Text: Luke 18:1-8
“Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.” —Luke 18:1
If you know of George Müller, director of the Ashley Down orphanage in Bristol, UK, you know that his life was characterized by depth and intimacy of prayer. One day he began praying for five of his lost friends. After many months, one of them came to the Lord. Ten years later, two others were converted. It took 25 years before the fourth man was saved. Müller persevered in prayer for some 52 years until his death for the fifth friend, never giving up hope for his friend’s surrender to Jesus! His faith was rewarded, for soon after Müller’s funeral the last one was saved.
In our nature, we are prone to give up on prayer when we don’t see the results we hope for—especially when it involves disappointment, loss, injustice, or suffering. We can get discouraged or distracted, and we can even struggle with disbelief. For this reason, Jesus told his followers a parable “to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart” (Luke 18:1-8).
The parable spoke of a judge who neither feared God nor respected man and was hounded by a widow in the city who kept coming to him repeatedly and saying, “Give me justice against my adversary.” As a widow, she would’ve been marginalized in her society and a vulnerable target of oppression and fraud. Yet this poor woman’s persistence was the only asset she had in seeking justice from this “unjust” judge, as she kept coming to him day after day.
For a while the judge refused, but he couldn’t shake the woman’s resilience. He finally said, “Though I neither fear God nor respect man, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.” That expression “beat me down” can be interpreted as “stun me”—a metaphor taken from boxers, who bruise each other. The Greek word hypopiazo literally means “to give a black eye,” “to give intolerable annoyance,” or to “wear one out.” The unjust judge finally acquiesced and gave the widow what she wanted because he was worn down by her importunity.
The point of the parable was clear—If an unjust judge finally grants the widow’s “prayer,” how much more will God answer the prayers of his elect? She petitioned an unjust magistrate. We petition a perfectly just King who can never be worn down by our coming. God can never be stunned by our pleading. He can never be annoyed by us employing the kind of bold prayerful persistence that Jesus himself taught us to have. From God’s perspective, justice will come to his elect speedily even when it seems delayed from a human perspective. The real question is, will He find faith in those He taught to be persistent? In other words, “will He find men and women who are still praying, who have not given up, who have not lost heart?”
Jesus taught his disciples to pray continually, to keep coming day after day, affirming that God rewards such bold persistence. Remember that as you seek to abide in Him this week.
PRAYER
Heavenly Father, you are a rewarder of those who seek you diligently and continually. Help me to never lose heart in the face of my struggles, my disappointments, and my setbacks. Remind me to be persistent in prayer through all the daily stuff of life, and to be filled with wide-eyed and wonder-filled expectation of how you are going to show up and show off. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Questions for Personal Application or Group Discussion:
- In your own words, how do you picture this resilient widow?
- What can we learn about God’s character in contrast to the unjust judge?
- Why is it difficult to keep praying continuously when God’s response is delayed? What might be gained by praying continuously when the answer is delayed?
- Can you think of something worth a lifetime of persistent prayer and faith?
- What do you hear the Spirit saying to you, and what action should you take in response to Jesus’ teaching about prayer?
