Don’t Lose Heart

Grandma Cha Sa-soon, a woman from South Korea whose name means "vehicle", became internationally known in 2010. Having no more than a middle school education, it wasn't until when she was in her 60s that she decided to get a drivers license so that she could take her grandchildren to the zoo. In the beginning, she took the test 5 days a week for three years straight. After that, she took it twice a week. To do so, she had to got up at 4:00 a.m. to study and then took two busses to get to the license agency to take the $5 exam. The test was 40 multiple choice questions in a 50 minute period. She failed the test 949 times. On the 950th time she passed the written portion with a 60 out of 100 and moved on to the driving portion. She took, and failed the driving portion, 9 times before she finally passed and got her license on the 960th time. Not only did she get her license, Hyundai gave her a car and a spot in a prime time commercial. (Choe Sang-Hun. "At First She Didn’t Succeed, but She Tried and Tried Again (960 Times)". nytimes.com. 2010-09-03. Web. Accessed 2020-01-24.)

When we are facing significant challenges to our faith we are called to be persistent like Grandma Sa-soon.

Unfortunately, many Christians give up on their breakthrough and become faint in their faith.

Jesus left us with a teaching that is meant to encourage our faith and prepare us for the times when the world, the flesh, and the devil are trying to overwhelm us and it feels like they are going to overcome.

Luke 18:1–8 NKJV

1 Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart, 2 saying: “There was in a certain city a judge who did not fear God nor regard man. 3 Now there was a widow in that city; and she came to him, saying, ‘Get justice for me from my adversary.’ 4 And he would not for a while; but afterward he said within himself, ‘Though I do not fear God nor regard man, 5 yet because this widow troubles me I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.’ ” 6 Then the Lord said, “Hear what the unjust judge said. 7 And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them? 8 I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?”

Prayer is a Divine Necessity

When do we give up on prayer?

Luke 18:1 NKJV

Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart,

Isn’t this a powerful question? How long do we pray for God’s will and for justice and for the kingdom to come into our lives?

Some of us start out praying, but then after it seems like God is not answering and things aren’t changing, we pray less and less until we stop praying altogether.

Jesus uses a word that is obscured by our English translation here, especially in modern English.

He says that we always ought to pray. We ought to. We should. But that translation misses some of the force of the original language.

The Greek word translated here is dei and it carries the idea of divine necessity. It is obligatory, necessary, required.

According to Skip Moen, the word dei combines both Greek and Hebrew thought. To the Greek, this word summarizes the idea that there is a divine logic that governs the universe. To them, there was an impersonal, neutral divinity that ruled. Our culture would later call this idea the Law of Reason.

The Hebrew concept behind this word dei still looks to divine design, but considers it the deliberate direction of a personal God. Behind this word is the will of God and His proclamation which defines the direction of the universe (Skip Moen, “Divine Necessity.” skipmoen.com 2009-02-02. Web. accessed 2021-10-27).

Jesus said we always ought to pray. In other words, He was saying that this is an absolute necessity. It is not optional. It is part of God’s divine order for living in His kingdom.

We must pray. Prayer is to faith what air is to to the lungs. It is essential to God’s view of relationship and an essential act on the part of the Christian.

When do we give up on prayer? We don’t…prayer is a divine necessity.

Don’t stop praying. Don’t give up on prayer. God has a purpose. God will move. If His people will only pray…(cf. 2 Chronicles 7:14).

Giving Up is Not an Option for the Christian

Not only is prayer a necessity for the Christian, persistence and perseverance is required.

Luke 18:1 NKJV

Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart,

The purpose of this parable is listed right from the beginning: that we always ought to pray and not lose heart.

The Greek word here is verb enkakein. Its exact meaning is to “conduct oneself badly” but the nuance is determined by the context. It is in the present infinitive form which means that it is a continuous, unfolding action.

