Persistence in Prayer

This morning we were led in devotions by Christine from Matthew 15:21-28 about the Canaanite woman who persisted in asking Jesus to heal her daughter. We discussed what faith is and how long we are to persist in asking God for things.

I was very convicted that because so many things in my life have come easily to me, I'm not good at persisting in prayer for the things that do not come easily. The example that came to my mind during our devotions was our friend Lyla and the people with leprosy. (Lyla and the Lepers would be a good band name if it weren't politically incorrect.) I've been really blessed at Lyla's persistence in seeking medicine for our friends living with leprosy in Sudan. Leprosy, which most people have heard of, is a disease that has been totally wiped out in the Western world because medicine exists to treat it (much like malaria, another disease that kills millions in Africa each year). The medicine for leprosy is available for free, but due to many logistical, political, and religious factors, the people in Mogiri have not had this medicine for many, many years. When Lyla first met them in late 2006, she was so affected by this situation that she's spent the last two years emailing, calling, and visiting anyone she hears of who might have information or be able to help. I'm sure she must have been frustrated at times, or ready to give up, but she hasn't.

I shudder to think of the things that I treat lightly because they don't come easily to me. I should learn from the many times in the Gospels that Jesus tells parables about people persisting in their requests.

In the practical world, we've been waiting around here in Kampala, hanging out with the kids, checking things off of lists, and packing and repacking the supplies that we brought over. Tonight will be a night to play and watch movies with the kids, since they don't have school tomorrow. We are going to be blessed by a party with our friends here in Kampala tomorrow evening, so Lewis is preparing to share a little message and we're debating if or which song we will be singing. I'll try to update one last time before we go up to Adjumani with spotty email access.

Blessings to all of you.