Persistent Prayer
How persistent are you in prayer when you don’t yet have an answer?
Verse of the Day
“One day Jesus told his disciples a story to show that they should always pray and never give up.”
Today’s Devotional
Today’s lesson on prayer comes from Jesus. In Luke 18, He tells this parable:
‘One day Jesus told his disciples a story to show that they should always pray and never give up. “There was a judge in a certain city,” he said, “who neither feared God nor cared about people. A widow of that city came to him repeatedly, saying, ‘Give me justice in this dispute with my enemy.’ The judge ignored her for a while, but finally he said to himself, ‘I don’t fear God or care about people, but this woman is driving me crazy. I’m going to see that she gets justice, because she is wearing me out with her constant requests!’”
Then the Lord said, “Learn a lesson from this unjust judge. Even he rendered a just decision in the end. So don’t you think God will surely give justice to his chosen people who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will grant justice to them quickly! But when the Son of Man returns, how many will he find on the earth who have faith?”’
We can read and debate the true meaning of parables all we want, but Luke tells us the point of this parable before we even read it. Look at today’s verse again. Jesus is trying to impress upon us the necessity of being people who “always pray and never give up.”
There is a boldness and persistence of the widow in this story. She does not say to the judge, “If I may please have your attention and your just judgment in this manner.” No, she says, “Give me justice!” And that’s to say that we should be bossy with God. We should not tell Him what justice we demand. But there is a boldness that comes with faith. Hebrews 4:16 says, “So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.” Are we confident in the graciousness of God? Are we secure in His desire to hear from us? Do we keep asking, seeking, and knocking until we receive an answer? Do we trust God enough to accept an answer that is not one we would have chosen? When the answer to these questions is a resounding “YES!”, then we are getting to the heart of the matter of prayer.
So why is there a delay between our request and God’s answer? It is likely because we are not prepared for the answer. His delay might actually be kindness. He is molding our character until we are ready. Think of a 15-year-old who asks for a car. The parents are capable and ready to provide a car, but until he has done the required classes, training, tests, and practice, he is not yet ready for a car. If he were given a car today, it would likely be a disaster.
When the delay happens, how do we handle it? Richard Foster writes, “We pray once or twice, and, when nothing seems to move, we go on to other matters, or sulk in self-pity, or even give up on prayer altogether. Our quick-fix approach is a little like turning on a light switch, and, if the lights do not come on immediately, declaring, “Well, I didn’t believe in electricity anyway!””
Jesus is teaching us to be people of prayer. We are to be living a life of prayer, in which we are always praying. Not that we should remain in a prayer closet on our knees and never go out to the world, but as we go we pray for God’s will, God’s guidance, God love and compassion for others, God’s words for us to say, God’s eyes for us to see – all throughout our days. And He is telling us to never give up. To never lose faith. To never waiver in our belief in a good God and His desire for us to live our lives for Him and in Him.
Journal Prompts
Answer only the questions that seem relevant to you today.
Are you confident in the graciousness of God? What evidence do you have?
Are we secure in His desire to hear from you? Why or why not?
Do you keep asking, seeking, and knocking until you receive an answer? Give an example.
Do you trust God enough to accept an answer that is not one you would choose?
How can you live a life of prayer?
How can you behave that shows that you will not give up?