Saturday 7 December, 2019

18 Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. 2 He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought. 3 And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’ 4 “For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think, 5 yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come and attack me!’” 6 And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. 7 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? 8 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?”

Jesus tells us this parable, about a persistent widow who doesn’t give up seeking justice. And because she doesn’t give up, she gets what she is after. Jesus relates this to praying to God who is willing to answer, unlike the unjust judge. So, the question I take from this is, am I persistent in prayer or do I give up when it seems that God doesn’t want to answer me?

And if I give up, why? Is it because I believe that God doesn’t want to answer, or that he has something else planned instead? Is that really why I stop praying? Or do I sometimes feel that God is like the unjust judge and doesn’t care about me?

But God does want to answer, especially for his people.  And he wants us to pray in faith. And the prayer of faith is often simply a prayer that doesn’t give up. When things are not changing, when it seems that God is not answering, this is when I have to remind myself that God is not unjust but is both just and willing.

Father forgive me for when I give up praying because I think you don’t care. I thank you that you do care for me and you are willing to answer my prayers.

Written by Andrew Martin