Why Persistent Prayer Isn’t Annoying to God—It’s an Act of Faith
It’s summer break, y’all. PTL.
The time all of us teachers and students have been counting down to since Spring Break—or let’s be honest, since the first day of school for some of us.
I love all things summer. I love slower mornings curled up in the chair with my coffee and my babies. I love later evenings outside in the yard grilling hot dogs. I love tan skin and sticky popsicle hands. I love pool days and family beach vacations. I love Friday mornings at the splash pad and Saturday afternoons at the park.
The smells, the sounds, the feelings—it’s all medicine to my weary soul. A breath of fresh air. A gift from the Lord.
But there is one thing about summer that tests my religion—or my “G,” however your personality leans—every single year: the nagging voice of a child calling my name one thousand times a day.
I hear this all school year too. One hundred-plus 12-year-olds saying, “Mrs. Wilson!” incessantly for 7.5 hours Monday through Friday. It is my pet peeve, y’all.
As a matter of fact, after my first year of teaching, I made it a rule in my classroom—one I go over every first day of school: Do not call out my name unless there is blood, vomit, or imminent death. Raise your hand and wait patiently. This rule brought peace to the room, sanity to my mind, and order to the chaos. Easily top five best decisions I’ve made as a teacher.
But at home? That control disappears.
Why Don’t They Give Up?
Most days I can manage my classroom better than my own children. Why is that?
From the moment they wake up until their precious little eyelids shut at night, they never stop asking for something.
And before you suggest a summer schedule—trust me. From a type-A over-planner: we have routines. But it doesn’t change their undying need to incessantly ask me for something every ten minutes.
Mama, hold me.
Mama, can I watch TV?
Mama, I need to go potty.
Mama, I want a snack.
Mama, my sister looked at me!
Mama… Mama… Mama…
All. Day. Long.
But you know what I’ve realized? They ask unashamedly.
They don’t stop. They don’t give up. They are persistent.
No matter how annoyed I clearly am. No matter how many sighs I let out. No matter how many times I say “maybe later”—they just keep asking.
I found myself wondering: Why don’t they just give up eventually? Don’t they get tired of asking?
And the answer is no. They don’t. Because they know I love them.
I am their safe space when they are tired. I am their haven when they are scared. I am their provider when they feel like their needs aren’t met. And they trust that—even if I huff and puff—I will give them what they need. Because I am their Mama. And they are my babies.
🙏 Pray Like You Mean It
This realization left me convicted—first as a mom who sometimes takes those little requests for granted (what a gift it is to be needed so boldly!). But also as a child of God who is far less persistent in prayer.
Jesus actually encourages us to pray like this.
Not disrespectfully, but persistently. Boldly. Repeatedly. Faithfully.
He doesn’t get annoyed. He doesn’t shut us down. He tells us to keep praying.
📖 Let’s Look at the Word
If you have a Bible and I hope you do, turn with me to Luke 18, Jesus tells a story about a widow who won’t stop asking a judge for justice. She has no power, no influence, no bribes to offer—just persistence. Day after day, she pleads her case.
Eventually, the judge gives in—not because he’s just, but because he’s tired of being worn down.
Jesus says:
“If even that guy gives in, how much more will your heavenly Father respond to His children who cry out to Him day and night?”
In Luke 11, He tells another story about a man knocking on his friend’s door at midnight for bread. The friend doesn’t want to get up. But the man keeps knocking, keeps asking. Eventually, the door opens—not out of kindness, but because of his boldness.
Then Jesus says:
“Ask, and it will be given to you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and it will be opened to you.”
(Luke 11:9)
In the original Greek, these verbs are present tense:
Keep on asking. Keep on seeking. Keep on knocking.
And don’t forget Hannah in 1 Samuel 1:10–20. She persistently, tearfully prays for a child. And God answers—giving her Samuel.
Jesus isn’t annoyed by persistent prayer. He welcomes it.
💭 What If God’s Just Waiting on You to Ask?
Here’s the part that hit me like a ton of bricks:
Sometimes we miss out on blessings simply because we stop asking.
In 2 Samuel 12, God sends Nathan to confront David for his sin with Bathsheba. In the middle of the rebuke, God says:
“And if this were too little, I would add to you as much more.”
— 2 Samuel 12:8
God had given David so much—his position, his power, his kingdom.
And He essentially says, “David, if that wasn’t enough, you could’ve just asked.”
What if we don’t have peace, clarity, or breakthrough—not because God is holding out, but because we stopped praying like we believe He’s able?
James says it bluntly:
“You do not have because you do not ask.”
— James 4:2
What need do you have that you’ve failed to ask God to fulfill?
⏳ Don’t Mistake Silence for Absence
I often assume God’s “no” when I don’t get a response. But sometimes, silence is a setup.
In Daniel 10, Daniel fasts and prays for 21 days. Finally, an angel arrives and says:
“From the first day that you set your heart to understand… your words have been heard.”
— Daniel 10:12
God heard him the first day—but there was spiritual warfare causing the delay.
Just because you can’t see it yet doesn’t mean God isn’t already working.
“I waited patiently for the Lord; He inclined to me and heard my cry.”
— Psalm 40:1
What have you stopped asking God for because you doubted His faithfulness in the waiting?
🧒 Come Like a Child—Again and Again
As I wrestled with my kids’ persistence this week, I remembered:
God is a perfect heavenly Father. I am a flawed earthly mother.
Jesus tells us to pray like children—full of faith, without shame.
“Unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”
— Matthew 18:3
“You have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, ‘Abba! Father!’”
— Romans 8:15
You’re not bothering God when you pray again.
You’re showing that you believe He hears you.
And spoiler alert: He already knows what you need before you say it. So bring it anyway.
What haven’t you asked God for because you didn’t want to “bother” Him?
🎁 A Good Father Gives Good Gifts
Even on my best day, I’m still a flawed mom. But God? He’s a perfect Father.
Jesus reminds us of this in Luke 11:11–13:
“What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”
If your child asks for a sandwich, you’re not handing them a venomous snake.
If they ask for a snack, you’re not throwing them a scorpion.
And Jesus says:
“If even you know how to give good gifts… how much more generous is your Father in heaven?”
So don’t stop asking because you think God might give you something bad.
Don’t stop asking because you think He’s indifferent.
He’s better than you think—and He gives better than you expect.
📌 Pin This Thought:
“Persistent prayer is not about changing God’s mind—it’s about expressing the trust of a child who knows their Father is good.”
💬 What Did You Stop Praying For?
What’s the thing in your life that you gave up praying for?
Maybe today is the day to start again.
Don’t be ashamed to ask again. And again.
God isn’t tired of hearing your voice.
You’re not “nagging” Him—you’re trusting Him.
What have you stopped praying for because it didn’t happen fast enough?
And what would it look like to bring it back to God again today?
💗 Remember Whose You Are
God loves and cares for you more than anyone else ever could.
He is your safe space when you’re tired and weary.
He is your haven when you’re scared.
He is your provider when your needs feel unmet.
And He will give you what you need—when you need it—because He is good.
We need only to ask.
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