Luke 18:1-8

Now He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart, saying, “In a certain city there was a judge who did not fear God and did not respect man. There was a widow in that city, and she kept coming to him, saying, ‘Give me legal protection from my opponent.’ For a while he was unwilling; but afterward he said to himself, ‘Even though I do not fear God nor respect man, yet because this widow bothers me, I will give her legal protection, otherwise by continually coming she will wear me out.’” And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge said; now, will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry to Him day and night, and will He delay long over them? I tell you that He will bring about justice for them quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?”^[1]

At all times we should pray and not lose heart. The problem is, however, that we don’t really know how to pray and we don’t really pray. We spend so little time communicating with God and when we do pray our time is more of a monologue than a dialogue. We tell God and ask Him for the things we want and feel we need, but spend almost no time listening to see what He would say to us. We are guilty, too, of spending so little time in prayer and yet we still expect immediate results. We treat God like a fast food restaurant in which one places an order and then pulls through to pay for and pick it up. But to have such an expectation of answered prayer is to deny God’s sovereignty.

God really does know what is best for us, more than we do. He knows when to answer the prayers we pray and how to answer them. There is no question that God answers prayer, we have to learn how to persist, persevere in prayer. That is the point of the parable. If an unrighteous judge who did not fear God or any human being could bring about justice for those who call upon him, then certainly our Heavenly Father can and will do more than that. We are living in perilous times. If there was ever a time when the body of Christ should be praying, it is right now. It might appear that your prayers are not being answered but persevere, don’t lose heart. God is at work in your situation.

Lord, You have taught us that the prayers of the righteous are powerful and effective. Thank You for hearing and answering when we cry aloud to you. Well up within us a zeal and desire to spend more quality time with You. Forgive us for our preoccupations that cause us to have so little time to commune with You. Give us a desire to hear from You and courage to put into action what we hear. Thank You Lord for the privilege of prayer. Use it now for Your own glory and the sake of Your Church. Amen.

^[1] New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995), Lk 18:1–8.