PERSISTANCE

Wednesday, March 18, 2020

Scripture

Luke 18:1-8

Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought. And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’

“For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come and attack me!’”

And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”

Comments & Reflections

We need to get something important out of the way before we dive into this scripture. There is always some confusion around this parable because it seems to put God in the position of an unjust judge. Ummm…no. Remember that parables are illustrations using fictional characters to reveal actual truth. As such, Jesus is setting up a contrast between an earthly judge and our heavenly Father. In other words, if the judge finally acts justly, how much sooner and better will God will act.

So what else do we draw from this parable of Jesus? Two things. The first concerns persistence, the second focuses on subject matter.

This parable is an encouragement to persevere in our faith and in our prayers, especially in situations of hopelessness. After all, what were the odds that the pleas of an elder widow would prevail with a powerful and uncaring judge? Yet, this reveals the real power of enduring faith and persistent prayer, even when the world says it is against the odds or useless.

Yet, this is not an encouragement to think that if we nag God enough, we’ll finally wear him down and get what we want. We might, but we might not. For example, in this parable, the issue at stake was seeking justice. We know God loves justice, and he will bring his justice, but only in his timing. So what is the “issue” we are bringing to God in our persistent prayers? Is it consistent with the Father’s attributes, or is it some other demand to make our life easier or more comfortable?

I believe prayers shape and change us far more than they “wear out” God. Consistent supplications to God will transform us into his likeness, not the other way around. The only way to prove that assertion is to keep praying and find out.

Prayer

Father God, we lift up our prayers to you. You invite us, call us, welcome us to your presence through our petitions. We can only present to you what we know and long for. But we ask that in your reply, you shape us into YOUR image. Lead us into the fullness of who you created us to be.