Staying Put

I faced a critical choice on my summer missions assignment after my senior year of college.

I served on the Florida Reach Team, which was a group of teams made up of four college students that traveled the state of Florida assisting churches each week.  Some weeks we ran vacation Bible school.  Other weeks we canvassed communities.  At one church, we even participated (and preached) in the revival services.

Well, a few weeks into my service, I wanted to quit.  I had never been away from home, and this was my third week.  Believe it or not, especially in my younger years, I could be hard to get along with.  I was somewhat shy.  That made making friends difficult.  Now, three weeks in my with team (and seven more to go), I struggled with my place.

I sat alone in a room, having felt shut out again from my teammates' activities.  The other three got along great.  I felt out of place.  I didn't feel appreciated, welcome or even considered part of the team.  So I contemplated leaving.

I made the mistake (or fortune as I look back on it now) of telling one of the team members of my wavering.  They, in turn, told the guy who had taken charge of our little group.  He approached me that night and wanted to know if I was going to leave.  We had a short, but poignant conversation about my decision.  He told me the decision was mine to make, but I had made a commitment months ago to the program.

So I stuck it out.  And I'm glad I did.  Eventually, I gained more acceptance in the group.  I opened up to them and they opened up to me.  I didn't make lifelong friends (to be truthful, I haven't had contact with any of them since that summer), but I learned a lot and grew in my faith on the mission field.

I share that story because it has important implications to our prayer lives.  Too often, we quit praying simply because we don't get an answer.  We pray a few times, and when we don't see any results, we give up or forget or just move on.

We don't receive answers because we give up too easily.

I'm reminded of the Gentile woman in Matthew 20:20-28.  She had a request of Jesus--to heal her daughter--and she didn't give up until he did.  That was despite being told "no" several times and the disciples trying to get rid of her.  She kept at it until she got answered prayer.

We must have the same resolve.  We must pray and pray and pray until we get an answer.  We must not give up.  If we do, we'll miss out on God's direction.

And that could be the worst thing of all.