The concept of persisting state is simply to somehow remember the state of something for later retrieval and use.
For example,
the JavaServer Faces framework has as one of its features the ability to persist the state of a GUI beyond a single interaction with a user. In other words, if you're working with a GUI of some app that uses JavaServer Faces, this framework allows the developer to program the app such that it will remember changes you, the user, have created to the GUI.
Another contrived example might involve my bank account. When I use an ATM, it retrieves the state of my bank account (which is always some balance below what I want it to be) and allows me to change it in various ways. When I've finished with my account manipulations, the ATM and the banking system persist (remember) the new state of my account for later use.
If you're having trouble understanding how this concept applies to a particular situation, perhaps you could explain a bit about the context that you're trying to understanding these things in.