Let us become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we don’t give up. Galatians 6:9 (NIV)
Keep on keeping on. This idiom refers to the act of doing what you have been doing but an encouragement to do it more. In other words, persevere. Have endurance. Don’t give up. Revelation 2:2 says:
I see what you’ve done, your hard, hard work, your refusal to quit. I know you can’t stomach evil, that you weed out apostolic pretenders. I know your persistence, your courage in my cause that you never wear out. Revelation 2:2 (MSG)
This is what they were commanded for: their refusal to quit and their persistence. Persistence is the key to any worthwhile endeavour. Take the example of prayer. In Luke 18:1 we read:
One day Jesus told his disciples a story to show that they should always pray and never give up. Luke 18:1 (NLT)
The Amplified Bible puts it:
…they ought always to pray and not to turn coward (faint, lose heart, and give up). Luke 18:1 (AMP)
To lose heart is to faint, or to turn coward, or to give in. Jesus called for persistence in prayer. Think back to the Old Testament character Elijah. Elijah had to pray seven times for rain. But he persisted. In 1 Kings 18:41 Elijah said. “There is a sound of abundance of rain.” As we read on we see Elijah travailing in prayer.
Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; and he bowed himself down upon the earth and put his face between his knees. And said to his servant, Go up now, look toward the sea. And he went up and looked and said. There is nothing. Elijah said, Go again seven times. And at the seventh time the servant said, A cloud as small as a man’s hand is arising out of the sea. And Elijah said, Go up, say to Ahab, Hitch your chariot and go down, lest the rain stop you. In a little while, the heavens were black with wind-swept clouds, and there was a great rain. 1 Kings 18:42-45 (ASV)
He persisted.
The New Testament mentions Elijah in James 5 and adds the important words which we can easily overlook:
Elijah was a man just like us. James 5:17 (ICB)
In other words, you and I can do it too.
Jesus prayed three times in the Garden of Gethsemane. We are encouraged to keep on asking and keep on seeking in Matthew 7:7-8:
Keep on asking and it will be given you; keep on seeking and you will find; keep on knocking (reverently) and (the door) will be opened to you. For everyone who keeps on asking receives; and he who keeps on seeking finds; and to him who keeps on knocking, (the door) will be opened. Matthew 7:7-8 (AMPC)
Keep on asking. Keep on seeking. Keep on knocking. Keep on keeping on. Don’t get discouraged and give up. Jesus reminded us:
…the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force. Matthew 11:12 (KJV)
Your persistent prayers matter.
…be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord. 1 Corinthians 15:58 (ESV)