Endure: Building Faith for the Long RunSample

Take time to pray

I will never forget being a teenager and having my youth pastor’s wife pray over me. Her name is Dee Hall, and she is a praying woman. I struggled with insecurity in my late teens because I feared I would never get married. Dee knew my fears, and one day as I was leaving the church, she asked if she could pray for me. Right there, on the sidewalk in front of our church, she prayed for me. She prayed for my future wife, my future kids, and my future ministry. It was one of the most encouraging moments of my life.

Dee did not need to write a note or give me a gift so that I could be encouraged. She saw the fears waging war in my heart and brought those fears to God on my behalf. She understood the need of the hour and took it to the One who could do something about it. She loved me in a way that only a sister in Christ could: she asked our Father for help.

I think I assume there is someone in your life you love. Pray for them. Pray they would love Jesus more today than they did yesterday. Pray they would stand strong through the trials and temptations they are certain to face in the coming days. Pray they would be united with other believers, as Jesus prayed to the Father:

I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me

God is standing behind us, even in the hardship of this life. His ultimate plan for your life is that He will be glorified in all things and give you strength according to that end. Just look at the promise of Philippians 4:19–20:

And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. To our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen.

God is your source of strength and grace when all the trappings of this world fail you. He is your supply; all you need to do is ask, and He will grant you what you need according to His will. He is for you and with you. He has what you need for the next minute, the next hour, or the next day. All you need to do is ask.