The following is an excerpt from our daily devotional Fellowship With the Father, written by IFA contributing writer Remco Brommet.

Does God want us to nag Him for answers to our requests? That is a question I started asking myself this past week, as I thought about the overwhelming needs in our country.

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Have you taken your place on the wall?

The answer may surprise you. In several instances we are not just invited, but encouraged, to nag. Of course, the Bible doesn’t use that word. It uses more powerful and positive words like “persist” and “strive.” Here are some examples:

I appeal to you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to God on my behalf, that I may be delivered from the unbelievers in Judea, and that my service for Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints, so that by God’s will I may come to you with joy and be refreshed in your company (Romans 15:30–32).

On your walls, O Jerusalem, I have set watchmen; all the day and all the night they shall never be silent. You who put the LORD in remembrance, take no rest, and give Him no rest until He establishes Jerusalem and makes it a praise in the earth (Isaiah 62:6–7).

Strive, take no rest, give Him no rest, until … obstacles have been removed (Romans 15:31), God’s will is done (Romans 15:32), His work has been established, and He has been glorified (Isaiah 62:7).

Jesus confirms this notion in Luke 18 through the parable of the persistent widow. You remember — the widow who kept nagging a corrupt judge day and night until he gave her justice. This is what Jesus says at the end, in verses 7 and 8: “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?”

Hmm … Jesus is confirming that the elect — those who have been born again into the Kingdom of God (you and me) — will and may cry out to God day and night to overcome obstacles, meet needs, and advance His kingdom through suffering and adversity.

Here are a couple more observations from these texts:

• We may persist and strive in prayer, but from a place of neediness and helplessness, not to manipulate and get our way. The prayers we strive in are that God’s will would be done and that His plans would be established, and so we must know what His will is.
• Striving in prayer is a form of “productive waiting.” Sometimes the answer to our prayers is not yet ready, and sometimes we are not ready for the answer. Just as God worked upstream and out of sight to stem the flow of water as the people of Israel were waiting to cross the river Jordan, He may be working “upstream and out of sight” to prepare an answer that will come to you in His time. And like the people of Israel were waiting productively by praying, purifying, and preparing themselves for a crossing, your persistent prayer ensures that you keep your eyes on the Lord and prepare your heart to receive His answer.
• Striving in prayer is a test of faith, as Jesus implies in Luke 18:7. It strengthens your faith through waiting, deepens your desire to see God move, and intensifies your enjoyment at the answer when it finally comes, just like a long-awaited package delayed in the mail. And your delight glorifies God. He delights in your delight!

Today’s Prayer Assignment

I encourage you to put “striving in prayer” to the test. Perhaps even fast a meal to give greater focus and intensity to the desire you express in your prayers.

Identify an urgent need in your life, in a friend’s or a loved one’s life, or perhaps an initiative in your church or a particular situation in our nation that touches your heart.

Then seek God’s guidance on how to pray into that need or situation and keep bringing that before Him throughout the day and during your fast, whenever you can, until you sense that the burden to pray is lifted and you receive a sense of peace in your spirit that God has heard and answered. Be prepared, though: The urge to keep striving may last more than a day. In that case, don’t stop!

Download this entire series in a PDF format.

Are you “striving in prayer”? Share your thoughts on this article in the comments below.

Remco Brommet is a pastor, spiritual-growth teacher, and prayer leader with over 40 years of experience in Europe, Southeast Asia, Africa, and the U.S. He was born and raised in the Netherlands and pastored his first church in Amsterdam. He moved to the U.S. in 1986. He and his wife, Jennifer, live north of Atlanta. When not writing books, he blogs at www.deeperlifeblog.com and assists his wife as a content developer and prayer coordinator for True Identity Ministries. Jennifer and Remco are passionate about bringing people into a deeper relationship with Christ. Photo Credit: zbindere/Getty Images Signature via Canva Pro.