I want to say something before we go any further, because it might sting a little: persistence is not always a virtue.
I know. Stay with me.
I've shared the Elements of Aliel story — the brand I poured everything into for eight solid years. I was persistent. Relentlessly so. I showed up, I pushed, I prayed, I worked harder every time I hit a wall. I thought the answer was more effort. More hustle. More determination. More prayer. What I didn't understand yet — what I couldn't see from inside the grind — was that I was being persistent in the wrong direction.
Persistence in the wrong direction is just unnecessary hustle with a motivational quote on top. And persistent prayer without the discipline to listen is complaining without looking for a solution.
So before you read the rest of this, I need you to sit with an honest question: Are you asking the right question, seeking the honest answer, and looking for actual opportunities that fit your purpose — or are you running hard on a road you chose for yourself and calling it faith?
Because there is a difference between a hopeful self-fulfilling prophecy and a God-ordained assignment.
"Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. Or what person is there among you who, when his son asks for a loaf of bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he? So if you, despite being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!"
Matthew 7:7–11 (NASB)
Ask, Seek, Knock — But Ask What?
Matthew 7:7 is one of those scriptures we love to claim. We put it on mugs. We quote it in caption prayers. We use it to remind ourselves that what we want is coming if we just keep asking.
But read the full passage. Jesus isn't teaching us a vending machine theology — ask, push the button, receive. He's teaching us about the character of God as a Father who gives good gifts to those who ask. Gifts that are good. Gifts that fit. Gifts that align with who He made you to be.
The question underneath the question is this: What are you actually asking for?
If your prayers are mostly petitions for God to bless the plan you already made — that is not persistent prayer. That is selfishness dressed in spiritual language.
Persistent prayer, the kind Jesus is describing here, starts with surrender. It starts with asking before you have already decided the answer. It starts with seeking even when what you find challenges what you assumed. It starts with knocking on doors God points you toward — not just the ones that look good from the outside.
I recently read Good to Great by Jim Collins — and before you raise an eyebrow at a business book showing up in a devotion, hear me out. Collins identifies three disciplines that separate great organizations from mediocre ones: disciplined people, disciplined thought, and disciplined action. The more I sat with that framework, the more I recognized it as a blueprint I had seen before — in prayer.
Three Disciplines That Change Everything
Collins argues that great leaders figure out who belongs on the bus before they decide where the bus is going. In kingdom terms: ask God first, then listen for His honest answer. Not the answer you were hoping for. The honest one. That requires you to be the kind of person who can receive correction, redirection, and a "not this" without falling apart. The discipline starts in your character before it ever shows up in your calendar.
Once you have clarity from God, you hold it. You will not be pulled off course by what is trending, by what another entrepreneur is doing, or by the loud opinions of people who have not been in your prayer closet. You will stick to your Zone of Genius. You will follow the plan God laid out for you — not the plan that looks most impressive from the outside. This is harder than it sounds, especially when what's popular looks profitable.
This is where Matthew 7:7 does its work in your feet, not just your mouth. You knock because you have prayed and sought and listened. You walk through the door because discernment has been sharpened by consistent prayer. The more you pray, the less anxious you become about which opportunity to take. You start to recognize the shape of open doors — and the subtle but real difference between an open door and a door someone else left unlocked.
The discipline of persistent prayer leads to the discipline of persistent action, which leads to the fulfillment of your purpose.
Not in a neat, linear way — but in the way of a person who has learned to move with God instead of ahead of Him.The question then is, how do I know if I'm being persistent in the right direction? Last week we talked about confusion being a sign that something isn't right. This week I want you to consider your energy levels. God's plan may be challenging and require hard work, but it will not require you to run yourself into the ground. His plans are designed to include sabbath rest.
If you are tired, I want you to consider that your exhaustion might not be the cost of your calling. It might be the signal that you are running a race you were not assigned.
Persistent prayer recalibrates you. It does not just fuel you — it orients you. It is the difference between a ship with full sails and a ship with a compass. You need both, but without the compass, full sails just get you lost faster.
This week, before you ask God to bless the plan — ask Him if the plan is right.
That is an act of good stewardship.
As always with our reflection questions, answer honestly, whatever comes to mind first. Overediting yourself won't make the work any easier.
"What have you been persistently praying for — and have you given God room to answer differently than you expected?"
"Which of the three disciplines is hardest for you right now: receiving God's answer, holding your course in the face of distraction, or knowing which opportunities to act on?"
"Where in your business are you working hard in the wrong direction?"
Lord, teach me the difference between persistence and stubbornness. Give me the courage to ask honest questions and the humility to receive honest answers. Where I have been running in the wrong direction — redirect me, even if it costs me time and pride. Sharpen my discernment so that my actions follow Your voice and not my assumptions. I want to build something worthy of Your "well done" — not just something that looks successful from the outside. Guide every ask, every search, every knock. In Jesus' name.
Amen."Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much."
Matthew 25:23
Which of the three disciplines hit closest to home for you this week? Drop your answer in the comments. I read every one.
With Love,
LaKeisha
P.S. — Persistent prayer without the discipline to listen is complaining without looking for a solution. This week, let the listening be the prayer.