In this compelling episode, Pastor Jack Hibbs takes us on a journey through scripture, highlighting the virtue of persistence in prayer. Illustrating with biblical examples from Abraham to Elijah, Pastor Jack emphasizes that God’s provision sometimes arrives through the most unexpected means. This episode encourages believers to hold firm in faith, even when answers seem delayed, and to trust in God’s abundant supply as He molds us in our walk with Him.
00:00:00 Opening Thoughts on Faith and Persistence
00:02:35 Introduction to Parable of Persistent Prayer
Are you willing to live your life in such a way that it winds up leading your godless, unbelieving neighbor into a forever loving, Christ-worshipping heaven? You see? Oh God, make us persistent in prayer.
SPEAKER 02 :
This is Real Life. Welcome to Real Life Radio with Pastor Jack Hibbs. I’m David Jay, thanking you for joining us today as we listen, learn, and are challenged by God’s Word, the Bible. Did you know there’s an easy way to stay informed on the latest biblical events shaping our world today? Check out the Happening Now section at jackhibbs.com. Now, these live events feature Pastor Jack Hibbs alongside special guests diving into current events, cultural shifts, and how they align with biblical prophecy. It’s a unique blend of Bible teaching and real-time analysis that helps you make sense of today’s headlines through the lens of Scripture. Happening Now is not just about information. It’s about equipping you with the truth and encouraging you to stand firm in your faith, no matter what’s happening around you. These discussions are eye-opening, they’re thought-provoking, and they’re a great way to stay spiritually grounded in a rapidly changing world. Whether you watch live or catch up on past events, Happening Now will help keep you connected to God’s Word and what’s going on in the world today. Visit jackhibbs.com and click on Happening Now. Don’t just watch the news. Understand it from a biblical perspective. on today’s edition of Real Life Radio. Pastor Jack continues now with his series called The Parables of Jesus and a message titled Parable of Persistent Prayer. You know, whenever Jesus spoke to the crowds, he often spoke in parables, the truth of God’s Word in a story form or common pictures related to whatever time we live in. In this parable, Jesus is sitting in a boat by the shore of Galilee. And you see, the key to understanding the Bible is in the light of whatever the chapter or context it’s found in. In this case, the disciples are asking Jesus, how should we pray? So Jesus is sitting down as a prophet sits to teach them to pray. So today, Pastor Jack teaches that sometimes God allows us to wait for the answer to our prayers. But in the face of need, God, he’s generous and his supply is always more than enough. Now with his message called Parable of Persistent Prayer, here’s pastor and Bible teacher Jack Hibbs.
SPEAKER 05 :
Psalm 100, verse 4 and 5. This is cool. I think this is wonderful. How should we enter prayer? Enter into his gates with thanksgiving and into his courts with praise. Be thankful to him. Bless his name for the Lord is good. His mercy endures everlasting and his truth endures to all generations. You are to come into the presence of God. Yes, Lord. Hey, yes.
SPEAKER 04 :
Praise the Lord. Can you imagine? In Israel, the Ark of the Covenant, they had worshipers out in front of the Ark of the Covenant praising the Lord.
SPEAKER 05 :
Listen, Israel sometimes had battles and God said, put the worship team in front and put the soldiers in the back. Who goes to war like that? Drummers, singers, bass players, get out there.
SPEAKER 04 :
Isn’t that amazing? You’re to enter into this court with praise.
SPEAKER 05 :
Father, thank you, God. Your ear is always attentive to my cry. It’s amazing that you’re waiting to hear from me, Lord. It’s amazing. Lord God, with all of your desire to work in my life today, I ask you to do your will. If I try to impose my will on the day, ignore me. Change it. Your will be done. Don’t let me get in the way, God. Don’t let me get my fingerprints on anything. Your fingerprints on everything. So Lord, here’s the day. I give it to you. It’s all yours. And whatever happens… You’re responsible for it. In Jesus’ name, amen.
SPEAKER 04 :
And you get up and you go and you praise the Lord.
