Psalm 88

1O Lord, God of my salvation,
I have cried out day and night before You.
2Let my prayer come before You;
Incline Your ear to my cry.
3For my soul is full of troubles,
And my life draws near to the grave.
4I am counted with those who go down to the pit;
I am like a man who has no strength,
5Adrift among the dead,
Like the slain who lie in the grave,
Whom You remember no more,
And who are cut off from Your hand.
6You have laid me in the lowest pit,
In darkness, in the depths.
7Your wrath lies heavy upon me,
And You have afflicted me with all Your waves.
Selah
8You have put away my acquaintances far from me;
You have made me an abomination to them;
I am shut up, and I cannot get out;
9My eye wastes away because of affliction.
Lord, I have called daily upon You;
I have stretched out my hands to You.
10Will You work wonders for the dead?
Shall the dead arise and praise You?
Selah
11Shall Your lovingkindness be declared in the grave?
Or Your faithfulness in the place of destruction?
12Shall Your wonders be known in the dark?
And Your righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?
13But to You I have cried out, O Lord,
And in the morning my prayer comes before You.
14Lord, why do You cast off my soul?
Why do You hide Your face from me?
15I have been afflicted and ready to die from my youth;
I suffer Your terrors;
I am distraught.
16Your fierce wrath has gone over me;
Your terrors have cut me off.
17They came around me all day long like water;
They engulfed me altogether.
18Loved one and friend You have put far from me,
And my acquaintances into darkness.
-Psalm 88

We see a lot of demonstration of the persistence of prayer throughout the Psalms that I find to be admirable. There was a conversation that I had with a classmate of mine back in High School. He was sharing his doubts concerning the Lord because he had prayed once and didn't hear back from the Lord. At that time, I was not quite articulate in the faith and just asked if he really meant it. He kind of shifted and decided that he guessed he didn't. Not too long after, he approached me again saying something similar insisting that he meant it but still didn't hear from the Lord. Due to this, he said he was done trying.

Unfortunately, this is an all too common response in prayer. After just a couple of times of trying and not hearing something from the Lord, we turncoat and try to find the solution ourselves. However, Scripture demonstrates a very persistent form of prayer. In some cases it would take place over the course of years. Other times, it would be immediate. In any case, do not cease to pray. Be persistent. Make your requests known to God.