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Maybe it's a product of modern life. The world comes at us faster than ever.
A steady stream of data bombards our senses. A crisis comes up, we think about it for a nanosecond, then we move on. We have to. The world doesn't slow down for anybody.
But the upshot is that our attention spans are often too short for 100-to-1 prayer. God cannot answer if not even God can tell what we really want.
Have you ever walked with a child through a toy store, or (worse yet) the cereal aisle? "Can I have this? I want that! Can I have both? Oooh, I've never had one of these! Look at that one! What does this one do?"
Maybe the difference between adults and children is the size of their cereal aisle. "I need a new car... I need a new spouse... I need the light to stay yellow... I need to feel your presence, God... I need to find my other shoe!"
How is God supposed to know what you really want?
Are you willing to pray one prayer 100 times? Can you focus on something long enough to let God know this is more than a cereal aisle infatuation?
Jesus told a story about a corrupt politician who was pestered by a persistent widow. In those days women had very few legal rights. This woman had no lawyer, no connections, no power of her own, but she did have persistence. She came again and again, asking the same thing over and over.
Eventually the politician got tired of listening to her pleas. She didn't persuade him to do what was right--she just wore him out. Do you suppose she had to come 100 times before he said, "I can't take it anymore! Give her whatever she wants!"
Jesus said, "Listen to that unrighteous man! If a rotten politician will answer the pleas of a helpless woman, how much more will your loving heavenly Father answer your prayers?" Will it take 100 times for God to be sure what you really want?
I confess, that kind of courage does not come naturally to me. I cry out to God once or twice and if nothing happens, I assume the situation is hopeless. I stop praying and start pouting. That is human nature. Praying with 100-to-1 faith is not natural--it's supernatural.
That's the first lesson of faithful prayer. It is not like striking a bargain or signing a contract. It is a journey into supernatural power. It is a journey of spiritual courage.
So when you pray with faith, the first thing that changes is you. Instead of a kid in a cereal aisle, you learn to focus your prayer like a warrior. You can pray 100 times, confident that God only needs to say, "Yes!" once.
So think about the roadblocks in your life. Make a list of all you unanswered prayers. How many are there? Can you begin to focus your attention on one important prayer above all others? Can you begin to pray for that desire 100 times?
Be honest with yourself. Have you really called out one soul-felt prayer, every day, for three months or more, with no reply whatsoever? Have you really let God know what you need?
Be well assured of this: God can answer any prayer you bring... but not even God can answer our needs when we ourselves are not sure what we want.