SPEAKER 05 :
Philippians 4, 6 is the New Testament counterpart to Psalm 100. Be anxious for nothing. Wow. Listen, pastor, say that again. Be anxious for nothing. Amen. That’ll bring joy, huh? But in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God, and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Man, that will whip fear. Third, persistent prayer in the face of waiting. Verse 8, I say to you, though, he will not rise and give to him because he is a friend. Notice this. Look, we’re friends. I got bread. You’ve got the need. I’m not getting out of bed because of that. Be hungry till the morning. Tell your friend to wait. We’ll be friends in the morning. I’ll take care of it then. That’s what he’s saying. Yet, because of his persistence, he will rise. Why? Because remember, the family name cannot be shamed in the village. All right. And opens the door and here you go. Get out of here. The guy goes back to bed. He saved his village, he saved his home, he saved his name. The guy got what he wanted and went back home to feed his buddy. Everybody wins. Jesus is teaching by contrast saying, God’s not like that. If you can be persistent at your neighbor’s door, then why can’t you be persistent at God’s door? And expect not only an answer, but be happy about the answer he gives you. It’s gonna be the right answer. I prayed to God and I got this answer from God, and I think it was the wrong answer. Hey, you never say it like that, but that’s what you’re thinking. He doesn’t give the wrong answer. Never. This word persistence, some of the margins in your Bible have the word shamelessness or shameless. To ask shamelessly. It means, watch, this is beautiful. It means the person asking is shameless. Listen to this. The word means shameless tenacity. Shameless stubbornness.
SPEAKER 04 :
They won’t go away. And now this guy on the inside, the same word applies to him.
SPEAKER 03 :
Family name. Everybody knows us. It’s our culture to do this. Oh, I gotta get up.
SPEAKER 04 :
Both are persistent. Isn’t that neat? Isn’t that amazing?
SPEAKER 05 :
Psalm 27, 14 says, wait on the Lord. Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart. Wait, I say, on the Lord. Wow. Wait like this. I’m gonna go through this very quickly. It won’t be on the screens, so write fast. Genesis 18, and a great example of waiting in prayer upon the Lord is, Abraham’s persistence with God at Sodom and Gomorrah is amazing. Genesis 32, Jacob’s persistence in wrestling with God. He said to the angel of the Lord, which was none other than a Theophanes, he said, I’m not gonna let you go until you bless me. And the angel turns and says, you have wrestled with God and you have prevailed. Your name is no longer Jacob, but Israel. Moses, persistent intercession for Israel in Exodus 32. It’s awesome. Will not relent to stand and represent Israel to the Lord. Hannah, in her persistence to ask God for a son, 1 Samuel 1. God, give me a baby, give me a baby, give me a baby. Elijah, in his persistence in 1 Kings 18, asking for rain. It’s amazing. You can go on and on throughout the Bible. Keep praying until you get the answer. Please understand what I’m saying. Don’t keep praying until you hear the yes. Don’t keep praying until you hear the no. Keep praying until you hear the answer. And when you get the answer, Christian, remember, you’re supposed to be hip on discipleship and being a Christian and following Jesus. 101, discipleship. When God answers, that’s the answer. Why do I say it like this? Because Christians around the world, when they want something, they’ll go to a ministry or to a pastor or to somebody or to a friend and they’ll say, what do you think? Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And the person says, the Bible says you shouldn’t do that. And then they go off to the next pastor and they say, and the story changes just a little bit. And they go, look, it happens here every day. I’m serious. It happens at every church every day. People will come and try to sample opinions of people like God is into Gallup polls or something. And when the person finds someone, eight people can tell them, no, you shouldn’t be doing that, the Bible says. One person who doesn’t know their nose from their toe says, oh, whatever, you know. Whatever feels good, do it.
SPEAKER 04 :
Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord. oh, hallelujah, brother, the Lord spoke to me. This happens all the time.
SPEAKER 05 :
Emotionally based theology rather than biblically based theology.
SPEAKER 02 :
Not good. You’re listening to Real Life with Pastor Jack Hibbs. You know, to hear more episodes and maybe catch up in the series, just go to jackhibbs.com. That’s jackhibbs.com. And for now, let’s get back to our teaching. Once again, here’s Pastor Jack.
