Pray and Don't Lose Heart

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Scripture:

Luke 18:1 ¶ Then Jesus told them a parable about their need to pray always and not to lose heart.
Luke 18:2 He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor had respect for people.
Luke 18:3 In that city there was a widow who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Grant me justice against my opponent.’
Luke 18:4 For a while he refused; but later he said to himself, ‘Though I have no fear of God and no respect for anyone,
Luke 18:5 yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will grant her justice, so that she may not wear me out by continually coming.’”
Luke 18:6 And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says.
Luke 18:7 And will not God grant justice to his chosen ones who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long in helping them?
Luke 18:8 I tell you, he will quickly grant justice to them. And yet, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”

Observation:

Jesus was teaching his followers about the importance of persistence in prayer!  The widow never gave up on the secular judge because she believed that eventually justice would be served.  As followers of Jesus Christ we are to have faith -- faith that we serve a God who hears our prayers and believes in justice.

Application:

Sadly there are too many today who no longer believe in the power of prayer.  They may cry out to God in a moment of need, but there is no on-going relationship with God by way of a vital prayer life.  This is what Jesus meant -- a lifestyle of prayer -- not intermittent cries to the Lord. 

The woman was impassioned regarding her need.  We, too, must be impassioned about the needs around us, going to God with those needs daily and pouring out our hearts to him.  At the same time, we should not be discouraged.  We may not get the response that we think that we want at that very moment -- but God, indeed, is listening to our heart's cry. 

Don't give up today -- but hold onto that deeply personal relationship with Jesus Christ.  Persevere in spending time with the Lord, sharing with him from your heart and he will hear and answer prayer.  The answers will encourage our hearts and help us to see the justice of God -- not the justice of man, and in the meantime, we may discover that we are the ones who are transformed.  The answer to our prayers may be within ourselves and that is where God will find faith on earth.

Prayer:

Lord, may I be a faithful daughter of prayer today, and everyday.  Amen.

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