I don’t often read newspapers, but rather get most of my news online. One day, however, I picked up a copy of the local paper sitting on a table while eating my lunch at the office. About the only thing that really caught my interest was the section entitled “Police Report.” I was curious to see if anyone I knew was listed in that section.

I was shocked to see four of the eight people charged by the city police department cited for a misdemeanor of which I had never heard: aggressive begging. I looked it up in the Municipal Code and there it was. Section 46-62 states, “No person shall engage in aggressive begging in any public place in the city.” The section defines “aggressive begging as “begging with the intent to intimidate another person into giving money or goods.” The section goes on to define the words “begging,” “public place,” and “intimidate.” I honestly had never heard of this.

There is one case in the Bible, nonetheless, where Jesus encourages us to plead persistently with God for specific needs.

And He told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart. – Luke 18:1

Jesus expounded on the parable in Luke 18:2-8 when He told a story of a woman who constantly begged a local judge to give her a just decision against her adversary. The judge finally relented, not due to a desire for justice, but due to a desire for peace and quiet! Jesus contrasted a godless judge who cared not for doing right but acted only from selfishness with a loving Father God who takes great joy in giving good things to His children. He encouraged His followers to cry out to God “day and night” and expect God to act “speedily.” Jesus then equated this kind of persistent prayer with strong faith when He asked the question, “…when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”

The lesson for us is to continue to pray persistently for those needs that weigh heavily on our heart. We may feel that God is not listening or does not care, but our Lord encourages us to prove that we believe by not giving up in our prayer effort.

What needs have you carried for a long time? Has God seemed to stop listening? Do you think God is punishing you by ignoring you? Has the devil tempted you to give up and look for answers elsewhere? Let me encourage you to hang in there and keep praying.

Hang in there; your answer is on the way in due time. While it may be illegal in your city, God honors aggressive begging.