Persistence & Prayer

Pretty found me after the last church service on our fall trip in 2024. Our hearts had connected, especially through the vulnerable and brave sharing of her story in the restaurant to our very large team of about 14. She wanted me to meet her daughter after church and then humbly pleaded for school fees for her then 14 year-old to be able to go to school. When extra money came in for the ministry, I reminded Pastor Brian that the daughter was waiting to be able to receive an education.

Many children in Uganda start and stop, start and stop, start and stop with school due to lack of school fees. Pretty’s daughter, Rautha, is doing wonderful. Pastor Brian expects her to be a doctor. Recently through ministry donation, she was also able to receive glasses after a thorough eye exam. I had the privilege of baptizing her in the fall of 2025!

I’ve just been thinking about that persistent widow in the New Testament, who kept pleading her request before the judge until he got tired of listening to her and granted her wish (Luke 18). The Hebrew word for that type of persistence is chutzpah. It’s an attractive quality to the Father. Pretty has chutzpah, and I want to practice that type of persistence in my prayer life.

Happy Mother’s Day to all biological mothers, spiritual mothers, want-to-be mothers, and all those in between. May God give each of you the desires of your heart through persistence and prayer.