Luke 18:1-8 Prayer that Never Gives Up Parkdale Grace Fellowship Sunday AM, December 11, 2016 Since God is holy, absolutely perfect, and the Almighty Creator of the universe, should we perhaps approach Him rarely; only bother Him when absolutely necessary? The Jewish rabbis had limited the number of times that a Jew should pray to no more than three times a day so that they would not pester and weary God with too many prayers. That is the opposite of what God wants of us. Jesus removes that man-made limitation and taught His followers to always pray in all circumstances and not give up. Luke 17:20, 22, Now when He was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He answered them and said, The kingdom of God does not come with observation 22 Then He said to the disciples, The days will come when you will desire to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it. Jesus let His disciples know in verse 22 that in spite of their desire to see one of the days of the Son of Man (meaning the time of His judgment on the nations, His second coming and His establishing of His kingdom on earth) the Lord will not return in their lifetime. In other words there would be a long delay before Christ would return to earth and the conditions on earth will lead many to despair that the Lord may never return. Now the first parable in chapter 18 continues with the same train of thought; Jesus uses this parable to instruct His followers how they should conduct themselves during this time of delay so that we will be ready for Him when He returns and not be among the majority who have abandoned their belief and are not ready. But Jesus closes this parable with this sobering question: when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth? Luke 18:1, Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart The disciples had been taught by Jesus in Luke 11:2 to pray saying, Your kingdom come. Yet in spite of their praying Jesus said the kingdom would not come in their lifetime and they will be greatly tempted to lose heart. But they were to persist in prayer, for God would answer their prayer in His time. The point of the following parable is to encourage us to always continue to pray until Jesus returns and not lose heart.
2 The expression, that men always ought to pray, does not mean continuous, unending 24/7 prayer, that we do nothing else in life but pray. It means to pray at all times and under all circumstances, even when the situation seems to be hopeless, impossible and pointless. The opposite of always praying is to lose heart, or to become weary, to faint, or to give up and quit. Jesus has also been warning His disciples about the persecution and opposition they can expect to experience because of their relationship with the Lord. Matthew 10:21-23, Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death. 22 You will be hated by everyone because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. 23 When you are persecuted in one place, flee to another. So through this parable Jesus is pointing His disciples to the attitude and focus they need to maintain while living, ministering and waiting for Christ in a world that will oppose them. How should they handle injustice, rejection and mistreatment? They always ought to pray and not lose heart in all circumstances. Persistent prayer is not only for the purpose of bringing about the things prayed for, but it is also the key to us persevering through tough times and standing strong in the faith to the end. To always pray is the key to persevering to the end. The one who perseveres in prayer is the one who perseveres in the Christian walk. The one who loses heart and quits praying is the one who quits walking in fellowship with the Lord. Prayer is vital for the development of our own spiritual life. We don t pray just to see answers, but we pray to grow in our faith and in Christ-likeness. Jesus presents this parable to show His disciples, including us, how we should approach the Father boldly, confidently with determination and persistence in prayer. Luke 18:1-2, Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart, 2 saying: There was in a certain city a judge who did not fear God nor regard man. This judge represents an unjust system in which the things of God are despised and the individual has no intrinsic worth or value but in which everyone selfishly does what is right in their own eyes. Increasingly this is the kind of environment we will find ourselves in as we await the return of our righteous judge. Luke 18:3, Now there was a widow in that city; and she came to him, saying, Get justice for me from my adversary.
3 Life had dealt this misfortunate woman a bitter blow. First of all she has lost her husband, who was her primary source of support and security in that culture. Widows were among the most vulnerable and defenseless people in that ancient culture. And now this widow has an adversary who seems to be taking advantage of her. In Luke 20:47 the Lord described the religious scribes as men who unscrupulously devour widow s houses. To make matters worse her only recourse is to deal with this unjust callous judge. She likely has no money to pay for a lawyer or to bribe him, and she apparently has no family member to speak on her behalf. Luke 18:4-5, and she came to him, saying, Get justice for me from my adversary. 4 And he would not for a while; but afterward he said within himself, Though I do not fear God nor regard man, 5 yet because this widow troubles me I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me. Every day she returned to him and begged him to help her. Possibly she confronted him everywhere, not just in court. Perhaps she pleaded with him in front of his colleagues, or on the streets, and whenever she saw him in the market place she would bring the matter up and possibly even come to his door at home, but he was indifferent and unresponsive for a while. However as this widow persisted with her appeals and never relented the judge eventually gives in and says, Though I do not fear God nor regard man, 5 yet because this widow troubles me I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me. The expression, weary me, or wear me out, comes from an ancient boxing expression meaning to be worn down by repeated blows. Luke 18:6-8, Then the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge said. 7 And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them? 8 I tell you that He will avenge them speedily This parable s lesson is often misunderstood and they think that we must frantically or anxiously persist in begging God to answer our prayers until He, like the unjust judge, gives in against his will and gives us what we ask for. But that is missing the point. In this parable Jesus is contrasting God with the judge God is not at all like the judge, for our God is by nature pure justice, there is no unfairness in Him. And He is completely good toward us and very eager to graciously lavish upon us not only justice but undeserved blessings, because He loves us. But sometimes we have to wait There will be a long delay before Jesus returns to bring judgment upon all of the wicked on the earth. But the delay is not because God is not interested in justice it is not because He needs to be convinced that He should act for our benefit that is His desire.
