Lighthouse scribes

Text: Luke 18:1–8
Prayer is a core part of the Christian faith because it is a primary means of relating to God. For us, prayer is a conversation with God as well as an encounter with God. I do not claim to be an expert on prayer, as I’m still learning how to consistently pray to God the right way.
Yes, there is a right way to pray to God, which is why Jesus taught his disciples the posture of prayer and what to pray (Matthew 5, Matthew 6, Luke 11). An entire book in the Bible (the Psalms) is literally the writers talking to God, and the apostles in the epistles continually showed us what Christ-centered prayer looks like. So, while this parable doesn’t cover everything about prayer, it certainly contains an instruction on prayer for us.

Back to the Beginning
Luke (Luk) 18:1 CJB
[1] Then Yeshua told his talmidim a parable, in order to impress on them that they must always keep praying and not lose heart.

God’s goal in telling this parable was to instruct his disciples, and us, to persevere in prayer and faith.
In Psalms 69, David is telling God about his travails. Things had gotten so bad that he was worn out from crying to God for help.

Psalms 69:3 NLT
[3] I am exhausted from crying for help; my throat is parched. My eyes are swollen with weeping, waiting for my God to help me.

A few verses down the Psalm, he makes a profound statement:
Psalms 69:13 NLT
[13] But I keep praying to you, Lord, hoping this time you will show me favor. In your unfailing love, O God, answer my prayer with your sure salvation.

I don’t know how long David had petitioned God on that particular matter, yet when he was exhausted, he didn’t stop. He declared that he’d continue praying because he knew help could never come from anywhere else and that God always shows up at the right time.

Psalms 69:33 NLT
[33] For the Lord hears the cries of the needy; he does not despise his imprisoned people.

The Parable’s Contrast
Now, back to the parable. The Bible contrasts the character of the ungodly judge to that of God, and the widow to ours. The judge wasn’t simply one who didn’t fear God; he also didn’t care about people. Call it a double whammy. Yet, this widow did not give up. The Bible says that she went to him repeatedly, asking him to grant her justice. Initially, he ignored her, but eventually, her persistence drove him mad, and he granted her request.

Luke 18:6-8 NLT
[6] Then the Lord said, “Learn a lesson from this unjust judge. [7] Even he rendered a just decision in the end. So don’t you think God will surely give justice to his chosen people who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? [8] I tell you, he will grant justice to them quickly!

Prayer and Faith
Unlike the unjust judge who granted the request because he wanted to be rid of the widow, it is not so with God. God is interested in our affairs. He’s interested in answering our prayers, now, and granting us justice over the enemy. Yet, he requires us to devote ourselves to prayer and to persist in faith. Prayer and faith go hand in hand.

Messianic Jews (Heb) 11:6 CJB
[6] And without trusting, it is impossible to be well pleasing to God, because whoever approaches him must trust that he does exist and that he becomes a Rewarder to those who seek him out.

There is a school of thought that says that once a matter is prayed about once, a believer must then have faith and go on trusting that God has answered. This does not align with Scripture. One of the verses used to justify this school of thought is:

Mark 11:22-24 NKJV
[22] So Jesus answered and said to them, “Have faith in God. [23] For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. [24] Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.

The interesting thing is that the scripture above aligns with the teaching of the parable: that prayer and faith must go hand in hand. Nowhere does it say that because we have faith we ought to stop praying.
Yet, prayer is more than supplication. For every form or type of prayer, God requires continuity and faith.

I Thessalonians 5:17 NKJV
[17] pray without ceasing

Ephesians 6:18 NKJV
[18] praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints—

This post is to remind us of what God said: “men ought always to pray and not faint.” Keep praying, keep trusting God; right there is the place of encounter with a Father who loves infinitely.

Love,

Osi