Persistence in Prayer

Posted by Pastor Greg Allen on April 19, 2009 under 2009 |

Preached April 19, 2009
from Luke 18:1-8

Theme: Jesus’ parable of the unjust judge and the persistent widow teaches us the need to be faithful and not lose heart in our prayers.

(Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are taken from The Holy Bible, New King James Version; copyright 1982, Thomas Nelson, Inc.)

I invite you to turn with me to the eighteenth chapter of Luke. The Holy Spirit has recorded some very practical and precious words there for us from the Lord Jesus that, I suggest, we need very much to hear.

At the very beginning of that chapter, Luke tells us;

Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart, saying: “There was in a certain city a judge who did not fear God nor regard man. Now there was a widow in that city; and she came to him, saying, ‘Get justice for me from my adversary.’ And he would not for a while; but afterward he said within himself, ‘Though I do not fear God nor regard man, yet because this widow troubles me I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.’” Then the Lord said, “Hear what the unjust judge said. And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them? I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:1-8).

* * * * * * * * * *

When I read this passage, I often think back to an elderly couple in a church that my wife and I used to attend. That church was much like ours—a church in which people felt free to share prayer requests and praises together publicly during congregational gatherings. And during one particular meeting, this older couple asked us all to praise God together with them. “We have just received the good news,” they said, “that a beloved family member of ours has finally prayed to receive Jesus Christ as their Savior.”

We were all excited to share thanks to God with them. And then, they said something that made all gasp. They said, “We’re very excited; because we’ve been praying for this family member to come to Jesus for over fifty years.”

Think of that! Praying faithfully for over half a century for someone to become saved—and then, sharing the praise over God’s faithful answer! Most of us were a little ashamed of ourselves after hearing that; because we realized we would have gives up praying for something like that after only fifty days!

Now; I believe that prayer is the greatest and most powerful action human beings can engage in. By our prayers, we are given the privilege of speaking to the almighty God in the name of His Son, and moving His mighty hand to action in response to our requests! There can be no greater resource given to us than that.

And yet, for as great and powerful a resource as it is, and as simple an action as it is, it’s also—at the same time—one of the hardest things in the world for us to do. Prayer requires us to have great persistence of faith in the One to whom we speak. And because it doesn’t seem as if God answers our prayers right away—or in the way that we may wish—we are easily tempted to give up praying. We easily doubt Him or His power. We stop availing ourselves to this great resource—either individually or as a congregation.

I wonder if there’s someone here today who has fallen into despair over something they’ve been asking for in prayer. I wonder if that brother or sister has begun to feel, “What’s the use of praying anymore? It doesn’t seem to do any good. It doesn’t seem as if God is listening to me. It doesn’t seem as if He cares. It doesn’t seem as if anything is happening. The problems seem to go on and on.”

And with that in mind, isn’t it amazing that the Lord Jesus would be sure that this parable is included in the Scriptural record of His teaching to His disciples? I myself have been drawn to this parable from our Lord lately. I’ve drawn encouragement from it to greater persistence in my prayers; and I hope that—by the Holy Spirit’s enabling—I may share some of that encouragement with you today.

* * * * * * * * * *

Look with me, first, at . . .

1. THE PURPOSE OF OUR LORD’S WORDS (v. 1).

We’re certainly not left to wonder about that. As one commentator has put it, the keys of this parable are left hanging for us in the door. In the very first verse, Luke—under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit—writes, “Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart.”

Who was the “them” that the Lord spoke to? It was His disciples. He had been speaking to a mixed crowd at the time; because the Pharisees had first asked Him—way back in 17:20—when the kingdom of God would come. He told them, “The kingdom of God does not come with observation; nor will they say, ‘See here!’ or ‘See there!’ For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you” (vv. 20-21)—or perhaps better, “in the midst of you”. People were looking for some kind of ‘kingdom’ to be established that stood independently from Him; and yet, the kingdom was all about Him. And there He was in the midst of them.

The disciples were looking for that kingdom too. But then, He turned to them and said, “The days will come when you will desire to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it” (17:22). And all the way to the end of the seventeenth chapter, Jesus teaches His disciples about the time of waiting His people would undergo—the time from when He would depart from them, to the time He would return to this earth. That, of course, was over two-thousand years ago. And ever since, His people have had to persevere in their faith—constantly remembering His instruction to “watch” and “wait” for His return as they suffer for His cause in a hostile world.

And it’s not just a matter of awaiting His time of return. It’s a matter of dealing with the issues of everyday life. As we walk in obedience to Him in this world, we are constantly required to live by faith in Him. Our faith in Him is bound up inseparably with prayer. We express that faith in Him by our prayers. If we give up praying to the Father about something, to that same degree we give up faith in Him. And so; whether it’s a matter of waiting for His promised return, or a matter of simply trusting Him with our day-to-day trials and needs, persistence in prayer is the essential expression of the persistence of our faith.

