Faith Forging Prayer
Luke 18:7-8 says the following:
7 And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them? 8 I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”
Jesus says that persistent prayer eventually yields the results you want, because of the faith it demonstrates. It takes unwavering commitment to keep asking God for a particularly difficult thing and keep asking for it when it appears nothing is changing immediately.
I'd even say that the action of continually asking for a thing in itself builds faith. If you put your focus on committing to prayer as a habit regardless of your day to day feelings (whether you feel like it or you don't, you believe a little or believe a lot) then the very act of prayer builds faith. And when God answers your prayer after all those years of investment, your faith will be like iron. I've found that prayers of this kind, the persistent ones, are measured in time spans of years. Some prayers persist over decades.
I know women who have prayed for over 20 years before their family members became saved. You can be sure that prayed-over family member will be sitting in heaven on the strength of their daughter’s, mother’s or wife’s prayer.
It's not every prayer God addresses in that way. There are things I've prayed for where the answer is in my lap before I say ‘Amen’. And I currently have several prayers that have logged a decade or two. It's a faith building exercise.
Final reflection: In the moments of waning effort and doubt, when it seems like your answer is nowhere in sight, know this - you are in good company with the iron clad saints and your joy would be that much sweeter when your prayer comes to fruition.