A Life of Continual Prayer
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· 44 viewsGod answers the prayers of those who seek him.
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Abraham Lincoln once said, “If I tried to read, much less answer, all the criticisms made of me, and all the attacks leveled against me, this office would have to be closed for all other business. I do the best I know how, the very best I can. And I mean to keep on doing this, down to the very end. If the end brings me out all wrong, ten angels swearing I had been right would make no difference. If the end brings me out all right, then what is said against me now will not amount to anything.”
And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart. He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected man. And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’ For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear God nor respect man, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.’ ” And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge says. And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them? I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”
The Parable of the Persistent Widow
18 And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart. 2 He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected man. 3 And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’ 4 For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear God nor respect man, 5 yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.’ ” 6 And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge says. 7 And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them? 8 I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”
Growing up, I really struggled with this passage. It speaks of an unjust Judge and how he refused to listen to the woman. Finally, after she tormented him for an undisclosed period of time, he finally relented. I was troubled because it seemed to indicate that we were supposed to tormentn of beg God for him to answer. It almost appeared that we had to coerse or talk him into answer our prayers. Nevertheless, that was not represnetative of God.
Jesus even spoke in the Sermon on the mount in that we should not be like the Gentiles and approach by God heaping up vain phrases, instead we should trust that God hears us when we pray and he knows our need before we even ask.
Today we will look at this passage to help us better understand the act of Prayer as we begin 2018.
Continual Prayer
Continual Prayer
What is continual Prayer?
The judge in the story appears to have been a corrupt man. He was not afraid of God nor man. Furthermore, he did not seem to really care about those he served. Unlike the judges of today who are either voted or appointed, this judge appeared to have taken the role out of necessity. The small town had to have someone fill the role of leader or judge.
It does not tell us what her request was, but that for an extended time her request went unanswered. He refused to resolve the situation. Nevertheless, the judge finally gave in. Not because he feared God or the woman. He was just tired of her constant request. He decided that he would give her the answer she deserved.
In , Jesus then compares this un just judge to God, saying, “Think about what the unjust judge said. Wouldn’t God act on the behalf his own people who continually call on him, will he keep pushing them off?”
This parable demonstrates a very important part of prayer. We will call it continual prayer.
What is continual Prayer?
pray without ceasing,
Paul tells us to pray without ceasing. This has nothing to do with praying at specific times a day or certain lengths of prayers, as many would have us think. It simply mean to let our lives be active with prayer.
1 Thessolonians 5:17
An active life of prayer is a life that is actively involved in prayer.
Says
We can be actively involved in prayer no matter where we are. Whether we are kneeling in our prayer closet, driving in our car, or standing in line at the grocery store. A live active in prayer is a life that never gives up.
Here the widow never gave up and she was heard and ultimately her request was answered.
“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 the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.
These three verbs sound as if they are finished, but in the Greek language many verbs are considered grammatically present imperfect. That means very little at first, but basically they have a progressive quality.
For this reason, many translations say, “Keep on asking.”
The idea is not ask once and give up, but hold fast until the answer comes.
He acts for his people
He acts for his people
The widow continually went before a judge who cared less about her or her need. He had no quams about her desire for justice, nor did he care that justice was served. Instead, he remained satisfied with the power that being a judge offered. However, he chose to appease her out of his own selfishness. He chose to vidicate her because he did not want to be put out by her. He did not want to grow weary of her.
The widow continually went before a judge who cared less about her or her need. He had no quams about her desire for justice, nor did he care that justice was served. Instead, he remained satisfied with the power that being a judge offered. However, he chose to appease her out of his own selfishness. He chose to vidicate her because he did not want to be put out by her. He did not want to grow weary of her.
God on the other hand, is not growing tired of use making our requests. Instead God chooses to answer because of who we are. God hears us, because he loves us. He chose us.
Oh come, let us worship and bow down;
let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker!
For he is our God,
and we are the people of his pasture,
and the sheep of his hand.
Today, if you hear his voice,
Petitioning is an act of humility. It is difficult to ask people for help. We do not want to seem weak and incapable. We don’t want people to know that we need assistance. When we come before God with a request we must humble ourselves before God. We have to show our dependence.
let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker!
When we incorporate continual prayer in our lives, God is quick to hear. Even when we feel that he is taking a long time to answer, we have to keep pressing on. Without giving up.
7 For he is our God,
Prayer is an act of humility.
Prayer is an act of humility.
and we are the people of his pasture,
Petitioning is an act of humility. It is difficult to ask people for help. We do not want to seem weak and incapable. We don’t want people to know that we need assistance. When we come before God with a request we must humble ourselves before God. We have to show our dependence.
and the sheep of his hand.
Today, if you hear his voice,
Petitioning is an act of humility. It is difficult to ask people for help. We do not want to seem weak and incapable. We don’t want people to know that we need assistance. When we come before God with a request we must humble ourselves before God. We have to show our dependence.
Sadly, we tend to wait until the very last minute to pray. We exhaust our options and then when we realize that we are unable to make it happen, we decide to turn to God.
Instead, God would rather us turn to him at first instead of waiting until the last minute. He would rather that we willingly relied on him instead of exhausting ourselves and our own emotions.
When we strive in our own abilities we become worried and easily upset because we are unable to do it on our own. When we are truly dependent on God we show that we trust him and we are filled with peace.
if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.
When we truly humble ourselves and seek God’s face we will see a change.
Never Give Up
Never Give Up
These verses in end oddly. It says, “When the son of man comes will he find faith on earth?”
It can easily be mincontrued. At first glance it appears that Jesus is making this statement because he is concerned about the state of believers.
Looking at the state of the believers around the world today, it seems like a viable question.
Nevertheless, Christ is not questioning if there will still be believers when he returns, rather will the believers show as much faith as the widow.
Far too often, Christians prayer and when there is not an immediate answer they give up. They feel that God is not going to meet the need. God is not a shopping list or a magic genie. He does not immediately dispense everything when we demand it. Sometimes, there is a waiting period. During that period people give up and miss out of the blessing that God has.
Continual prayer manafests faith. The more we hold fast to God and show our dependence on him, the stronger our faith grows.
God basically has three answers to our prayers:
1. Yes
2. Not yet
3. I have something better
It is time that we stop giving up. Just because we do not see that answer right away does not mean that the answer is not on the way.