Persevere in Prayer!
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Scripture Reading
Scripture Reading
1 Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. 2 He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared about men. 3 And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’
4 “For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care about men, 5 yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually wear me out with her coming!’ ”
6 And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. 7 And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? 8 I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”
Introduction
Introduction
Prayer is essential to the Christian life.
The mission field calls for prayer.
Godliness is abounding in many respects in the world.
Churches are without power. Many have turned to gimmicks and to entertainment.
There is a power that we may have
Acts 6:
1. Persistence in Prayer (v.1)
1. Persistence in Prayer (v.1)
1 Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.
As we come to this text, the first thing that we must see is that Christ is instructing his disciples on the importance of the duty of prayer.
Immediately in the first verse, we see that Christ would share a parable with his disciples, a picture story, in order to show them the great importance, not only of praying, but of praying persistently, and continuing in prayer.
It is a sad reality that we very often begin praying about things, particularly things that we really desire, and we believe are good things, but in due course that praying begins to fade.
But we must realise that to stop praying, or to give up on prayer would amount to sinful negligence. It reminds me of the account of Samuel who said to the nation Israel, “far be it from me to sin against you by failing to pray for you.” He was a man who continually prayed for the nation Israel, and considered it a sin to fail in this regard.
So it is with us if we would fail to pray. To neglect prayer is to sin against God and against those for whom we ought to be praying.
17 pray without ceasing;
This is a command from God’s word to His people.
Now, the reality is that prayer is something we all struggle with. It is not natural or easy to pray to God as we ought. Many things may affect our prayer life.
Physical weakness
There is our lazy lack of discipline; we simply do not make the time to spend time alone with God in prayer.
There is our callous indifference to a world in need, which ought to be driving us to our knees.
There is our false sense of independence; even if we never come right out and say it, we think we are managing so well on our own that we hardly need to pray.
We don’t have the time - we’re too busy to pray! Too much to get done.
There is our lack of faith in the promises of God.
Then there is our outright rebellion: the Spirit calls us to pray, but we refuse.
But sometimes, the people of God stop praying because they lose heart. As they bring their petitions and requests before God, they long to hear an answer from God, but that answer simply doesn’t seem to be coming.
Sometimes a person may be praying for their sick loved ones to be healed, but the healing doesn’t seem to come. In fact, the opposite happens.
Some may be praying for God to provide employment - a good and necessary thing in life… but although they keep praying, the work / job never seems to arrive.
Some of our younger people may have been praying for a partner in life, but the right person just never seems to arrive.
There are many good things that are asked for, and seem to not come. And over time, people may become discouraged.
No doubt, this is the reason that Christ would seek to encourage his disciples through this parable. We read in verse 1 that the specific purpose of Christ teaching his disciples from this parable is in order to show them that they must always pray and never give up.
Christ is teaching His disciples, and us as Christians today, that we must learn the important lesson of being persistent in our prayers.
We must Persevere in Prayer!!
2. The Parable on Prayer (vv.2-5)
2. The Parable on Prayer (vv.2-5)
2.1. An Uncaring Judge
2.1. An Uncaring Judge
2 He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared about men.
Christ firstly introduces the scenario of a judge in a particular town.
As people who live in society, we know well the requirements of judges. They are employed in order to bring about justice. They stand as those who ought to be carrying out the task of ensuring the justice of those mistreated, and the punishment of those who do evil.
The task of the judge was to judge people's cases with integrity and honesty.
In that account of Moses being snowed under with hearing the cases of the people of Israel, you will recall that his father-in-law Jethro witnessed the scenario, and then counseled Moses to institute a system whereby particular men were appointed, capable men, who could judge the less complex cases. This would lighten his load, and then they would only bring the more complex cases to Moses.
But we see in that account that Jethro called upon Moses to appoint a particular quality of leader. There were character qualities that were to mark such a person.
21 But select capable men from all the people—men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain—and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens.
In the account of this parable as Jesus portrays it, however, this judge didn’t have any of the character qualities that would fit a person of such a position.
According to the parable, Jesus says that this judge didn’t fear God, and didn’t care about people. Aren’t these the two primary qualities that ought to mark the person in such a position?!
