Persistence In Prayer

And [Jesus] told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart. He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected man. And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’ For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself, ‘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.’ ” And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge says. And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them? I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”

Luke 18:1-8 (ESV)

What is the longest period of time you have spent praying for something? Weeks? Months? Years? Oftentimes, we can feel weary in our prayers, which is the opposite effect of what we should expect from such a beautiful gift. Nevertheless, we begin to lose heart after a prayer goes unanswered, especially when we have been praying for a long time. In this passage, Jesus tells a parable that says we should persist in our prayers, to not lose heart or feel defeated as we do so.

To explain how the Father answers prayer, Jesus first presents a contrast: a worldly judge who neither reveres God nor respects other people. A widow persists in coming to the judge, asking for justice against her adversary. Time after time, the judge refuses to help her. And yet, the woman persists. Over a period of time, the judge finally breaks down and gives her justice. But not because of any fear of God, respect for fellow man, nor out of any kindness of his heart. He grants her request because he has grown weary of the widow's requests, and he wants her to stop bothering him. The ungodly judge grants justice for his own sake, for he has grown impatient with the widow.

God, on the other hand, is everything that the judge is not; God is patient, kind, merciful, good, and holy. God is not slow as we understand slowness (2 Peter 3:9). Everything is done in its season, at the exact moment it is supposed to happen. He hears the cry of His people, and He will not delay. He is worthy of our trust, and we should persist in our prayers as we trust in Him.

But we must tend to prayer with an attitude of patience and faith. Prayers that are always answered immediately would not produce faith, but an attitude of entitlement and self-righteousness. "Faith is the assurance of things hoped for" and "the conviction of things not seen" (Hebrews 11:1). Faith assures us that we can expect an answer from God, but it also tempers our expectations. He will answer our prayers, but it will not always be in the way that we want Him to. We must be mindful of how God answers prayer, knowing that His desires for us are far greater than anything we could hope for ourselves (Isaiah 55:8-9).

Be patient, dear friends, and be persistent. Faith requires us to hold on for daybreak when the night is dark. There is a refreshing spring in the desert and a warm hearth within the harsh winter. I encourage you not to give up, and I ask that you would pray for me in this regard as well. We all need reminders not to give up when the trials are as fiery as ever. Pray. Be "annoying" with your prayers. For if an ungodly judge will grant a persistent widow's request for justice, how much more will the God of all justice grant the desires of His children?

Non Nobis Nati