Do you ever get tired of praying? Do you ever feel like giving up? Do you loose heart while praying?

It can be difficult to be persistent in our prayers, or even consistent in our prayers.

Persistent prayer depends less upon us and more upon God, to whom our prayers are directed. We can pray freely, consistently, and optimistically when we know God is good and God is just.

Jesus taught the Parable of the Persistent Widow “to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart.” (Luke 18:1, ESV).

Do you want to see God? What is your heart like? Do you know that the condition of our heart can affect how and if we see God clearly?

Most people long to see God. Few recognize there is a direct correlation between our ability to see God and the condition of our heart.

In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus said, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” (Matthew 5:8, ESV).

When is the last time you confessed your sins to another person? When was the last time you were prayed for and healed?

As followers of Jesus, we are called to confess our sins to God and to one another and to pray for one another for our healing.

James, the half brother of Jesus, wrote, “Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.” (James 5:16, ESV).

What does God’s ideal leader look like? What does it mean that God is our king? How should people rule in our present day?

Ultimately, God is our righteous king and ruler. If anyone is to lead or to govern well, they must be governed by God, have the heart of God, and seek to do God’s will.

In the days of the nation of Israel, after the rule of the judges, people had no king and did whatever was right in their own eyes. They failed to see God as their king. God gave the Israelites the judgment of King Saul who was not a good king.

Do you feel like you are bothering God when you pray? Is it possible to bother God with our prayers? Is God looking to get more from us than he is to give? When it comes to prayer, is it that God cannot be bothered, or is it that we do not bother to pray?

Our requests are never a bother to God. When we come to God in prayer, God listens and God delights in answering us justly.

In Luke chapter eighteen Jesus tells his followers what is often referred to as the parable of the persistent widow, or the parable of the unjust judge, “to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart.” (Luke 18:1, ESV).

Have you experienced suffering in your life? Are you confident that there will be a redemptive end to your suffering?

This life is filled with suffering and pain. We all will encounter suffering of some kind in our lives in this broken world.

God’s word assures us that there will be a redemptive end to our suffering.

The Apostle Peter wrote, “After you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.” (1 Peter 5:10-11, ESV).

When do you feel established and protected? When do you experience safety and security? Where does your protection come from?

Our true protection and security comes from God. The Lord is faithful in his provision and protection of his children.

In his second letter to the Thessalonian church, the Apostle Paul wrote, “But the Lord is faithful. He will establish you and guard you against the evil one.” (2 Thessalonians 3:3, ESV).

Who is God like? Is there anyone or anything greater or holier than God?

God is unlike anything and anyone else. There is no one greater than God. There is no one holier than God.

God is our sure foundation and our solid rock. There is no one like God.

In the Book of Samuel we learn about the uniqueness of God. The author tells us, “There is none holy like the LORD: for there is none besides you; there is no rock like our God.” (1 Samuel 2:2, ESV).

What are the expectations of a servant of God? What does a servant expect from their master?

As servants of God we are called to be faithful and obedient without expectation of anything in return.

In Luke’s gospel account, Jesus taught about servanthood, saying, “Will any one of you who has a servant plowing or keeping sheep say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come at once and recline at table’?” (Luke 17:7, ESV).

A servant is expected to do his or her duty and not to expect anything in return from the master. It is their obligation to serve.

How much faith in God do you have? How much faith in God do you need?

A little faith in our big God can produce astronomical and miraculous results.

In Luke’s gospel account, “The apostles said to the Lord, ‘Increase our faith!’ And the Lord said, ‘If you had faith like a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.” (Luke 17:5-6, ESV).

Are you monitoring your level of forgiveness? Do you find it easy or difficult to forgive others?

In regards to forgiveness, we must be watchful of ourselves. We must be willing to correct those who sin against us and stand ready to forgive when they repent.

In Luke’s gospel, Jesus taught on forgiveness, saying, “Pay attention to yourselves! If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him, and if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.” (Luke 17:3-4, ESV).

Have you ever been tempted to do the wrong thing? Have you ever tempted others to do wrong? Which is worse, being tempted or tempting others?

Being tempted to do wrong is not the same as doing wrong. Enticing others to do what they should not do is wrong.

We should resist temptation and not be too hard on ourselves when we are tempted. We should never tempt others.

How big is your faith? Do you have faith in God in everything? Is your faith in God little? Is your faith so small that if you exercised it, the result would clearly be God's answer and God's powerful work in the miraculous outcome?

We need to exercise faith in God in everything. We need to trust our big God with whatever faith we have, in every area of our lives, so that God can do his powerful and magnanimous work in our lives.

In Luke's gospel account, the apostles said to Jesus, “Increase our faith!” And Jesus said to them, “If you had faith like a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you." (Luke 17:5-6, ESV).

How are you walking through this life? Who are you keeping in step with? Who are you walking like? Are you walking well?

When we walk through this life, it is easy to fall in step with the crowd. We can walk as the people around us and find ourselves walking in their ways—for better or for worse.

As followers of Jesus, we are to walk in the same way as Jesus walked. We are to keep in step with him.

The Apostle John wrote this encouragement in his first letter, saying, “Whoever says he abides in him [Jesus] ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.” (1 John 2:6, ESV).

How wide is the way you are traveling? Are you able to navigate the narrow way?

There are paths that are wide and there is a way that is narrow. The wider path leads to destruction. The narrow way is difficult and leads to life.

In Matthew’s Gospel Jesus said, “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.” (Matthew 7:13-14, ESV).

What or who are you abiding in? What is abiding in you?

When we abide in something or someone, we bear the fruit of what or who we are abiding in.

Jesus instructed his followers to abide in him so that he would abide in us so that we would bear kingdom fruit.

In John’s gospel account, Jesus said, “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.” (John 15:4, ESV).

Where does your help come from? Where are you looking for the help you need?

We all need help at some point in our lives. It is possible to look for help in places where no help is coming.

The Psalmist writes, “I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.” (Psalm 121:1-2, ESV).

When you consider who God is and what God has made, does it leave you in awe? Are you aware that God is mindful of you?

God has created the universe and everything in it and God takes time to be mindful of each of us. God cares deeply for all his creation.

The Psalmist writes, “When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?” (Psalm 8:3-4, ESV).

Are you a planner? Do you have plans for your future? What if your plans were replaced by God’s plans for your life?

Planning is important. It has been said, “Failing to plan is planning to fail.” While it is essential that we make plans, our plans should always yield to God’s plans.

The wisdom of the Proverbs says, “Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the LORD that will stand.” (Proverbs 19:21, ESV).

Who do you serve? How do you know who you are serving?

We serve who and what we love.

When we love something or someone, we spend our time, attention, and resources pursuing that thing or that person.

In Luke’s gospel Jesus taught, “No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.” (Luke 16:13, ESV).