We need to realize that we may always struggle with some things. Some temptations might never go away. This is what it means to be humans in a world that has rejected God. This is what it means to be a descendant of Adam and Eve. Life is always a battle to be holy.

What if God’s people prayed?

In 2010, a pregnancy center dedicated to supporting women who face unplanned pregnancies opened in my area. I was ready. Just a few months before, I had gone through the training at the “parent” center, to be the advocate who supported the women who came through the center’s doors. Now I had a center right in my neighborhood, and I was excited to serve there.

But, especially in my area, it takes a while for people to know of the new place in town, and it takes even longer for them to trust it. My enthusiasm and energy were not met by a dramatic tide of pregnant women. In fact, for month after month, our doors were open, but very few walked through them.