Men Always Ought To Pray And Not Lose Heart

Luke 18:1-8
The Parable of the Persistent Widow
1 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.
3 Now there was a widow in that city; 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.’ ”
6 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 on the earth?”

This parable of Jesus illustrates our need to come before the Lord in prayer, and to be persistent and patient in praying until the answer comes. Our Lord knows how easy it is for us to lose heart, become discouraged and stop praying completely.

In this parable, a widow had lost her husband. She was poor and powerless. Then somebody came and did some unjust acts against her, probably seizing her home, enslaving her children or taking away her personal belongings. Standing alone, she was helplessly seeking help from a powerful person, a judge in the city, to do justice for her. But the judge did not render any help to her initially.

This judge was a very godless man who did not fear God nor regard man. But this widow was persistent. Living in the same city, she came to him frequently to appeal for justice to be done on her behalf. The judge tried to ignore her, not taking heed to any of her requests. Facing all odds against her, she never gave up hope. Eventually, her continual petitions and pleadings really got on the nerves of the judge.

The judge said to himself, "I fear neither God nor man, but this woman really bothers me. She is wearing me out with her constant visits. I’m going to see that she gets justice."

Then our Lord Jesus said, “If even an evil judge can be worn down like that, don’t you think that God will not judge in favor of His own people who cry to Him day and night for help? Will He be slow to help them? I tell you, He will judge in their favor. Yes! He will ensure that His justice will prevail and answer them quickly! But the issue that truly matters is this: When I return, will I find any faithful ones on earth who are praying and crying to God day and night for help?”

In these times of great fear and uncertainty, God is still doing wonders, and bringing justice, healings and miracles in many parts of our world as the people of God cry for help and divine intervention! Prayers are answered as our Lord makes all things beautiful in His time. The love of God never fails! And God is faithful. He will never give up on us! God will grant justice to those who cry to Him day and night. He can even use unjust judges to bring justice for His people!

Today, injustice is widespread and common everywhere and inside churches. Many Christians now believe that there is no judgment day, and God is not going to judge the world because of His great love for us! They also believe that the laws of God are not longer applicable now! In doing so, they have become lawless and unjust. Therefore they have no laws to know what is right or wrong, and no judgment to differentiate what is good or bad!

We are exhorted not to be judgmental. Being judgmental means judging others unfairly or having bad judgment like the godless judge. No judgment means nothing is good or bad, right or wrong, or has any meaning since God is not going to judge the world, and we are allowed to commit sins and do evils. But throughout the Bible, we are taught to have good judgment by not perverting justice or showing partiality!

Deuteronomy 16:19
You shall not pervert justice; you shall not show partiality, nor take a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and twists the words of the righteous.

The rich and powerful are taking advantage, and bullying the poor and powerless. Even the judges in the judicial system favor and respect the rich and powerful, and show no favor and respect for the poor and powerless. Even Christians are showing personal favoritism for the rich and powerful, and despise the poor and powerless!

James 2:1-7
1 My brethren, do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with partiality.
2 For if there should come into your assembly a man with gold rings, in fine apparel, and there should also come in a poor man in filthy clothes,
3 and you pay attention to the one wearing the fine clothes and say to him, “You sit here in a good place,” and say to the poor man, “You stand there,” or, “Sit here at my footstool,”
4 have you not shown partiality among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts?
5 Listen, my beloved brethren: Has God not chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him?
6 But you have dishonored the poor man. Do not the rich oppress you and drag you into the courts?
7 Do they not blaspheme that noble name by which you are called?

Most of the prosperity preachers and teachers promote a God who does not judge, but are themselves judges with evil thoughts. They are judging the poor and powerless in discriminating, degrading and dishonoring them. They openly teach that the poor and powerless are not blessed financially because they have sins in their life or that they have not tithed or given enough money to their churches and ministry funds! These preachers are unjust, having no good judgment, and are biased against those who do not have the bountiful resources to contribute to their ministries! Their values are the same as the world. Everything is valued by money and money alone!

Against this helpless and hopeless background of massive injustice and unrighteousness, our Lord told us to pray always and not lose heart. Even though the judge may be godless, having no regard for God and man, we still need to pray faithfully because our God is faithful and just. His righteousness still reigns throughout the earth.

James 5:16
Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.

1 Peter 3:12
For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
And His ears are open to their prayers;
But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.

As His eyes are on the sparrows, He lovingly watches over us day and night! His ears are open to the prayers of the righteous, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil. The difficult part is not about God's timing or willingness in answering our prayers. It is about whether we are righteous in His sight, and will persevere in our faith against all the difficulties, obstacles, injustice, unrighteousness, discrimination and prejudices.

No matter how corrupt and unjust the whole system inside and outside the churches is, God will make a way for justice to prevail. He can even use a baby to bring deliverance for His people. Moses was drawn out of the water, raised in an Egyptian palace, and schooled in the Pharaoh's courts before he led the Israelites out of injustice and slavery in Egypt! God's answers are on the way!

Sometimes we think that the answers to our prayers are far away, but they are in fact very near! That's why we should not give up praying. We should persevere faithfully! We should not be tired of doing what is right, because in a little while, we will reap what we have sown if we don’t get discouraged and give up.

Galatians 6:9
And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.

May the Lord find us faithful and not fainting as we are praying and crying to Him day and night for help, and for His justice and righteousness to prevail in the world that we are living in. May we be faithful just as our Lord is faithful. May our faithfulness in the Lord leave some good footprints for others to follow. May we inspire others to be faithful too in living a godly life, trusting and obeying the Lord just as we do!

Written on: 17 July 2019