And have you ever considered that the Lord would not have given us this parable if He didn’t already know in advance that we would need to be encouraged to persist in prayer; or that we would be tempted to give up? We all too often throw up our hands and say, “What’s the use? Why pray any longer? It doesn’t seem as if it does any good!”—never realizing that that’s exactly what our Lord knew we’d be tempted to say!

How grateful we should be that our Lord spoke a parable to His followers, “that men always ought to pray and not lose heart.”

* * * * * * * * * *

Now; the Lord could have laid out a theological argument for us. But He knew we relate best to stories. And so, as Luke tells us, “He spoke a parable”.

A parable is a short, vivid story that uses a common-place event in order to teach us a spiritual truth that we will never forget. It may be that the story in this particular parable is something that the Lord made-up just for this occasion. But it’s also very possible that it’s based on an actual, well-known historical event—in which case, its impact would have been even more powerful.

So then; let’s next consider . . .

2. THE PARABLE THAT OUR LORD SPOKE (vv. 2-5).

He said, “There was in a certain city a judge . . .” In the original language, He actually says that it was “a certain judge” in “a certain city”—which adds to the possibility that He may have been speaking of an actual event. But notice what He says about the character of this particular judge; that he “did not fear God nor regard man”.

When I thought about this, I remembered Psalm 82. In that psalm, God speaks to “judges”—those who are appointed with the responsibility of seeing that the needy among God’s people are treated justly. It begins by saying;

God stands in the congregation of the mighty;
He judges among the gods.
How long will you judge unjustly,
And show partiality to the wicked?
Defend the poor and fatherless;
Do justice to the afflicted and needy.
Deliver the poor and needy;
Free them from the hand of the wicked (Psalm 82:1-4).

And it ends with these words;

Arise, O God, judge the earth;
For You shall inherit all nations (v. 8).

The reason that the judges of this earth are to be diligent to bring about justice for people is because God Himself is a just God. He will one day bring about ultimate justice on this earth; and earthly judges are to reflect God’s own character as a just God in their dealings with people. But here’s a horrible ‘monstrosity’— a judge who is given the responsibility of reflecting God’s just character to his fellow man, but who neither fears God nor regards men. He doesn’t regard men because he doesn’t, in the first place, fear God.

We might read more into the character of this judge from something else that Jesus says. He was motivated by self-interests. In those days, it was common for the judges to be so corrupt that they would only bring about justice if a sufficient bribe had been offered to them. And that’s why he wasn’t motivated to help this poor widow. Jesus says that He wasn’t interested in her case, because she had no money to offer as a bribe.

And then, Jesus goes on to say, “Now there was a widow in that city . . .” A widow was proverbial in those days for the most vulnerable person in a society. There were no such things as social security, or pension plans, or life insurance policies. If a woman’s husband died, she was not able to go to work to support herself. She would have to live on whatever her husband had left her. And sadly, many greedy people would swoop down on a widow, take advantage of her grief, and steal-away what ever it might be that she had—leaving her destitute and utterly helpless.

This widow lived in the same city as the judge. She was under his jurisdiction. And so, she came to him for legal protection. And Jesus’ words, in the original language, indicate that she habitually came to him; saying, “Get justice for me from my adversary.” And it was right for her to expect this judge to come to her defense. The law of God—given through Moses—said that God “shows no partiality nor takes a bribe. He administers justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the stranger, giving him food and clothing” (Deuteronomy 10: 16b-17); and it therefore says, “You shall not pervert justice due the stranger or the fatherless, nor take a widow’s garment as a pledge” (24:17). But we’re told that the judge would not do it—”for a while”.

But she would not be ignored. I imagine her standing before the judge, “Get justice for me from my adversary”—only to have him ignore her. Why should he help her. She could do nothing for him. She’s nobody important. But perhaps, later that day, he comes home to dinner. And while he’s eating, he hears this woman outside—yelling from across the street, “Get justice for me from my adversary.” He might close the curtains; but she’s still there. Perhaps later on, he tries to sleep—only to be repeatedly awakened by the woman outside yelling, “Get justice for me from my adversary.” And perhaps, when he gets up in the morning to go on his way to work after a sleepless night, he steps outside to find this woman waiting for him—again, appealing to him, “Get justice for me from my adversary.” And of course, when he arrives to his place of judgment, he finds her there again; once again demanding, “Get justice for me from my adversary.”

Perhaps this went on for several days in a row. Finally, Jesus tells us that though this judge would not help her “for a while”, “afterwards he said within himself, ‘Though I do not fear God nor regard man, yet because this widow troubles me I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.’” In the original language, the judge says, “lest she blacken my eye”. And this doesn’t mean that he feared she would strike him; but rather that he feared she would cause dark circles to form under his eyes from a lack of rest!