SPEAKER 05 :
Persistent prayer, verse five, in the face of need. Look at what it says in verse five. Give him as many as he needs. The man gets up and gives the guy three loaves of bread. You know what’s cool about this? As I said earlier, Matthew 6, verse eight, Matthew 6, eight says, therefore, do not be like them, for your father knows the things you have need of before you ask. Have you noticed that God never goes like this? He never goes, how much, what is it? All right, here you go. Don’t spend it all in one spot. Here’s some oxygen, don’t waste it. He’s always, he gives more. By the way, I think God gives more and he tests our hearts of what we will do with it. See, the man will give what the guy asked for. Doesn’t God always give pressed down, shaken together, shaken together, overflowing out of abundance and whatever it is, opportunity, whatever. It’s amazing. It’s amazing. God’s supply is always enough. But can I say this in closing? God’s supply is always enough. But sometimes it can be very painful, his supply. What if in your prayer and if in your need, God says, listen everyone, God says to you, God says to me, I know what you have need of before you ask, Jack. And so, this is my answer for you. For example, Jeremiah chapter 12. Jeremiah is crying out to God. The wicked are prospering. You’re blessing them. We’re losing. Evil’s advancing. We’re losing. The nation’s gone down the tubes. I mean, Jeremiah 12, it’s like reading today’s newspaper. And he’s whining. And he’s praying. He’s praying to God. You know what God winds up saying to him? I think it’s, I don’t know, it’s around verse four or five. You can look at it later. Here’s God’s answer. And listen, sometimes God will answer you and I this way. Jeremiah, if you’ve walked with the footmen and they’ve wearied you, then what are you gonna do when the chariots arrive? If you’re having a hard time right now while it’s easy, what are you gonna do when the Jordan River overflows it? Jeremiah, suck it up. You’re whining now? You haven’t seen anything yet. I’m answering your prayer. You are praying for the nation, Jeremiah. Jeremiah. But I know what has to happen to get the nation to turn around. And so here’s what’s going to happen. The enemies are going to invade. And they are going to take over. And this nation is going to be brought into captivity by its enemies. I’ll still love you. I’m still on the throne, Jeremiah. You’re still my boy. But it’s going to get ugly. You are gonna be beaten within an inch of your life, thrown into a pit with a hole in the ceiling, in mud up to your armpits for days on end. In fact, you’re almost gonna die in there. I’m answering your request. Church, God has the sovereign right to do that to you and I anytime. He knows our need. We think we do, and so if I just get another scratch and sniff or whatever the lottery thing is, I don’t know, whatever play ball deal, and all my prayers will be answered. Are you kidding me? Well, you know, I’ve been praying, I haven’t gotten an answer. Well, it could be 35 years. Wait on the Lord in your need. Don’t panic, dear friend. Don’t panic, Christian. Man, I’m so lonely. You don’t know how lonely I am. That’s why he’s God. Look, you can be in a house full of people and be lonely. Don’t, don’t not wait on him for anything. His answer is coming His answer may completely change your life. The Christian must be open to his answer. We’ve watched so many friends suffer lately. And yet, God is answering prayers. What if to God it is a wise investment that when you and I pray like we do, oh God, draw me closer. I want to know you more. I want to be a real Christian that rocks the world for Jesus. I want to decrease so he increases. When I stand before you in the end, I don’t want to be ashamed. I want to have my life matter for you. Really? God says really. Well, that’s awesome. That’s awesome. The only way then that I can do that and you won’t go nuts about it and take all the credit is for me to do this to you now. That will prepare you for what’s going to come. Are you willing to live your life in such a way that it winds up leading your godless, unbelieving neighbor into a forever loving relationship Christ worshiping heaven. You see? Oh God, make us persistent in prayer. To enter into your courts with praise and thanksgiving and joy. And here’s where we land. Knowing that all things work together for good. to those who love God, to those who are called according to his purposes. See, all that negative stuff I said a second ago, true, but God will never let the defeat, apparent defeat, be greater than the victory and the glory. He won’t do that. He never runs in the deficit. He’s not a politician. He’s God. He’s God. Father, we thank you for your truth. We thank you, God, for your word. We thank you for your power. Heavenly Father, we ask in Jesus’ name on every one of our hearts right now as an issue, as a thing, and you’re speaking to us. We first of all ask you to forgive us, Lord, of our impetuous impatience. Forgive us, Lord, for Mixing up realities, we somehow have talked to you like you’re a big Santa Claus, too casually. In times, Lord, I’ve spoken to you as though there’s a 10-foot thick plexiglass wall, as though we were an ant. Lord, help us to come before you even tonight. In reality, you have invited us to call you Father. Your Son came from heaven to earth to teach us how to pray. You have invited us over and over again, call to me, come to me, cry out to me. You’ve even contrasted the obligation of a neighbor to a neighbor at the most inopportune moments, and then you come along and say, yeah, but your father’s not like that, so go after him. Your father’s not like that, so knock. Your father’s not like that, so seek him. Father, bless them now, we pray, and all God’s people said, amen.
SPEAKER 02 :
pastor and Bible teacher, Jack Hibbs, here on Real Life Radio with his message called Parable of Persistent Prayer. Thanks for being with us today. You know, this message is part of Pastor Jack’s new series called The Parables of Jesus, a series highlighting the teachings of Jesus while he was here on this earth. And we’ll continue on the next edition of Real Life Radio.
SPEAKER 01 :
So as you heard from our broadcast, Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. And if you’d like to know what a commitment to Christ can mean in your life personally, we would love to help you out with that. Go to jackhibbs.com slash know God. That’s K-N-O-W God. And there you’ll be guided through what a commitment to Christ can mean in your life and the freedom that you’ll find in knowing God. Don’t miss out. That’s the know God tab at jackhibbs.com.