This man simply didn’t care, and all he cared about was himself, and doing what pleased him.
Christ is painting here a picture of the most untenable situation one could imagine. A unjust judge, and one whose not ashamed to flaunt those areas of his person
2.2. A Persistent Widow
2.2. A Persistent Widow
3 And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’
As Christ continues, the next character in this parable is someone that is the polar opposite of the judge.
The Judge was in the position of power and authority. He was in a position where he had means. He would have been someone looked up to in society, simply because of his position as judge. He would have had the ability to wield extensive power in order to bring about changes.
Obviously, he was using all of that in a very wrong manner. Nonetheless, this was his position of power.
But now, in steps a widow who is bringing her just cause before this judge in order to find reasonable justice.
Widows in that day were probably in the most sorry state that a person could be in. Usually they had no work, and thus could not provide an income for themselves.
In societies of that day in general, they were in places of no power and authority. They didn’t hold power to anything at all. They were among the most defenseless of all people, along with children.
What ought to have been to this widows benefit was that God had been clear in His word on the importance of ensuring justice and care for such widows.
28 At the end of every three years, bring all the tithes of that year’s produce and store it in your towns, 29 so that the Levites (who have no allotment or inheritance of their own) and the aliens, the fatherless and the widows who live in your towns may come and eat and be satisfied, and so that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands.
9 The Lord watches over the alien
and sustains the fatherless and the widow,
but he frustrates the ways of the wicked.
5 A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows,
is God in his holy dwelling.
18 He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the alien, giving him food and clothing.
As Jesus thus told his parable to his disciples, they would immediately have understand the parable within the context of their own world. A judge ought to have placed special care to defend the cause of this widow as she would bring her case to the judge of her town.
But this judge would have nothing of it. His lack of fear of God, and lack of concern for people, led him to do nothing.
But notice that the widow kept on coming to the judge.
And this is precisely the emphasis that Jesus wants to bring from this picture. He wants to show the importance of persisting in bringing a just cause before the judge.
According to the parable, This lady was faced with an adversary. Besides the usual struggles of a widow trying to get by in life, there was some adversary that had either exploited her, or was continuing to work against her.
I want us to pause and consider for a moment the challenge that this woman would have faced.
2.3. A Grave Injustice
2.3. A Grave Injustice
4 “For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care about men,
Notice that the initial response of this unjust judge was to refuse help. This is precisely the kind of response that is typical of sinful, hardened humanity. This is the kind of response that you would expect from a judge whose heart is hardened.
In this parable, Jesus says that this judge did this "for some time." In terms of the parable, we don't know why he refused. Jesus doesn't include that as part of the parable itself
However, in terms of real life events.... things we know from our own world, there are many reasons that people are denied true justice, or why things don’t happen that ought to happen.
Ideas?
Sometimes, it's not beneficial to the person who has the power to do right, to do so. They have no personal gain.
Perhaps the person that deserves justice has no financial resources, but the person that they're contending with does. If you have a person given to corruption, they will most likely side with the one with resources.
This is such a prevalent scenario in South Africa!! Sadly!
Sometimes the person that is able to give justice, or to carry out that which is rightly due, and would be beneifical, is just plain difficult. They don't want to do their jobs. They're lazy and inefficient. They actually don't want to work, they don’t want to do what is required of them, because it takes too much effort.
So they end up just deflecting away. Justice is denied.
I say this because these are scenarios that often play out in our own world... in our own lives.
We know the frustrations of someone who is not doing what they ought to do. It leaves us with a sense of helplessness and frustration / anger.
But as Christ conveys this parable, we see that the widow persisted in bringing her case before the judge. She kept on pleading with him and hastling him until such time as he would respond appropriately. She simply would not give in.
She kept on coming to this judge with her just cause.
Eventually, the judge becomes weary of her... and he decides to take action.
He says, Even though I don't fear God or care about men... Utterly devoid of pure motives, or of honorable motives.
5 yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually wear me out with her coming!’ ”
The judge here eventually determines to give her justice, even though the motive behind his actions is not noble.
But the reason for giving her the justice she deserves is self-centered for the judge. It's merely to keep her quiet.
