How would we be different if we believed God is who He says He is?
1 One day Jesus told his disciples a story to show that they should always pray and never give up. 2 “There was a judge in a certain city,” he said, “who neither feared God nor cared about people. 3 A widow of that city came to him repeatedly, saying, ‘Give me justice in this dispute with my enemy.’ 4 The judge ignored her for a while, but finally he said to himself, ‘I don’t fear God or care about people, 5 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!’”
6 Then the Lord said, “Learn a lesson from this unjust judge. 7 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? 8 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?” Luke 18:1-8
Our tenacity in prayer is directly impacted by what we believe about God.
I appreciate the fact that this parable starts out with the purpose – so many of Jesus’ parables aren’t as clearly understood, so I’m grateful that God considered our slowness with this one 😉
The point of this parable is to show why we should always pray and never give up.
But our tenacity in prayer is directly impacted by what we believe about God.
The widow in this story was persistent because she knew the judge she was going to had the power to change her situation and render justice. Likewise, when we pray to God, we ought to do so with the knowledge and confidence that He has the power to do something about our prayers.
In short, we should talk to God like we know who He is.
Holy.
Omnipotent.
Good.
Able.
And willing.
We should talk to God like we know who He is. Holy. Omnipotent. Good. Able.
And willing.
The nature of our God tells us that He is not only able to answer our prayers, but He is willing to move on our behalf. If we can’t look at our own lives and testify to that truth, we need only to examine the lives of our brothers and sisters in Christ. Or the lives of the great cloud of witnesses we read about in scripture.
God is no respecter of persons; what He did then He can do now. What He did for them He can still do for us. And He is willing to respond to our prayers. Are we willing to accept His response?
Are we willing to exchange our best version of the story for an exceedingly and abundantly good ending that is beyond anything we can imagine?
Here’s the part about this parable that had been bugging me though:
“When the Son of Man returns, how many will he find on the earth who have faith?” Luke 18:8b
This is the last statement in a story about being persistent in our prayers. So it seems to me that our persistence is a sign of faith.
Are we willing to exchange our best version of the story for an exceedingly and abundantly good ending that is beyond anything we can imagine?
So why, then, do we seem to lose faith the longer we wait for an answer?
I haven’t come to an answer on that. Any ideas? Drop them in the comments – I’d love to know your opinion on this.
Perhaps this is one of those principles in scripture that won’t necessarily make sense to us unless and until we test it out. Lean into it. Put our whole weight on it.
Perhaps put some faith into it?
Here’s what I know: I want to be found in faith. Whether Jesus comes back in my lifetime or my life serves as a testimony to those who will come after me. Either way, I want to be found in faith.
So I’m going to keep asking. I’ll be the woman who drives Jesus crazy. If you’re really Lord, then you can take it. I’m going to keep knocking and keep asking, according to Luke 11:9.
And should the Lord tarry in His response, and should my heart wane in its resolve, then I’ll deal with that on the other side. My feelings are not a necessary component to my obedience.
My feelings are not a necessary component to my obedience.
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