SPEAKER 02 :
So today, Pastor Jack in the studio with me talking about the book of the month. Pastor Jack, we’ve got an oldie but a goodie, don’t we?
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah.
SPEAKER 02 :
This is a good one.
SPEAKER 05 :
It’s not only a good one. You know, we had this book featured, honestly, maybe 15, 20 years ago. This has sold over a million copies. And this is Gene Edwards’ book, The Tale of Three Kings. And it is a book not only that every Christian should read because it’s a heart check.
SPEAKER 02 :
Huh.
SPEAKER 05 :
It enables you to look at your own self. But it’s a book that I think every ministry should read. And it’s a book that I think everyone as believers ought to read it to find out that they have the right kind of a heart in life, in business, in church. And the three kings is King David, right?
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah.
SPEAKER 05 :
Can’t mention kings without thinking about King David. But then Saul, King Saul. And then Absalom. Wow. What’s the deal here? Well, where is your heart when it comes to these three people who had access, the right to be king?
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah.
SPEAKER 05 :
And the heart that governs is a heart that could be wonderful or not. So we need to be very, very careful.
SPEAKER 02 :
I really like that, well, the main theme is leadership. You know, not only congregation, but leadership in your family, your team maybe, the people you work with. What do you think is the biggest leadership challenge facing us in the church today? Yeah. And how might this book help?
SPEAKER 05 :
I mean, I hope I don’t sound too rough when I say I think there’s a leadership crisis within the church today, maybe more than ever.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah.
SPEAKER 05 :
Because there are those who are, I think, have in some ways become pulpiteers. In other words, that they’re more like performers. They come out, they do their thing, they leave. And on top of it, my goodness, how sad. You know, I just was at a conference recently where there was the pitch that you can now get a sermon with points and illustrations, a joke or two, and you can get it from AI in three minutes. Wow.
SPEAKER 02 :
No kidding.
SPEAKER 05 :
And when I hear such things like that, it actually physically makes me sick to my stomach that we’re trying to replace the Holy Spirit. Well, more than ever, it’s a time for leadership.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah.
SPEAKER 05 :
And that’s something that you’re not going to get out of AI. We need to be very careful about that. So when we talk about this book and this featured item, this resource, we’re talking about becoming introspective. Take a look at yourself. A lot of people are too cowardice to take a look at themselves. And that’s a sad, we live in a sad culture right now. that would you slow down enough, put your devices down to take a look on the inside? Are you actually being sincere about what you say you believe? Are you actually for real about what you’re doing? Or are you doing that for clicks? Are you doing it for likes? Why do you do what you do? This is a really good book to test our hearts.
SPEAKER 02 :
And you know what, Pastor Jack? I’ve dealt with some difficult folks in my life. A lot of us have.
SPEAKER 05 :
I’ve been that difficult person, it turns out, in other people’s lives.
SPEAKER 02 :
You know, it really does turn out that there’s no shortage of difficult people in this world. One of the great lessons in this book is how can we handle difficult people? For example, how David handled Saul’s attack, right? Yeah, I mean, come on. It boggles the mind. In that situation, I think that I might have acted quite a bit differently than David did.
SPEAKER 05 :
When David, imagine somebody cursing you, trying to kill you. Literally every day, the guy throws a spear. Can you imagine he throws a spear at your car or you open up your door at your house and there’s spears stuck in your door? Yeah. This is what Saul’s doing to David. And David winds up not only not attacking Saul back, David winds up protecting the office of king, even though he didn’t think much of Saul. But David was trying to win him over in love and by love. Tragically, ultimately, Saul… His heart? Well, read the book. You don’t want to have a heart like Saul. Yeah, this is a very, very important thing because in some ways it is putting your life under the microscope. But don’t worry. It’s you zooming in and zooming out. You can take a look at you against the scriptures and realize, what kind of a person am I? And you know, maybe people don’t want to get that personal with themselves. But if you’re serious about who you are and your relationship with others and with God, get a copy, A Tale of Three Kings by Gene Edwards.
SPEAKER 02 :
A Tale of Three Kings by Gene Edwards. It’s available for a gift of any amount at jackhibbs.com slash real radio. That’s jackhibbs.com slash real radio. This program is made possible by the generous contributions of you, our listeners. Visit us at jackhibbs.com. That’s jackhibbs.com. Until next time, Pastor Jack Hibbs and all of us here at Real Life Radio wish for you solid and steady growth in Christ and in His Word. We’ll see you next time here on Real Life Radio.
