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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.
Prayer is a Divine Necessity
When do we give up on prayer?
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.
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?
Something’s missing in the English translation.
In the Greek the definitive article is there.
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