Don’t Give Up

Don’t Give Up

Bible Blast: Read James 1:2-4

You know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.

James 1:3 (NIV)

There’s only one more day left in this year! That’s kind of exciting, isn’t it? Lots of people see this as a time to start something new or to try something different or to kick a bad habit. Does your family make New Year’s resolutions like that?

For some people the end of this year might be difficult because they wanted something to happen that didn’t. Maybe a man didn’t get the job he was hoping for or a woman wasn’t able to get pregnant. Maybe instead of getting healthier, someone only got sicker. It’s hard to understand why some things don’t happen when we want them to, especially when we’re praying about it.

Frances had a brother who didn’t love Jesus, but she still really loved her brother. She prayed and prayed and prayed for him. She asked God to help her brother to give his life to Christ. She didn’t want him to die without knowing Jesus because she wanted him to go to heaven with her. Do you know how long Frances persevered in her prayers for her brother? She prayed for him for seventy-two years! Finally, her brother died. But soon after that, someone came to her and told her that her brother had accepted Christ into his heart shortly before he died! I bet Frances was so thankful then that she had never given up on praying for her brother. When she died at the age of ninety-six, she knew she would see her brother again in eternity with Jesus.

Is there a prayer you’ve been praying this year that hasn’t been answered yet? Don’t give up! Perseverance means you keep on trying and keep on going even if you get discouraged. When your faith is put to the test, you develop more perseverance in you. Just because the year is ending, don’t give up on your prayers. God is definitely listening.

Girl Gab: Do you have goals you want to set for this next year? See if, with your mom’s help, you can come up with one goal for each of these categories:

Pray that God would remind you of these goals throughout the year. You can write them on a piece of paper, and when the end of next year rolls around, you can read what your goals were.