Luke
18:1-5 (NLT)
One day Jesus told
His disciples a story to show that they should always pray and never give up.
“There was a judge in a 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!’”
Are
you praying for a job, but haven’t received an offer in years? Are you praying for a friend or loved one to
be saved in Christ, yet haven’t seen this prayer request answered after many
years? Have you prayed about some kind
of change in your life, yet still haven’t received an answer. Well, perhaps this story from Jesus might
encourage you.
At
first read this story is extremely difficult to believe because Jesus seems to
be comparing God to an unrighteous judge.
Jesus said that this judge did not fear God, did not care about other
people and did not care about the requests from this widow, at least for awhile. The only reason why this unrighteous judge
helped this widow was because she was persistent. He absolutely did not care about her. The New Living Translation uses the
phrase---“drives me crazy”---when the judge is describing what this widow is
doing to him. The original Greek phrase
means “to cause trouble”. This widow was
so persistent in her requests/demands of this judge that she was “wearing me
out”. To stop her persistence, he gave
her what she demanded----justice against her enemy, whoever her enemy was.
God
is not like this unrighteous, uncaring judge.
So why did Jesus compare God to this judge? Jesus is teaching that if
persistence on the part of this widow caused an unrighteous and uncaring judge
to give her what she wanted/needed, then certainly a loving and caring Father
in Heaven will give to you what you ask. If you desire justice like this widow needed,
God will provide. Realize that widows
biblically are viewed with special care as are orphans. Widows and orphans represent people who are
relatively helpless and have many needs.
James 1:27 says that visiting
orphans and widows in their affliction is one of two proofs of pure and
undefiled religion. Psalms 68:5 says
that God is the Father of the fatherless and protector of widows.
When
will God answer your persistent prayer(s)?
The unrighteous judge definitely delayed his response to the widow’s
requests, but his reasons were unjust; He didn’t care about her problems. We know that God does care (I Peter 5:7), but
often He too delays His responses and answers to our prayers, but His reasons
are just. We sometimes cry out like the
psalmist in Psalm 77. You ask a lot of
questions and plead with God. When He
still doesn’t answer, do you give up on Him, do you take matters into your own
hands (although most of the time our needs are out of our control), or do you
continue to pray regardless of how long you must?
When
you are not seeing a prayer need answered----do you believe that God is like
the unrighteous judge? Does this passage
make you think that the only way God is going to answer your prayers is for you
to pester Him? If your answers are
“yes”, then your thinking is wrong. You
are not thinking of God as any better than an unjust judge. Your faith is shallow and perhaps
cynical. However, if your answers are
“no”, then you believe that God is infinitely above this unjust judge and He
cares for you more than you can imagine.
You believe that He controls all things and knows overall what is best
for you and will answer your prayers in His time and will.
Jesus
taught that we must be persistent in our prayer life. You’ve likely heard the old saying, “prayer
does not change God, but changes me”.
That’s what persistent prayer does, it changes you. Pastor Ray Pritchard wrote: “God does
not become more willing to answer because of our persistence, but we may become
more capable of receiving the answer.”
Reflect on the following poem written by an unknown author:
Prayer Changes Me
I
come into God's awesome presence. I
offer God praise and thanksgiving. I
become humble, forgiving and grateful.
I reflect on God's will for me.
I seek only God's glory in my life. I strive to be God's faithful
servant.
Prayer sustains and strengthens me. Prayer joins me with others in action. Prayer changes me.
Prayer changes my attitude.
Not my circumstances. I move from
control to trust.
I stop trying to manipulate God.
I listen quietly for God's word. I
learn to live with the mystery.
Prayer moves my self centeredness. To God centeredness and My self pity to
indifference.
In prayer, I cling only to God.
Not people, places or things. In
prayer, I find peace and joy.
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