Pray Like You Mean It

Prior Context: In chapter 17, Jesus was asked by a Pharisee when the kingdom of God would come. Jesus answered him, you won’t see anything directly and those who tell you they have don’t listen to them - signs of the times: like in the days of Noah and Sodom…lots of sinning without repentance - you must forget all you own and don’t look back…be willing to lose your very life - 2 will be together, 1 will be taken and 1 left…

Luke 18:1–14 CSB

1 Now he told them a parable on the need for them to pray always and not give up. 2 “There was a judge in a certain town who didn’t fear God or respect people. 3 And a widow in that town kept coming to him, saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’ 4 “For a while he was unwilling, but later he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or respect people, 5 yet because this widow keeps pestering me, I will give her justice, so that she doesn’t wear me out by her persistent coming.’ ” 6 Then the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. 7 Will not God grant justice to his elect who cry out to him day and night? Will he delay helping them? 8 I tell you that he will swiftly grant them justice. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” 9 He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and looked down on everyone else: 10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee was standing and praying like this about himself: ‘God, I thank you that I’m not like other people—greedy, unrighteous, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of everything I get.’ 13 “But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even raise his eyes to heaven but kept striking his chest and saying, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner!’ 14 I tell you, this one went down to his house justified rather than the other, because everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Do not get discouraged when you pray.

The phrase "lose heart" (enkakeo) literally means to turn coward, to faint, or to grow utterly weary. It describes a soldier who drops his shield in the middle of battle, believing the fight is already lost.

Jesus introduces this entire teaching on prayer by addressing our emotions first. He knows that the greatest threat to our prayer life is not a lack of time, but a lack of hope.

Satan rarely tries to convince believers that God can’t answer prayer; instead, he whispers that God won't answer your prayer. Discouragement is the enemy's favorite tool to silence the church.

We confuse God’s silence with God’s absence. When we pray and see no immediate change, our human nature assumes nothing is happening.

If we are going to fight off this discouragement, we cannot just pray casually. We have to move from an occasional cry for help to a lifestyle of relentless pursuit. That brings us to our second point:

Faithfully and persistently go to God with your prayers.

Persistence in prayer is born out of holy desperation.

We stop praying when we think we have other options.

We keep praying when we realize, like this widow, that God is our only hope.

When we persistently go to God, we are not annoying Him. In fact, Hebrews 11:6 “6 Now without faith it is impossible to please God, since the one who draws near to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.” tells us that without faith it is impossible to please God.

Bold, persistent prayer honors God because it shows we believe His promises are true and that He can fulfill them.

Think about how water shapes a landscape. A sudden, massive flash flood can rush through a canyon, moving dirt and rocks violently for an hour, but when it dries up, the landscape eventually settles back.

However, think about a steady, relentless drip of water on solid rock over decades. One drop of water does nothing to a stone. But day after day, year after year, that constant, persistent drip will eventually cut right through the hardest granite on earth.

Sometimes we look for a single, "knockout blow" prayer to fix our problems instantly. But God often calls us to the persistent, daily drip of faithful prayer. Do not underestimate the power of showing up day after day, kneeling before the Lord, and letting your steady faithfulness break through life's hardest circumstances.

God hears our prayers, and in His time, the answer will come.

Jesus describes the believer's prayer life as crying out "day and night." This isn't cold ritualism; it is the instinctive, ongoing cry of a child to a parent.

Heaven never drops your calls. Your prayers do not evaporate into the atmosphere; they accumulate before the throne of God.

Jesus says God will answer "quickly."

We operate on a chronometer (minutes and hours); God operates on Kairos (strategic, appointed times).

In human terms, "quickly" means right now. In divine terms, "quickly" means suddenly and without delay once the appointed time has arrived. When God acts, He moves swiftly, but the setup to that moment takes time.

The question isn't whether God will be faithful to answer, but whether we will be found faithful to keep trusting Him while we wait.

Faith here is not a temporary emotional high; it is a gritty, enduring commitment that refuses to quit believing just because the clock is ticking.

So, if God's answers are certain but His timing requires our endurance, how do we survive the waiting room? It all comes down to the posture of our hearts. It is not enough to keep asking; we must examine how we ask. That brings us to our final point:

Approach God with the right attitude.

We see two separate attitudes or postures in prayer: pride and brokenness/humility.

The Pharisee stood "by himself" and "prayed about himself."

His prayer wasn't actually directed toward God; it was a press release to inform God, and anyone else listening, of how well he was doing.

He measured his spiritual standing by looking down at others. He didn't evaluate his life against the holiness of God; he evaluated it against his neighbors' failures.

He treated God like a debtor who owed him a blessing because of his good behavior.

The tax collector stood "at a distance." He understood the vast chasm between his sinfulness and God’s holiness. He couldn't even look up to heaven because of his shame.

He brought no resume, no excuses, and no comparisons. He brought only his brokenness.

Think about how we react when life gets stuck on hold. Often, we are like passengers sitting on a delayed airplane. From our viewpoint, the sky looks clear, and there are no issues. So, we cross our arms and wonder why the pilot won't move.

But we can't see what the control tower sees. The Controller sees a massive storm fifty miles away. He sees intersecting flights that we cannot see. The delay isn't a punishment; it is a protection.

The two men in Jesus' parable had completely different reactions to the control tower of God.

The Pharisee stood up and demanded to fly based on his own resume. He looked at his watch and told God, 'Look at who I am and what I've done! I deserve to move on my timeline.' He tried to run the control tower himself.

But the tax collector bowed his head on that plane. He realized how small he was. He dropped his resume and whispered, 'Lord, I don't control the skies. I am entirely at Your mercy.' He trusted the Controller.

When your prayers seem unanswered, which person are you?

Are you the Pharisee, demanding that God move on your timeline because you think you’ve earned it? Or are you the tax collector, dropping your pride, recognizing your need, and crying out, 'Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner'?

Jesus said the broken sinner went home justified, while the proud religious leader went home empty-handed. God does not answer the prayers of those who think they deserve it. He responds to those who know they desperately need Him.

If you are discouraged today, stop trying to run the control tower. Drop your pride, trust His timing, and surrender to His mercy. Let’s bow our heads and pray...