Persistence of the widow won out over the hard-heartedness of the judge!

* * * * * * * * * *

Now; when I think of our Lord’s parable, I can’t help but think of the fact that He Himself once illustrated it. Do you remember the story of how a woman of Canaan—a Gentile—came to Him for help? She followed Him and cried out, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! My daughter is severely demon-possessed.” But Jesus didn’t answer her. His disciples even said, “Send her away, for she cries out after us.” But He said, “I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”

Finally, she came and worshiped Him, saying, “Lord, help me!” But He even still seemed to refuse her. He said, “It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” And she said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their master’s table.” She was persistent in her faith. And that’s when Jesus suddenly said, “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire.” And He healed the woman’s daughter (Matthew 15:21-28).

Jesus wasn’t being cruel to the woman. He wasn’t really ignoring her or disregarding her need. Far from it. Rather, He was, in love, making her ask harder. He was drawing out from her that persistence of faith that He knew to be in her. And once that faith had been revealed to His satisfaction, He wonderfully praised it and rewarded it with an answer.

I believe that’s what the Lord is hinting at to us in this parable. Notice . . .

3. THE APPLICATION THAT OUR LORD MADE (vv. 6-8a).

He said, “Hear what the unjust judge said.” And what was it that he said? It was, “I will avenge her.” He didn’t do this out of love for her. He didn’t do this because he had a sense of duty toward her. He didn’t do it because he either feared God or regarded man. He did it because she was driving him crazy!

Jesus goes on to say, “And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them?” The key to this parable is not by thinking that God is like the judge; but rather, by understanding that God is not like the judge.

Think of the contrasts:

— The judge was an unjust judge; but God is a just God who “shows no partiality nor takes a bribe”; and who “administers justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the stranger, giving him food and clothing”.

— The judge had no relationship whatsoever to the widow that inclined him to help her; but God looks upon us as “His own elect”—those whom He has chosen for Himself, from before the creation of the world, to be redeemed by His Son, to be glorified by Him, and to dwell with Him forever in heaven.

— The judge was put off by the woman’s constant request; but God hears the cries of His people whenever they are spoken—day and night—willingly.

— The judge was irritated by the woman’s constant request; but God is longsuffering toward His people. He is not angry with them for asking.

— The judge would not help the widow “for a while”. But Jesus says that, when the right time comes, God will answer “speedily”.

* * * * * * * * * *

Jesus is teaching us to be persistent in our prayers—to keep on praying and not lose heart. If God delays in His answer, it’s never because He doesn’t want to help us. Rather, it’s for our good and His glory—so that He can answer our need at the right time; and draw out from us that faith in Him that He knows to be in us.

And the reason I know this is the case is because of His last few words in this passage, and . . .

4. THE QUESTION THAT OUR LORD ASKED (v. 8b).

So far, the attention had been on God’s faithfulness. But now, Jesus turns our attention to our own faithfulness as His people. He asks, “Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?”

Jesus is not saying that He is doubtful that, when He returns to this earth, He will find any people who believe on Him. The faith He speaks of, in the original language, has a definite article before it; so that it reads, “will He really find the faith on the earth?” And “the” faith He speaks of is the faith of that persistent widow. When He comes—and when all our prayers will, at last, be answered in an ultimate way, and there will be no longer any need to be persistent in our asking—will He find that we were demonstrating that sort of persistence of faith in Him through our persistence of prayer?

* * * * * * * * * *

Dear brother or sister in Christ; what is it that you have given up praying for? Obviously, we have no right to expect our Lord to give us what would be wrong for us to have. We have no right to expect Him to answer any prayers that are contrary to His word. But if we were asking something that is according to His will, and have not yet seen the answer, have we given up?

This parable was given to us to teach us to keep on praying, and not lose heart. God is not being unfaithful in ignoring our prayers. Rather, He’s testing us to see if we are faithful enough to keep on asking. And when He is satisfied with our faith in Him, the answer will come speedily.

I believe it would help if we keep three things in mind that we can draw from this parable:

First, we should remember from it that God is always glad to hear our prayers. He welcomes our prayers just as a loving father would welcome the requests of his own beloved children. In His Sermon on The Mount, Jesus invited us to pray; saying,

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!” (Matthew 7:7-11).

Second, if there’s a delay in our loving Father’s answer, we should learn to see it as a test of our faith. That faith is very precious to God; and He loves us so much that He will test that faith in order to perfect and mature it. Peter once wrote that tests our faith

. . . that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ (1 Peter 1:7).

And finally, we should learn from this parable that the proof of the genuine prayer of faith is its persistence. As the apostle Paul taught us—in a three-word command that perfectly express the lesson of this parable—we are to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17).

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