We serve a God who finishes what He starts. I don’t know about you, but I’m supremely grateful for this truth.
He finished the work of creation.
He finished the work of Israel’s redemption out of Egypt.
He finished the work of salvation.
He finished (and is finishing) His new creation work.
When you or I or any of God’s people finish a work, we affirm that we are made in His image, patterned after His likeness, this God who is a finishing One.
I was recently reading in 2 Kings, and was struck by Solomon’s finished work.
You see, his father David had charged him with a gargantuan task: to build a temple for the LORD God in Jerusalem.
Solomon’s finished work at face value was no doubt impressive, a vast structure, the highest point of which soared to about twenty stories.
It was an extravagant structure, built of carefully quarried stone and expensive wood overlaid with stone.
It’s really no wonder that Solomon’s temple was Israel’s pride and joy for centuries. His completion of such a task no doubt required great endurance. Yet the reading of Solomon’s success brings a twinge of sadness for those who know the rest of the story.
Because while Solomon completed a work far greater than you or I will likely ever dream of accomplishing, He neglected the even more significant work: a life lived in full devotion to God, to the end.
This is the work entrusted to all followers of Jesus Christ. He is our example, the One who prayed just before His death, “I finished the work You gave Me to do,” and whose guttural cry, “It is finished!” remains the mantra for Christians claiming His deliverance (John 17:4; 19:30).
Solomon’s failure to remain faithful to God highlights the difficulty of the task before us. There are many obstacles that hinder us. Life’s challenges distract us, and tough times attempt to defeat us.
The New Testament highlights over and over the Christian’s need for perseverance to continue living by faith, running well to the end and crossing the finish line of the Christian life, even and maybe especially in the face of adversity.
God wants to help us with this, and He is faithful to grant everything we need to endure. Will you join me in praying these powerful prayers for endurance and perseverance? These prayers are directly from Bible verses, God’s Word to you and me for times such as this.
Prayers for Endurance and Perseverance
1. Agree with God that you need endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised. (Hebrews 10:36)
2. Marvel that God has given you many examples of faithful men and women in His Word. Share with God your desire that, since you are surrounded by a great cloud of steadfast witnesses to God’s faithfulness, you will lay aside everything hindering you, and each sin which clings so closely to you.
Pray that you would run with endurance the race that is set before you, looking to the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the founder and perfecter of your faith.
Meditate on Christ’s example: He endured the cross, thinking nothing of the shame attached to such a death, because He was mindful of His joyful privilege to reconcile humankind with God. His redeeming work is finished, and He is now seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
Ponder the way Jesus endured hateful treatment from sinners, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. (Hebrews 12:1-3)
3. Ask for God’s help to rejoice in the midst of sufferings, large and small, knowing that suffering through hard times produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope. Pray that you would rest in this hope (Romans 5:3-4)
4. Claim God’s promise that those who remain steadfast in difficult times are blessed, because when they have stood the test they will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him. Pray that you would remain steadfast and yield to the refining work He can accomplish through your difficulties (James 1:12)
5. Pray that the Holy Spirit would help you count it pure joy when you go through trials of various kinds, acknowledging that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. Ask Him to let steadfastness have its full effect: that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
Marvel at the Lord’s ability to accomplish this in your life! Remind God of His promise to give wisdom liberally to all who ask for it, and claim His promised wisdom that will help you endure. (James 1:2-5)
6. Beg God to strengthen you with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy. (Colossians 1:11)
7. Thank God for the truth that the things recorded long ago in His Word were written for your instruction, so that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures you might have hope. Praise God for identifying Himself as the God of endurance! Ask that this God of endurance and encouragement would aid you in living in harmony with other believers and with Christ Jesus, (Romans 15:4-5)
8. Acknowledge to God that He has given you role models of persevering, steadfast saints in the Scriptures, and that those people were blessed by God. Thank God that through the account of Job’s steadfast life and faith, for example, you can observe God’s purpose, along with His compassion and mercy. Pray that no matter your circumstances, you would observe these same qualities in His dealings with you, as well (James 5:11)
9. Praise God for loving you enough to discipline you through difficult circumstances that build endurance. God is treating you as a beloved child, for what son is there whom his parent does not discipline?
