurance that I am not a ‘nag’ to God. And I hope they give you assurance as well. We can take these verses and pray confidently every day knowing God wants to hear from us. God doesn't see me as a nag, nor does He see you as a nag.
Just like we all should be, I need God’s direction in my life. Each day I am asking God to reveal His plan, to lead me in His direction. While I am waiting, I am going to keep asking. While you are waiting, know you can keep coming to God.
Katie Beth is a daughter of the King, writer, housekeeper, and student in Australia. She is learning to find contentment in her singleness by leaning on the Lord's strength and trusting Him with His plan for her life. She blogs at Our Seasons of Grace, where she shares about recognizing God's grace in our lives. You can find her on Facebook and Twitter.
Related: Are you waiting well?
