And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray
and not lose heart.
Luke 18:1 (ESV)
Jesus wants us to pray and not give up. The parable of the persistent widow that is told in Luke 18 is told to teach us that very lesson. The New International Version (NIV) expresses it this way, “Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.” You remember the story: A widow cannot get justice against her adversary from an unjust judge. We’re not told what the problem is. In that day and time, widows were some of the most vulnerable in society. They had no one to turn to. But she’s persistent. She keeps coming and coming and coming. Finally the judge says, in effect, “Enough is enough! If only to get some peace, I’ll give her what she wants!”
Jesus then drives home the application. If an unrighteous judge will do that, how much more will God do for his elect, that is, his people? Jesus argues from the lesser to the greater.
I’ll be honest; I get tired of praying for certain things. I’ve grown weary of offering the same requests with little to show for it. There are certain things for which I’ve been praying that seem to be getting worse and not better. That’s really discouraging. What do we do?
Pray. Pray some more. Keep praying. Remember the widow of Luke 18. She had nowhere else to turn but to this judge. Where else are we to go? We ultimately have nowhere else to turn but to the Lord. Let’s keep praying and not give up. Some of you have great burdens and you’re tired of praying. Keep coming to the God of all grace and mercy.
You don’t have to pray alone and you don’t need to pray alone. Gathered prayer is throughout the Bible and it’s a powerful thing. We even saw that this past Sunday in Daniel 2. Daniel enlisted his friends to pray for mercy from the God of Heaven so that Daniel might interpret the dream of Nebuchadnezzar and save his life and the life of his friends.
Join us for prayer TONIGHT at 6:30PM after the meal in the sanctuary and on Sunday mornings at 8:45 in the Pastor’s office. We’ve got a spot for you to pray and not give up.