Thank God that His discipline is for your own good, leading you toward sharing in His holiness. Pray that through endurance, God’s training would yield the peaceful fruit of righteousness. Submit yourself to His training. (Hebrews 12:7-11)
10. Ponder the analogy of the Christian life being like a race. In a marathon, there are many runners, but only one receives the prize. Pray for God’s grace to run your race in a way that allows you to obtain the prize. (1 Corinthians 9:24)
11. Pray that God would strengthen you not to grow weary of doing good, trusting that in due season you will reap, if you do not give up. Commit to the Lord that you will persevere, by His grace, and ask what good works He has for you (Galatians 6:9)
12. Claim God’s truth that those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint. Pray that God would allow you to witness the fulfillment of this promise in your life. (Isaiah 40:31)
13. Commit to God that you will not lose heart. Recognize in prayer that although your physical self is declining and “wasting away,” your soul and spirit are being renewed day by day, by God’s grace and through His strength.
Agree with God that when compared with eternity, your troubles are light and momentary. Thank God that these hardships are producing for you a glory that is absolutely beyond comparison, which is waiting for you in eternity. Pray that God would help you fix your eyes on what is unseen, rather than what is seen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
Share with God your desire to focus on eternal things rather than temporary ones (2 Corinthians 4:17-18)
14. Thank God that you can do all things–that is, all things having to do with His will for you–through the power of Jesus Christ, who strengthens you. (Philippians 4:13) Tell the Lord that you believe His promise, and ask Him to help any lingering unbelief. (Mark 9:24)
15. Meditate on Jesus’ words: “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33) Thank God for giving you peace through His Son Jesus Christ, even in the midst of your troubles. Ask God to help you take heart in difficult circumstances, relishing the truth that Jesus overcame the world and there is nothing to fear.
16. Pray for God’s help to rejoice in hard times, because in doing so, you are sharing in Christ’s sufferings. Marvel at the promise that you will one day rejoice with great joy when his glory is revealed. (1 Peter 4:13) Allow this promise to give you hope that will help you endure.
17. Ask that God would help you be a doer of the word, and not just a hearer who is deceived. Agree with God that His Word is perfect and that it brings liberty to those who persevere in it. Pray that you would be such a person, not a hearer who forgets but a doer who acts and will be blessed by God in what they do. (James 1:22-25)
18. Ask for the Holy Spirit to help you rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, and be constant in prayer. (Romans 12:12)
19. Thank God for the promise that for those who love God, all things work together for good, even hard things that you would perhaps rather avoid. Praise Him for calling you according to His purpose, and for choosing you to be conformed to the image of His Son Jesus Christ. Ponder the truth that in Christ, God has chosen you, called you, and justified you, and that in the time to come He will glorify you. (Romans 8:28-30)
20. Praise God for biblical examples like Paul, who faithfully endured many persecutions. Ask that the Lord would help you follow His teaching through Paul’s writing in the Scriptures, as well as his purpose in life and his example in faith, patience, love, and steadfastness.
Agree with God that all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, and ask that your endurance through hard times would be an example for others to follow (2 Timothy 3:10-12)
Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for being a good Father and gracious God, full of infinite wisdom, and my one and only Source of comfort, steadfast love, and divine strength in times of trial.
Thank you for your example of finishing what you start. Because of this, I know You will be faithful to complete the good work You have begun in my life. Part of this work involves teaching me to persevere and to yield myself to Your patient instruction. O Lord, please help me learn well. Give me Your strength when I am weak and Your grace when I am weary. Direct my gaze toward You in faith, dear God, believing that I receive all that I need from Your hand.
As your Holy Spirit encourages me in order to help me endure hard times, I pray that you would help me offer encouragement and help to others who are also struggling. May my life be an example of perseverance, and may I speak words that exhort others to press on along with me. It’s in Jesus’ name that I pray. Amen.
Thank you for lifting these prayers for endurance alongside me. Here’s another post you might enjoy:
