The Courage To Persevere

“Don’t be impatient. Wait for the Lord, and he will come and save you! Be brave, stouthearted, and courageous. Yes, wait and he will help you.” Psalm 27:14 (TLB)

If you want God to do great and mighty things in your life, you will first have to believe that God is hearing your prayers and that He is able. It takes courage to have mountain moving faith like this. And it is courage that gives you the ability to continue to walk by faith and not by sight, when nothing seems to be changing in your circumstances. 

When life feels overwhelming, we need courage to keep persevering.

I, myself, have been praying consistently for several things, but have yet to see God move on my behalf. One of these things is my health and the chronic pain and fatigue I live with. Because of my inability to live an active life, my struggles with these conditions then turns into an emotional battle as I have to also fight off depression. Some days a dark cloud comes over my mind, thoughts, and heart, trying to prevent me from connecting with God and others. At these times, my life feels overbearing, and it is courage that I need to persevere.

For almost ten years I have pleaded with the Lord to heal me, asking Him daily for my healing. I have also had (many) others pray over me. Although I am very grateful for the slight healing I’ve seen, I’m still waiting on God to heal me completely (this side of heaven).

Many of us have things in our lives that we are leaning on God to help us with. It can be difficult to believe He is truly hearing our prayers when there’s no shift in our situation. Nothing tests our faith more than waiting on God to answer our prayers. I’m grateful that Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it would move. Nothing would be impossible” (Matthew 17:20) We don’t need a lot of courage to believe, we simply need a teeny bit. I find this so encouraging, especially when I’m weary.

So, how do we muster up the strength to persevere, day after day, when we don’t see our prayers being answered? It’s actually very simple; just pray. 

The courage to persevere comes from asking God to give you the courage.

Here’s a prayer of mine to ask God for the courage to persevere. May it be an encouragement to you.

Dear Lord, I come humbly before You, admitting I am weak. And yet I know that Your power works best in my weakness and Your grace is all I need (2 Corinthians 12:9-11). I need more courage Father. Please give me the courage to believe that nothing is impossible for You. I need more of Jesus in my heart (John 3:30). Help me Lord. Help me to have a childlike faith, knowing that You are my Abba Daddy, and that You genuinely care for every need I have.

Lord, give me the courage to believe in the good plans that You have for me and for my loved ones.

Help me to be bold in my faith knowing that You have begun a good work in me and that You will bring it to completion (Philippians 1:6).

Give me the courage to know who I am in Christ and that I am Your beloved. The world we are living in is full of uncertainties and the insecurities I wrestle with can be so strong. Your Holy Spirit in me is stronger.

May I always ask for Your aide when I feel weak. Father I ask that You would help me today. Help me to be strong and courageous to do the kingdom work You have for me. Give me Your wisdom daily Lord, to know that You are with me every step of the way and that You will not fail me or forsake me. Father, I want to be a mighty warrior for Your kingdom here on earth, but I can’t do it without You.

Give me the courage to continue to walk by faith, believing with all my heart that I will reach the place You have promised me (Genesis 22:9).

My desire is to be completely healed, mind, body and Spirit, this side of Heaven. Give me the courage I need for the journey ahead of me to believe and pray, by faith, that You hear my prayers.

I pray all of this in Your most holy and powerful name, Jesus Christ.

Dear friends, let’s keep pushing through, walking by faith. God is with us, even when He seems quiet, and prayers aren’t being answered. One day He will wipe away all our tears, and there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying, nor pain (Revelations 21:4), but until that day, we must persevere courageously.

“Then David continued, “Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Don’t be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you. He will see to it that all the work related to the Temple of the Lord is finished correctly.” ~ 1 Chronicles 28:20

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