Persistent Prayer
In Luke 18:1-8 Jesus tells a parable about a persistent widow. This widow was wronged and because of an ungodly judge, justice was not served. The widow was not satisfied with that and kept coming to the judge asking for justice, until the judge became so bothered by her persistence that he granted her justice.
Jesus then goes on to say, “will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night?” He then expands on that, “I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly.”
In verse 1, before we are even told the parable, we are given the reason Jesus is telling it. “To show them that they should always pray and not give up.”
This can be hard.
Persisting in prayer can be hard to do, especially as the stakes of the prayer grow. Most of us, if not all of us, have prayed for something or someone earnestly and persistently and have not seen the results we have desired. Maybe it was a cancer diagnosis, a financial hardship, relationship troubles, infertility, or the loss of a loved one. In these cases and any like them, persistent prayer can sometimes feel hopeless, but it’s not.
In the parable Jesus tells, Jesus is not saying God is like the judge who will eventually get annoyed at your persistence and give in, giving you what you ask for. Jesus is saying that God is NOT like the Judge. God desires your persistence, welcomes it, asks for it, and hears it because of who God is, a good and perfect God.
When we face trials, it can be easy to forget the character of God. We can forget that God is all good, all loving, merciful, powerful, wise and trustworthy. Often the trials in our face can seem bigger than the God all around us, but they are not.
This does not minimize the hard things we may face, but does give us a way through them. Through faith in God and persistence in prayer.
The purpose of persistent prayer is to demonstrate our faith and lead us towards hope. We may not always get the answer to our prayers in the way that we hope for, but by practicing persistent prayer we will know there is justice in the end.
We can trust in the character of God, in his foreknowledge and goodness. We can trust in the finished work of the cross, where Jesus died and rose again, defeating death and giving us a way to experience eternity with God. We can trust in the promise of the new heavens and new earth for those who have faith in Jesus. We can hold tight to the words found in Revelation 21:1-5
“Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. 2 I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4 ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”
5 He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”
This is the future that God has promised. This is what is coming, set in concrete. Our hope. Every unanswered prayer, every tear we’ve cried, every trial we’ve endured, it’s all moving toward this day.
These words are trustworthy and true. Jesus says in verse 8 of Luke 18, “However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”
This question really boils down the heart of this parable: persistent prayer equals persistent faith.
Persistent prayer is the result of persistent faith. We keep praying not because prayer itself is powerful, but because God who hears it is. Let our faith persist no matter what we may face. And when the Son of Man comes, may He find us still on our knees, trusting, hoping, and believing.
Because in the end, we have victory.