Recently, in a time of prayer, I found myself very low in the hope department. The Lord spoke something to me that I want to share. It applies to my prayers and yours, whether for this nation, the church, or personal issues. I felt His still, small voice whisper, “Get desperate.”

Turning to my Bible, I found instant refreshment—an immediate lesson. A vital ingredient of answered prayers and miracles in the Bible is desperation.

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Desperation, defined as being without any sense of hope, drives individuals to do anything to change their dire circumstances. With all the odds stacked against them, a person in such a situation will do anything to change. Consider these men and women of God as examples. 

Desperate in Sickness

But as He went, the multitudes thronged Him. Now, a woman, having a flow of blood for twelve years, who had spent all her livelihood on physicians and could not be healed by any, came from behind and touched the border of His garment. And immediately, her flow of blood stopped. And Jesus said, “Who touched Me?” When all denied it, Peter] and those with him said, “Master, the multitudes throng and press You, and You say, ‘Who touched Me?’ ” But Jesus said, “Somebody touched Me, for I perceived power going out from Me.” Now, when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling, and falling down before Him, she declared to Him in the presence of all the people the reason she had touched Him and how she was healed immediately. And He said to her, “Daughter, be of good cheer; your faith has made you well. Go in peace.” (Luke 8:42-48).

This woman had spent her livelihood and finances looking for a cure for her disease. This wasn’t just any disease; it was a blood issue. According to Levitical law, she was considered unclean and not allowed to have contact with people, and could not even enter the temple area for religious purposes (see Leviticus 15:25-27). Can you, for a moment, imagine her pain, frustration, and loneliness? She sees a massive crowd following a man who is said to heal the sick, give sight to the blind, and raise the dead (which He was on His way to do before He encountered her). Could this be the long-awaited Messiah? This was her last shot; she had tried everything else. In desperation, she presses her way through the crowd. She finally gets close enough to touch the Master but can only reach the fringe of His garment. As she grabs hold, her faith makes a demand, and she receives her healing. She feels it instantly, and so does Jesus. 

Many would have scolded her for this seemingly selfish action. Jewish law clearly stated that contact with her would make others unclean. But she had a desperate faith and she received a miracle.

Desperate in Grief

This is not the first time we find a connection between desperation and faith. Matthew chapter 9 briefly mentions the woman with the issue of blood. Before that, we find out there’s a ruler whose daughter has died, but He sends word for Jesus anyway.

While He spoke these things to them, behold, a ruler came and worshiped Him, saying, “My daughter has just died, but come and lay Your hand on her, and she will live.”  So Jesus arose and followed him, and so did His disciples (Matthew 9:18, 19).

This is an impossible circumstance. Jairus knew his daughter had no hope for survival unless a miracle happened. Do you ever wonder what made Jairus ask for Jesus? Perhaps he had heard about Jesus raising from the dead the only son of a widow in Nain (see Luke 7:11-17). I can easily imagine as Jairus saw his daughter growing worse, he remembered about this man who touched the coffin of a dead man and spoke, “Young man, I say to you, get up!” I can imagine Jairus’ desperate faith rising and I can imagine the response of  the friends and family who came to mourn his daughter. The Bible tells us that when Jesus told them not to weep because she was only sleeping, they scoffed and ridiculed Him. Jairus received the answer to his desperate request; the Messiah went to Him, and His daughter lived just as Jesus said.

Desperate in Barrenness

Hannah was a desperate woman. In her barrenness, she was tormented by Peninah’s taunting. Her pain, grief, and desire drove her to pray. The Lord heard, answered, and gave her a son (see 1 Samuel 1: 1-28). But Sarai handled it differently. Her husband Abram was promised to be a father of many nations. She was promised to bear a son in her old age, but after many years of failing to conceive, that promise now looked bleak. Sarai was desperate, took matters into her own hands, and gave her servant Hagar to Abraham as a wife, bearing him Ishmael (see Genesis 16:1-6). This choice led to strife and consequences the world still experiences today.

Desperate Kings

Two kings in the Bible sinned against God. David repented and in desperation cried out to the Lord. Although he sinned, he knew without the presence of the Lord, he was nothing. He prioritized worship. King Saul, however, sinned without repentance. His heart was hardened. Yet his life was marked by desperation. In a final act of desperation, he sought out a medium to raise the prophet Samuel, and it cost him his life.  

Desperation can drive us into the Presence of the Lord. Or we can let the pressure cause us to take matters into our own hands, which never ends well, and often makes things worse. God doesn’t need our help as much as we tend to think He does. 

How desperate are you? 

How desperate are you to see that prayer come to pass or to see the fulfillment of what God has promised you? Are you still praying for that loved one to surrender to Jesus, or have you waited so long your prayers have become indifferent? You may be beginning to question the promise altogether. How desperate are your prayers to see God bring a revival in your city? How desperate are you to see Him do what only He can do in this nation? Only He can do it. We can and should pray and intercede, but only He can turn the hearts of man. Only He can save and deliver. It’s time for the church to get desperate again. Even though the odds might be stacked against us as believers if God is for us, who can be against us?

Desperate people are persistent people.

Two blind men refused to stay silent even when people told them to. They might not have been able to see Jesus physically, but when they heard he was passing through, they saw with eyes of faith. They cried aloud, and it got the Lord’s attention, and they received their sight (see Matthew 20: 29-34). A persistent person does not give up easily. Think about the persistent widow who showed up to see the unjust judge. She was desperate for justice and demanded it until she got her request. 

And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart. He said, “In a certain city, there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected man. And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’ For a while, he refused, but afterward, he said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear God nor respect man, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.’” And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge says. And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them? I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth? (Luke 18:1-8 ESV). 

This parable shows us that we must continue to pray. He hears us crying out day and night. He sees and knows everything about us, even our motives. Be persistent in your prayers like that widow. When God answers, it’s about His goodness, not ours. He is righteous, unlike the judge who was called unjust. Will He find us praying with faith? This is what He is looking for.

If you have been disheartened, it’s a good time to pray.

Father,

We come before you and confess our need of you. Forgive us for letting ourselves be distracted by what we see happening around us. Give us eyes of faith to know what You are doing so that our prayers rightly align with you. We are not satisfied with the way things are, and we turn our discontent into a holy desperation for You to do what only You can do. Lord, heal our land, deliver this nation, and turn the church back to her first love. We know that without You, we are a people and nation without hope, but You have not abandoned us. We have Jesus Christ the hope of glory. Stir our hearts to believe again for the impossible. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. So, we are confident, not in ourselves, but in the Lord.  If you’ve done it before, You can do it again. In Jesus name, Amen.

What are you desperate to see God do in this nation? 

IFA contributing writer Gloria Robles is a passionate intercessor with a prophetic voice for today. For more from Gloria, go to Spotify or Anchor and listen to her podcast. Photo credit: simonapilollatnf Canva Pro.