“Don’t Stop Praying”
By: Delanda S. Johnson
Special to the News
This was the message given by Rev. Dr. Jessica Kendall
Ingram, the Tenth District Episcopal Supervisor. Rev. Dr. Ingram was the guest speaker in
Rev. Dr. Ingram expressed to the congregation that God is
doing something new and wonderful in the
Rev. Dr. Ingram stated to the women that God is working with
this State because HE has called women from all over the world to gather in
As the Episcopal Supervisor proceeds to give, her scripture (Luke 8:1-8) the theme for her message was “Don’t Stop Praying” with special focus on the first verse.
Ingram explained that a parable was an earthly demonstration that in turn is a heavenly truth.
“There are those who say that when we pray, we should only pray about it once and then leave it alone. That when we pray and pray again, we are saying that we do not believe God. That we don’t have faith or trust in HIM. They say that if we did, we would not keep praying about the something repeatedly. But Jesus in these verses is saying that we have the right to come to HIM over and over again until we get what we came for,” said Ingram.
Ingram stated that we are to always pray and never give up. When it seems like things are getting worse or not happening; just continue to pray.
We must be persistent in the power of prayer. Ingram noted that some like the boldness and confidence to go after what you want, but you do not want to do what it takes to get what you want.
Ingram stated to the congregation that we need to learn how to persist. This means we need to know how to struggle. To struggle means that you keep going after something and you don’t stop. To struggle means that you will do whatever it take to go it. To struggle means when problems come you will find the answer. To struggle means that when roadblocks are placed in your way, you go around them.
“Young people today do not know the meaning of the word STRUGGLE. Our youth today have everything handed to them on a silver platter. We have some young people who can’t spell the word or pronounce the word STRUGGLE. Fredrick Douglass once said, “Without struggle there is no progress.” If we don’t struggle, we don’t get nothing,” said Ingram.
Ingram reminded the congregation that we come from women who knew how to struggle.
“We come from women who persisted in the struggle for equality. These women said that they would not give-up, shut-up, let-up, or back up. We come from women who had vision, faith, strength in knowing that God would make away out of no way. We come from women, who could not be bought, compromise, detoured, turn back, would not quit, until they got what they came for,” said Ingram.
The power of the word persistence teaches us and asks the question, “How bad do I want it? And what am I willing to do to get it?”
Ingram concluded that when you keep praying about the same things repeatedly, it does not mean that you do not trust GOD, but that you do trust HIM to handle all problems.