In Luke 18:1, it is translated a number of ways including:

not lose heart (NKJV, ESV)

never give up (NLT)

never quit (MSG)

not to turn coward (faint, lose heart, and give up) (AMP)

not be discouraged (TLV)

not be faint-hearted (EMPH)

never stop or lose hope (TPT)

not be losing courage (WEUST)

Jesus did not want us losing heart or giving up. He did not want us to be discouraged or cowardly in the face of difficult circumstances or challenges. He did not want us to become faint-hearted, lose heart, and stop believing in faith.

When we stop pressing in through faith and when we stop seeking God’s throne in prayer we “conduct ourselves badly.” We show what is really going on in our hearts—a lack of faith and trust and instead faithlessness and cowardice. This is particularly serious when the Scriptures declare that among those who have their part in the lake of fire are the cowardly (Revelation 21:8).

In this parable, the woman keeps crying out. She keeps coming. She does not grow weary in well doing (Galatians 6:9 also uses this same Greek word). She keeps calling for justice until justice comes.

Jesus did not say in this story when God would move but He does declare that God will move.

Stand firm. Keep praying for healing. Keep praying and praying for the salvation of your loved ones. Keep praying for revival. Keep. Praying.

Be bold. Take courage. This constant cry to God for justice and righteousness and His kingdom is an act of faith. It is God’s will. It is divine necessity. Never give up on God. Never give up on His promises. Stand firm in the faith and even when all seems lost, keep standing. Be brave. Be strong (1 Corinthians 16:13).

Will You Have the Faith?

Luke 18:7–8 NKJV

7 And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them? 8 I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?”

Something’s missing in the English translation. In the Greek the definitive article is there. It should be the faith.

Jesus wasn’t talking about a generic type of faith. He was talking about a specific type of faith.

He was talking about the type of faith that always prays. A type of faith that is not slack or lazy or weak but one that is standing firm and enduring. He is talking about a faith that does not let up nor give up on the will of God and His promises.

Will He find that faith when He comes? Will you have the faith that Jesus is looking for when He returns?

This kind of faith is made up of Christians who are on their knees relentlessly pursuing God in prayer.

It is a faith that refuses to cave under the pressure of politics and the threat of persecution (cf. Ephesians 3:13). It is a faith that refuses to stop doing good even when no is looking or repaying (cf. 2 Thessalonians 3:13, Galatians 6:9).

It is a faith that calls on the God whose throne is established on righteousness and justice (Psalm 89:14, Psalm 97:2). It is a faith that trusts in the grace of God and the mercy of God and that looks forward towards the Day of His appearing (2 Timothy 4:8).

When Jesus returns, will you be found in this faith?

Conclusion

Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations 5904 The Persistent Salesmen

The Persistent Salesmen

A survey made by the National Retail Dry Goods Association reveals the following results:

48% of the salesmen make one call and quit; 25% make two calls and quit; 15% make three calls and quit; that shows that 88% of the salesmen quit after making one, two or three new calls.

But 12% keep on calling. They do 80% of the business.

The 88% who quit after the first, second, or third calls do only 20% of the business.

I think that it is possible that these statistics are similar to those of God’s people.

Those who keep pressing into God are the ones who do 80% of the “business.” They are the ones who stay up late and rise up early to call on the name of the Lord. They are the ones who see breakthroughs and pray in revivals.

Don’t lose heart. Don’t give up. Don’t stop seeking God’s will and His ways.

Let’s decide that we are going to answer Jesus’ call to always, of necessity, pray. That we will continue the fight of faith instead of give up. That we will resist tiredness, boredom, delay, and distress and instead we will rise up in faith unyielding. Trusting in Jesus and the faithfulness of God to see His hand move.

Altar: what have you almost given up on? Let’s ask God for the Spirit of prayer, of grace and supplication to be poured upon us like He prophesied in Zechariah 12:10. Let’s choose to make every effort to be found by Him in faith (cf. 2 Peter 3:14).