He doesn't wish to be worn out by her. The phrase in the original language literally means, "hit me under the eye..." He feels that she is assaulting him with her continual persistence in this.
This leads us to consider…
3. The Prompt to Prayer
3. The Prompt to Prayer
Keep in mind - Jesus told this parable for a reason, in order to encourage his disciples to certain actions.
Having conveyed the parable, note what Christ says to his disciples…
6 And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says.
Now, what Christ will go on to teach his disciples is that they ought to learn from this parable of the unjust judge in order to be encouraged by the judge that is truly just and right in all that He does.
We must note, quite obviously, that Christ is not asking his disciples to liken God to an unjust judge. He is not saying that God is unjust, and so you need to just keep on persisting until you wear him down, and then he’ll give you what you want.
This is a parable of contrasts!! The unjust, uncaring judge who eventually gives in to the incessant demands of this lady, is contrasted with God, who is the righteous and true judge who will always bring proper justice at the perfect time.
Nonetheless, the point is made that persistence in prayer is required.
The point is that if an unjust judge can be in some way persuaded to bring about justice, then a righteous judge will most certainly bring about justice. But the encouragement is to keep on seeking that which is right and true without giving in.
Jesus follows this up with a rhetorical question...
7 And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off?
Firstly, we need to recognise that God will most certainly bring about true and genuine justice.
God is a God of justice. He is a God that is not only deeply committed to justice, but His very nature and character defines true justice. Justice is one of the very defining attributes of God. It is impossible for God to act in a manner contrary to His nature. Thus, it is impossible for God to fail to carry out justice.
Look with me at some Scripture references in this regard.
King Jehoshaphat spoke these words to the various judges that were appointed in the land…
6 He told them, “Consider carefully what you do, because you are not judging for man but for the Lord, who is with you whenever you give a verdict. 7 Now let the fear of the Lord be upon you. Judge carefully, for with the Lord our God there is no injustice or partiality or bribery.”
7 The Lord reigns forever;
he has established his throne for judgment.
8 He will judge the world in righteousness;
he will govern the peoples with justice.
13 they will sing before the Lord, for he comes,
he comes to judge the earth.
He will judge the world in righteousness
and the peoples in his truth.
But I want us to notice who God will bring about justice for.
It is his elect. God will bring about true justice for the benefit of His chosen ones.
This ought to move us… it ought to encourage us.
We know that not a single one of us deserve any of the mercy of God. We do not deserve any of the kindness of God. In fact, apart from the work of Christ crucified, the thought of God carrying out justice would be terrifying, because it would mean our certain destruction!! It would mean our eternal damnation… eternal suffering.
But the Gospel is that God poured out his divine wrath upon His own Son on the cross, and that because of that, we can be cleansed, clothed in the righteousness of Jesus Christ, and have the fullness of God’s wrath and justice that was due us, paid for in full by Christ.
Beyond that, we are now those who are God’s elect, and it is for those elect that God will carry out justice.
This is a profound thought.
Here is a radical reversal of what is deserved.
Because of our identity in Jesus Christ, God rallies behind His chosen people in order to act to bring them the Justice that would belong to Jesus Christ.
In other words, God treats us as if we were righteous and holy, and thus when the world persecutes us as Christians, and when the world perverts justice in this world, God will repay them
We know that God is a holy God. Therefore, if it were not for the mercy of God to
To those who persist in crying out
He will not put off.
Babbling Pharisees?
Context? What justice?
But we must see further than this… God is not only just, but exceedingly merciful and loving…
8 I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”
Justice Assured
Quick Justice?
When Christ speaks here about quick justice, we must not implant our own ideas into the text.
The fact is that justice wi
9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
The emphasis here is on the fact that this justice will truly be brought about!
Son of Man comes Will he find faith?
Luke, Volumes 1 & 2 One Final Question
The real question is the one God has for us—not whether Jesus will come again, but whether we will be ready for his coming. Or to put it another way, the real question is not whether God will do what he has promised to do, but whether we will trust him to do it.
One of the ways we prove that we really do trust in God is by never losing heart, but always praying for the kingdom to come. It takes faith to persevere in prayer—faith in God and all the promises he has made to us in Christ. Augustine said, “When faith fails, prayer dies. In order to pray, then, we must have faith.”