One day Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and never give up. “There was a judge in certain city,” he said, “who neither feared God nor cared about people. A widow of that city came to him repeatedly, saying, ‘Give me justice in this dispute with my enemy.’ The judge ignored her for a while, but finally he said to himself, ‘I don’t fear God or care about people, but this woman is driving me crazy. I’m going to see that she gets justice, because she is wearing me out with her constant requests!”
Then the Lord said, “Learn a lesson from this unjust judge. Even he rendered a decision in the end. So don’t you think God will surely give justice to his chosen people who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will grant justice to the quickly! But when the Son of Man returns, how many will he find on the earth who have faith?”(Luke 18:1-8)
The widow in this parable is a picture of the poor and oppressed. We see her in this story not giving up but going continually to the judge seeking justice in her situation. Judges in this time were supposed to be unbiased, judge justly and fear God. This judge though doesn’t fear God or care about others. The only thing that makes him act on her behalf is her persistence in asking for justice. The judge is worn out by her constant requests. How much more will our Heavenly Father respond to our own prayers?
Jesus has something for us to learn from this story. He states it at the beginning of the parable. We need to be persistent in our prayers and not lose hope or give up. Effective prayer requires faithfulness and a firm steadfast determination. We are called to as Matthew 7:7 put it, to keep asking, keep seeking, and keep knocking. I am learning more about this in my own prayer life. I have been keeping a prayer journal of prayer requests and answered prayers. My goal is to pray daily for about twenty different requests and petition the Lord for those needs. I have been greatly encouraged to see answers to some of those prayer concerns.
How about you? What are you learning about persevering in prayer?Do you get tired of praying for the same thing day in and day out? Have you given up on praying for some of your requests? I would encourage you today to write down your requests and persevere in praying. “When Jesus returns He will be looking for those who are praying and watching.” Let’s be those who whole heartedly pray believing that He will answer. “For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.” (Matt. 7:8)
Walking In The Light 