4 Unlike the unjust judge, everything the Lord does is done for the glory of God and for the good of His people. So we can be confidently assured that if there is any delay on God s part in responding to prayer it is for our good. But we are to keep on praying even when the Lord delays. And we are not like this widow who is unrelated to the judge and who means nothing to him. We are described in verse seven as His own, meaning we are His children, we are the sheep of His pasture, we are His creation, and we are His bride. Also we are described as His elect, meaning that we are His chosen ones, He loves us and has a very deep interest in us and is committed to caring for His elect. Therefore, because of who God is and who we are, there is no reason to frantically beg Him, or to persistently plead repeatedly to try to convince Him to act on our behalf. Such praying is unbiblical, it is unbelieving, it doesn t know the heart and nature of our God. That kind of praying is characteristic of the prayers of pagans, not children of God. We are not to pray like the prophets of Baal prayed. 1 Kings 18:24-28, Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, you call on the name of your gods, and I will call on the name of the Lord; and the God who answers by fire, He is God. 26 So they called on the name of Baal from morning even till noon, saying, O Baal, hear us! But there was no voice; no one answered. Then they leaped about the altar which they had made. 27 And so it was, at noon, that Elijah mocked them and said, Cry aloud, for he is a god; either he is meditating, or he is busy, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is sleeping and must be awakened. 28 So they cried [louder ESV], and cut themselves Sometimes Christians pray like this, desperately trying to persuade God to act on their behalf. And then we get lots of other people to join with us, imagining that the more we pray, and the more people we get praying, the more pressure we will put on God and He won t be able to ignore us. We wrongly imagine that the Lord is like the unjust judge. However, the Lord does commend the unwavering persistence of the widow. We persevere unwaveringly in prayer, not to convince God, but to demonstrate and strengthen our faith, believing that the thing we are asking for is the very thing that He wants to do. A few chapters earlier Jesus had taught another parable which illustrated for us this same way that we should approach the Father: boldly, confidently with determination and persistence in prayer. Luke 11:5 6, "And He said to them, Which of you shall have a friend, and go to him at midnight and say to him, Friend, lend me three loaves; 6 for a friend of mine has come to me on his journey, and I have nothing to set before him ;"
5 The fact that the host had no food to serve his guest indicates that his arrival was unexpected. This is a legitimate need. He knows that his neighbor has some bread, but it is so late at night. He has probably been asleep for hours already. So the host quietly knocks at the neighbor s door, or calls in through an open window just loud enough to hopefully wake up his friend but not the children. Do you ever feel this way about some of your prayer requests? Do you feel like you are bothering God? This parable is being told to teach us something about prayer. Let s see how the neighbor answers this man s plea: Luke 11:7, "and he will answer from within and say, Do not trouble me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give to you?" So what would you do? If your request was turned down? Would you apologize for waking him up and go try someone else? Or would you just give up, go home, and apologize to your guest that you are unable to feed him? What do you do when God doesn t answer your prayer? Do you turn to someone else to meet your need? Or do you just give up and say I guess I ll just have to live with this need in my life? Luke 11:8, "I say to you, though he will not rise and give to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will rise and give him as many as he needs." The man in this parable didn t give up; he didn t turn away, but he kept on knocking gently at the door; he kept asking his friend to help him out. Jesus makes a point of telling us that the neighbor didn t answer this man s request because of their friendship, he answered his request because of the man s persistence in not giving up, not going away. He kept on asking, he kept on knocking, and as a result of that persistence he got what he was asking for. And Jesus commended this persistence. So what is the main point regarding our prayer to God that Jesus wants us to get from these parables we are looking at today? I believe that it can be summarized by Luke 11:9-10. Luke 11:9 10, " So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened."
