Prayer is arguably the most powerful force in the world; it is literally life-changing.
Yet, most would agree that prayer is significantly underutilized.
Why?
a. We Give Up On Prayer When External Pressures Outweigh
b. We Fail To Pray When We Think To Highly Of
c. We Don’t Persist In Prayer When We Think To
Yet, the Lord encourages us to keep praying with passion and purpose anyway.
Matthew 7:7-8 “Ask, and it will be given to you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.”
LUKE 18 begins with a parable that will be helpful for those of us who are struggling with persistence in prayer.
“Now he told them a parable on the need for them to pray always and not give up. “There was a judge in a certain town who didn’t fear God or respect people. And a widow in that town kept coming to him, saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’
“For a while he was unwilling, but later he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or respect people, yet because this widow keeps pestering me, I will give her justice, so that she doesn’t wear me out by her persistent coming.’”
Then the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. Will not God grant justice to his elect who cry out to him day and night? Will he delay helping them?” —LUKE 18:1-7
THERE ARE TWO PRIMARY CHARACTERS IN OUR PARABLE: A unjust judge and a powerless widow.
This widow’s case should have been open and close - BUT THAT WASN’T HAPPENING HERE.
The initial response of the judge was as callous, cold and indifferent as it could be. He, void of any compassion or concern, just dismissed her case.
Whatever fraud of theft was committed against her seemed inconsequential to him BUT FOR HER it was a matter of life and death.
SO – She persisted.
She kept coming back and pleading her case before the unjust judge.
Verse 4 tells us that her persistence went on “for a while”
“…but later he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or respect people, yet because this widow keeps pestering me, I will give her justice, so that she doesn’t wear me out by her persistent coming.” —Luke 18:4-5
WHAT’S THE PURPOSE OF THIS PARABLE? Jesus tells us at the very beginning.
“Now he told them a parable on the need for them to pray always and not give up.” —Luke 18:1
1. THIS PARABLE PROVIDES AN RECOGNIZABLE EXPERIENCE
Though this is an old story with an ancient backdrop, it resonates with us because…
- This parable presents us with a widow that is in a desperate situation.
She’s completely dependent upon the ruling levied by the judge. If he doesn’t
In a similar way, though we’re not widows who’ve been unjustly wronged and having to plead our case to an unjust judge, we are utterly
We’re helpless and hopeless without the Lords hand touching our lives and circumstances
We Also Know What It’s Like To Wait!
Like the widow who ask for the judge to intervene and did not receive what she ask for right away, we often are faced with a delay in the answer to our prayers.
Yes, there are occasions when the Lord instantly and powerfully answers specific prayers, I think it’s safe to say that this is the exception and not the rule.
WE KNOW that waiting is purposeful
- Waiting Clarifies God’s
- Waiting
- Waiting
Great promises attached – Isaiah 40:31 *“Those who
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2. THIS PARABLE PROVIDES PRACTICAL
Again, the first verse provides the purpose of this parable
Verse 1 “He told them a parable on the need for them to pray always and not give up”
“This story has the key hanging on the doorknob” - Matthew Henry
This simple story brings us face to face with an important truth about prayer – It’s work!
The widow in our story – even after not getting what she needed initially…just kept showing up.
Every day court was in session, she’s in line to have her case heard.
She just persisted in
3. THIS
He’s telling us that if persistence is effective in the case of a helpless widow dealing with an unjust judge that doesn’t give a rip about her….HOW MUCH MORE EFFECTIVE is persisting in prayer to a Heavenly Father who cares!
“Will not God grant justice to his elect who cry out to him day and night?” —Luke 18:7
Is there a need that you’ve put on the shelf? A request that you’ve given up on?