Prayer That Never Gives Up - 10/16/2016

Luke 18:1-8 (reading 4, 5, 7)  ⁴ “…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.’”…   ⁷ “And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them?”…

Let me introduce you to a woman who never gave up.  Her name was Monica.  She had three children.  Two of them turned out just fine, But the third child, her youngest, A young man we’ll just call “Augie”—Gave his mother many sleepless nights.  Sin was having a field day in Augie’s life, In his life of constant partying and drunkenness, And in his laziness and lack of ambition.  But the worst part was what she knew About what was going on in Augie’s heart.  Augie had gone away to study And had come home saying things that went against the faith—The Christian faith that Monica had worked to pass on to her kids.  Yet Monica never gave up.  She prayed every night for seventeen years, Asking the Lord to save her son. 

Seventeen years!  Is there anything in your life that you’ve prayed seventeen years for?  Is there anything in your life that you’ve prayed five years for?  Is there anything in your life that you’ve prayed six months for?  The return of a wayward child to the Christian faith?  The removal of something troubling you in your life?  The gift of a blessing that you’ve never been able to receive?  Maybe you’re like Monica, Still praying every day.  Maybe you’re at the point of wondering if God will ever answer your prayer.  Maybe you’ve already given up praying a long time ago, Thinking, “God’s not going to listen to me.” 

Jesus told this parable as an encouragement To always keep praying and never lose heart, To know the kind of prayer that never gives up. 

1. Persistent prayer.

Prayer that never gives up is persistent, It keeps going in spite of the odds.  In Jesus’ parable we meet a judge, Who has no fear of God nor regard for man (v. 2), Who really doesn’t care about anybody but himself, And you can see his attitude in the way he handles his cases.  Even now in any city around the country, There are judges like this, Not all, but some, who are jaded, Who don’t care about the people Whose cases come through their courtroom.  How do you deal with a judge like that?

Jesus also introduces us to a widow.  Widows, then as now, tended to be poor; They didn’t have a lot of money.  This widow in particular had an “adversary” in the legal sense, Someone who had taken from the little that she had, And now she wanted to sue this person To get back what was taken.  So what did she do?  It’s at this point when knowing a little Greek helps.  In the New King James we’re told That “she came to him,” But that’s not quite right.  The better translation would be, “she was coming to him,” As in coming to him again and again.  The widow persisted—she didn’t give up.  Yes, she was just a poor widow, Why should anybody listen to her, Let alone a no-good judge?  Yet there she was, going again and again To the courtroom of that no-good judge, Demanding the same thing every time:  “Get justice for me from my adversary” (v. 3).  Prayer that never gives up is persistent. 

Sometimes it feels like our prayers aren’t doing any good (Especially, it seems, if you’ve been praying for the government lately).  We pray for justice and we get more injustice; We pray for peace and we get more war; We pray that certain burdens would be eased or removed And they’re still there when we get up in the morning.  

But that’s just the reality of this world, isn’t it?  When Jesus’ disciples asked Him about signs of the last day, He said, “Where the body is, there the vultures will gather” (Luke 17:37).  Where we stand, you and I may not be able to see the body, But all these things that are going on in the world—the vultures are gathering! 

Things are going to get harder before they get easier.  It’s easy to want to give up and lose heart, To say, “Sinner that I am, Who am I that God should listen to me?”  But if we give up on God, what does that say—Not only about us, but about the way we look at God?  Aren’t we really saying, “God’s not going to listen to my prayers”?  Aren’t we really saying, “God, You’re not really there—Or if You are, You just don’t care”?

That’s where the Lord Jesus comes in. Through His Word, in the face of everything going on around you, Jesus is telling you today, “Don’t quit!  Don’t give up!”  He holds up this poor widow as an example For all of us in our prayer lives.  Don’t just pray one time and expect to be done.  Keep making your case to the Lord, Keep asking for His help, For His justice and deliverance In your life and in the lives of everyone around you.  This time of gathering vultures needs persistent prayer, Prayer that never gives up.     

