Loyal, OK

 
Pastor Leon Seaton

To Be Like Jesus--Persistent in Prayer

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 about men. 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 about men, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won't eventually wear me out with her coming!'"

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?"  Luke 18:1-8

In this powerful parable Jesus teaches us many things.

1. Persistence in prayer – never give up!

We can either pray, or we can worry. But we cannot do both. Prayer is either an act of faith or it is just whining.

2. We should pray about everything – and worry about nothing.

“Pray without ceasing” means to pray all of the time.

“Persistence in prayer” means to hang in there until we see God bring the answer. That means that some things can be prayed through quickly. Other things – like peace and justice for the oppressed will be a prayer you pray for the rest of your life!

3. Prayer protects us from the evil one – Satan – this is part of the Lord’s Prayer. The KJV says, “Deliver us from evil,” but most of the modern translations expand it to its true meaning: “Deliver us from the evil one.”

4. Persistence in prayer is counted as faith.

Satan will attack us in many ways. Some attacks are “in your face” and you know what is going on. Other attacks are more subtle… the negative thoughts that plague us night and day are satanic in nature. Resist them!

5. The closer we get to the coming of the Lord the more evil will abound.

The coming of the Lord refers to the time when Christ sets up His earthly rule. As is often pointed out in our church, Christ is always present. He said that He would never leave us or forsake us. However, there will be a day when we rule and reign with Christ. Satan’s time on earth will have run out. That is why you and I see constant increases in the work Satan is doing.

6. Because of Satan and the pleasures of the world, many will simply not have enough time to pray.

How often do you wish you had more time to pray? Honey, you gotta make the time! TD Jakes said that his dad always had time for him. Only after he had children of his own did he realize that his dad had the time because HE MADE THE TIME. Many things demand our time. Be sure you set your own priorities or someone else will set them for you.

7. (Verse 7) “Those who cry out day and night.” This does not mean a cry of panic, rather it means that we are so emotionally involved in our relationship with God that we see things the way He sees them – and we accept our responsibility to be an intercessor.

8. (Verse 8) When we persevere in prayer, God will see that we get justice, and quickly.

To understand this we need to carefully consider the word “quickly.” My older brother has discovered the power of the slow cooker – the crock pot. Since my wife is going to be gone for 2 weeks I decided to follow his advice and cook up some soup and eat it routinely. Carl said that in the old days the cook used a pot-bellied stove. Those stoves did not have a dial so you could turn the heat up and down. Thus it took constant stirring to keep the food from burning. So the cook would stand there stirring and adding ingredients and tasting until it tasted just right. Then she was done!

I think prayer is much like that. We are in constant communion with God. We talk about things as they come to mind. As a result we draw closer and closer to God… and things begin to happen. But we cannot give up! Daniel had to pray for 21 days – 3 weeks – before an answer came. And then it was a prophetic answer that projected into the future.

9. Our prayer is for Christ to reign in righteousness, knowing that Christ’s coming is the only real hope for the world.

Prayer is more than a shopping trip or sending God out to do errands for us. Prayer is a time for us to make a difference in this world! Pretend you are the secretary of state! You are on a mission for the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. You really need to know what He wants to accomplish before you start out!

10. God will see that we get justice.

The widow had an adversary – and the king could not have cared less. However, he did want to take care of himself and this little lady was driving him nuts. How much more will God honor our persistence! He calls us to pray! He is not the enemy… we are just bringing things in line with what He wants done.

11. God’s big question: “Will He find faith on the earth?”

Paul asked this same question in Galatians 3… “Have I labored in vain?”

12. The big question for each of us: “Am I persevering in faith, continuing steadfast in prayer and calling on God that justice may be done and His righteous cause may triumph completely and forever? Or am I so preoccupied with this life that I am not looking forward to Christ’s return and His eternal kingdom?”

March 9, 2008