Persistence in prayer

Tonights bible study was awesome, yet so convicting. How often am I persistent in what I'm praying for? No often enough. I tend to pray for something, and then just move on to the next thing. There is only one thing I can say that I have consistently prayed for since I was about 10 years old. That prayer is for my dad and for my hope that he will choose to walk with the Lord, again.

And then once a prayer is answered, no matter how it is answered, I tend to only be thankful for the answer, and not for the process. I think the Lord makes us wait sometime, so that we may grow from the experience we have waiting for his answer and timing. We got to read about Hannah and her experiences with prayer. She was so consistent in asking for what her heart really desired, a baby. And when she was blessed with that, she immediately overlooked the gift and praised the giver. I think too often we focus on the gift and forget where the gift came from. "Every stream should lead us to the fountain; and the favours we receive from God should raise our admiration of the infinite perfections there are in God." I loved that quote that we read in the book. I want to be more purposeful about praising God for every gift and experience He has given me.

Ahh so many thoughts, so few words to express them with.