6 The three verbs in verses 9 and 10 ask, seek and knock, in the original Greek are continuous, not describing a single activity but a repeated persistent activity. The Amplified Bible translates it this way: Luke 11:9-10 So I say to you, ask and keep on asking, and it will be given to you; seek and keep on seeking, and you will find; knock and keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who keeps on asking [persistently], receives; and he who keeps on seeking [persistently], finds; and to him who keeps on knocking [persistently], the door will be opened. It is important however for us to notice that there is a big difference between being persistent with an unjust judge, or with a friend, and being persistent with God. Persistence will prevail with your friend because they become angry or annoyed with you and just give you what you want to get rid of you. But in contrast, God is pleased with our persistence it is exactly what He wants from us, He waits for us to demonstrate persistence. Jesus is giving us the word of God this is the desire of God; the instruction of God; in fact it is the requirement of God that we be persistent in our prayer to Him. Jesus is teaching us how we are supposed to pray; God is telling us to do precisely this with Him. He is telling us to be persistent and not give up it won t make God mad, it will make Him happy with you. This is not teaching to be stubborn in insisting on your own will and selfish desires, because when we pray to God one of the first things we do is to yield to His authority and to pray according to His will, not our own Your kingdom come. Your will be done So in prayer we must first surrender our own will and pray for that which we believe to be God s will for us or for someone else who we are interceding for. Jesus used these parables to illustrate the need for insistence in humble prayer before God. When the answer is not immediately given, the praying Christian must courageously and urgently persist in asking until the answer comes. The answer is assured, if he has the faith to press on in prayer with vigorous faith. Persistent prayer is a pressing in toward God, it requires confidence that you have the right standing with God to be able to ask this of Him, it requires confidence that you are His child, that you are authorized to come boldly into His presence. Persistent prayer requires faith that God does hear you, that He is able and willing to meet your need and that your request is according to His will. It is the ability to hold on, press on, and wait upon the Lord with a passionate tenacity that won t give up even when circumstances and delayed response become discouraging.
7 E.M Bounds says that this wrestling quality in persistent prayer is an inward force or ability stirred up in us by the Holy Spirit. It is the intercession of the Spirit of God in us. It is what James 5:16 describes as, The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man [that] avails much." (E.M. Bounds, E.M. Bounds on Prayer, p. 139) The example of the Syro-Phoenician woman is another example in scripture of how God values and responds positively to persistence in prayer. Matthew 15:21 28, "Then Jesus went out from there and departed to the region of Tyre and Sidon. 22 And behold, a woman of Canaan came from that region and cried out to Him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! My daughter is severely demon-possessed. 23 But He answered her not a word. And His disciples came and urged Him, saying, Send her away, for she cries out after us. [Her persistence was getting on their nerves but Jesus was actually very interested in her approach but He let it continue longer] 24 But He answered and said, I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 25 Then she came and worshiped Him, saying, Lord, help me! 26 But He answered and said, It is not good to take the children s bread and throw it to the little dogs. 27 And she said, Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters table. 28 Then Jesus answered and said to her, O woman, great is your faith! [You have passed the test!] Let it be to you as you desire. And her daughter was healed from that very hour." It seems that He was ignoring her. Her cries were initially met with silence (does this resemble God s response to your prayer?). But she does not turn away or give up. She holds on and persists in asking Him. Then Jesus finally responds to tell her that she is not part of the people He has come to minister to. That would have been enough to discourage most people, but she would not give up She didn t go anywhere else, she didn t knock on anyone else s door, but she persistently kept praying until Jesus responded and answered her prayer. Her persistence demonstrated the sincerity and depth of her faith that Jesus was the only hope and the only answer for her daughters need. Her persistence did not offend the Lord, it thrilled His heart and propelled Him to compassionately respond. Without that faith she would have given up and silently walked away when Jesus was ignoring her cry. But the Lord recognizes and honors and delights in her faith which was tested and proven by her persistence. Let s return to our parable in Luke 18 and notice again how chapter 18 begins. Luke 18:1 AMP, Now Jesus was telling the disciples a parable to make the point that at all times they ought to pray and not give up and lose heart,
8 Luke 18:6 8 NKJV, Then the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge said. 7 And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them? 8 I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith [demonstrated by persistent prayer] on the earth? " It is persistence that God looks for; it is what He waits for, because it is an expression of faith. Why does God keep us waiting? Faith is demonstrated and cultivated in us by the delay. Faith is strengthened and enriched by the struggle of wrestling in prayer. Much of what we pray for is selfishly motivated we ask for the wrong things, we ask with the wrong motives, we ask with little faith or conviction. But as God delays and remains silent our prayers are changed. We give up on those things that God has not given us the faith for. It is only those things that are impressed upon our hearts by the Holy Spirit that we will persevere in persistently trusting God for the answer, continuing for days, weeks, months and even years if necessary. But in God s perfect time the answer will always come to those who persevere and don t give up in asking for God s will. Some of you have been praying a long time for something important. Is your request God s will? Is it in line with the word of God? Is your motive selfish, or seeking the glory of God and the good of others? Then if you have confidence that what you are asking is right, then persist in praying, become even more bold and confident in your prayer, let faith arise in your heart. If the Spirit of God is compelling you to ask then cry out day and night, keep on asking, keep on seeking, keep on knocking for if you do God promises that you will eventually receive. We need to recognize that one of the characteristics of prayer is that there will often be delays, denials, and what seem to be failures in response to our prayer. There will be times of discouragement, times when others tell you to stop praying We are to prepare ourselves for these and to accept them when they come with the determination that we will NOT give up in asking the Lord for that which the Lord has put on our hearts.
9 Copyright 2016 by Parkdale Grace Fellowship Permission: You are permitted to reproduce and distribute this material in any format, provided that you do not alter the wording in any way and do not charge a fee beyond the cost of reproduction. Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright 1979, 1980, 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.