2. Confident prayer. 

Yet that’s not all Jesus is saying here.  Yes, we need persistent prayer, But what good is persistent prayer If you still think that the God you’re praying to Isn’t listening, doesn’t care, and isn’t able to help?  Prayer that never gives up is truly persistent, But it’s also confident. 

Back to the parable:  At first the bad judge wasn’t going to take the widow’s case.  Yet the widow eventually won the judge over.  How?  He was still a bad judge—no fear of God, no regard for man—But, in his own words, “because this widow troubles me, I shall avenge her” (v. 5).  The judge was afraid That this lowly widow was going to knock him out With her constant coming to him.  He could see that no matter what he was going to have to give in.  So he ruled in her favor!  

While you and I see the connection between us and the widow, It’s far more important To see the connection between God and the judge.  The Lord Jesus told his disciples, “Hear what the unjust judge said!” (v. 6).  There’s an old saying that says, “Even a busted clock is right twice a day.”  Well, even a bad judge does the right thing once in a while.  And if this widow through her persistence Can persuade a judge who doesn’t care about her to rule in her favor, What does that tell you about your chances With the righteous Judge of all, the Lord God, Who cares for you more than you’ll ever know?

Our Lord is not some uncaring judge, He is the God of all righteousness and holiness!  And when it comes to God answering our prayers, What does the Lord Jesus tell us?  “Shall God not avenge His own elect Who cry out day and night to Him, Though He bears long with them?” (v. 7).  You and I are God’s elect—His chosen people.  In Ephesians chapter one we’re told that God “chose us in Him before the foundation of the world… Having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, According to the good pleasure of His will” (Eph 1:4-5).  We sinners deserved nothing from God but wrath—and yet, By His grace alone God chose you!  Before He ever said, “Let there be light,” He’d already thought of you!  And then He acted on that choice in time By sending His Son Jesus into this world To be our Savior from sin and death.  And then He acted again When He made you alive in Christ Through the waters of your baptism.  In other words, God knows you!  You’re not just some stranger when you come to Him in prayer, You’re His own child and He is your Father Who wants to give you every good thing!

Are there times when He doesn’t answer us immediately?  Yes!  But it’s not because He doesn’t want to listen or doesn’t care—It’s precisely because He does care, Because He is patient, “not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (2 Pet 3:9).  And when the time is right for your prayer to be answered, Whether for yourself or for the people around you,    For your city or country, or for the whole world, You can trust what the Lord Jesus Himself says:  “I tell you He will avenge them speedily” (v. 8a).  His justice and deliverance will come quickly! 

So you and I can pray with all confidence!  Do not lose heart!  The same God who chose you from eternity Isn’t going to abandon you now.  He is still listening every time we pray, Every time we ask for His help, Every time we voice our frustrations, Every time we whisper that one word, “Please.”  He is still listening, And waiting for just the right time To render His judgment And vindicate His people.  Prayer that never gives up is confident—Supremely confident—Confident in the Lord and in all His promises. 

Remember Monica, the mother who prayed for seventeen years?  After seventeen years the Lord answered her prayers And did so much more!  Her son Augie who had caused her so much grief and sorrow in life, Was finally baptized—he’d become a Christian!  And Augie’s conversion was a blessing—Not just for Monica, but for all of us.  Her son, Augie, better known as St. Augustine of Hippo, Became an ardent defender of the Christian faith.  St. Augustine’s writings about the grace of God in Christ Have influenced many over the centuries, Including a German monk who taught In the small town of Wittenberg.  Maybe you’ve heard of him; His name is Martin Luther. 

Like Monica, and like the widow in Jesus’ parable, You too can pray the prayer that never gives up, Knowing, no matter what happens, That God loves you and Will always hear and answer your prayers.  You can cast all your care upon Him, for He cares for you (1 Pet 5:7).  Amen.