Pray and Do Not Lose Heart (Luke 18:1-8)
PRAY AND DO NOT LOSE HEART
"And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart. " (Luke 18:1)
For every generation, the greatest need is for men and women to pray and never give up praying. We cannot afford to abandon our pursuit of God’s will, plan, and purpose through prayer. The apostle Paul encourages the church in Thessalonica to “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thess 5:16-18). Note that the text says that we should give thanks through prayer in all circumstances. To persist in prayer, we must also persist in thanksgiving. A life of prayer produces a grateful heart. We need to pray in both good and bad times. We need to pray in times of certainty and moments of uncertainty. We need to pray in the calm, but we also need to pray in the chaos. Our prayer life should not remain silent in our circumstances. Our prayer life should be stronger amid the whirlwinds of life because we give thanks to God “in all circumstances.”
As Jesus was discussing the need for prayer in Luke 18, He introduced a narrative about a widow who had an urgent request before a judge. It was her persistence that produced results from an unlikely choice. Her request was not granted because of the compassion of the arbitrator but instead because of her persistent appeal in her time of need. Careful observation would indicate that Luke is not comparing God with the unjust judge in the text, but he is contrasting their attributes. There is an unjust judge on the one hand, but then there is a compassionate God on the other hand.
When the widow came to court, she had no hope, but she was determined not to leave and return to her hopeless situation. In contrast, we have the Word of God, which contains promises upon promises concerning how God will take care of His own. If you lose your job, God will take care of you. If you lose a loved one to the reality of death, God will help you through your grief. If you have a friend to walk out on you, God said, I will “stick closer than a brother” (Prov 18:24). If you have enemies mounting up against you, God said, “Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord” (Ex 13:14). If sickness had evaded your body, God is still a healer. In other words, whatever you need, God has it. God is in the business of blessing His children. I believe that God not only knows what we are going through, but He has already provided a means of escape.
The great hope of the believer is that God does not have to be coerced or bribed into answering our prayers. God is a loving Father who is attentive to our every cry, generous in His gifts, concerned about our needs, and ready to answer when we call. God answers prayer for His glory and our good, and He is not angered or vexed when we come to Him.
Maybe in this season, you are consumed with worry, and your faith is weakening under the pressures of life. May you find the kind of faith spoken of by the apostle Paul, “Ye also helping together by prayer for us, that for the gift bestowed upon us by the means of many persons thanks may be given by many on our behalf” (2 Cor 1:11)?
As Jesus was discussing the need for prayer in Luke 18, He introduced a narrative about a widow who had an urgent request before a judge. It was her persistence that produced results from an unlikely choice. Her request was not granted because of the compassion of the arbitrator but instead because of her persistent appeal in her time of need. Careful observation would indicate that Luke is not comparing God with the unjust judge in the text, but he is contrasting their attributes. There is an unjust judge on the one hand, but then there is a compassionate God on the other hand.
When the widow came to court, she had no hope, but she was determined not to leave and return to her hopeless situation. In contrast, we have the Word of God, which contains promises upon promises concerning how God will take care of His own. If you lose your job, God will take care of you. If you lose a loved one to the reality of death, God will help you through your grief. If you have a friend to walk out on you, God said, I will “stick closer than a brother” (Prov 18:24). If you have enemies mounting up against you, God said, “Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord” (Ex 13:14). If sickness had evaded your body, God is still a healer. In other words, whatever you need, God has it. God is in the business of blessing His children. I believe that God not only knows what we are going through, but He has already provided a means of escape.
The great hope of the believer is that God does not have to be coerced or bribed into answering our prayers. God is a loving Father who is attentive to our every cry, generous in His gifts, concerned about our needs, and ready to answer when we call. God answers prayer for His glory and our good, and He is not angered or vexed when we come to Him.
Maybe in this season, you are consumed with worry, and your faith is weakening under the pressures of life. May you find the kind of faith spoken of by the apostle Paul, “Ye also helping together by prayer for us, that for the gift bestowed upon us by the means of many persons thanks may be given by many on our behalf” (2 Cor 1:11)?
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