Luke 18:1-8 “And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint; Saying, There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man: And there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary. And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man; Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me. And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith. And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them? I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?”
In our text, Luke tells us that Jesus now spoke a parable to them to this end (Luk 18:1),
In other words, the purpose of the parable was to encourage people to pray and not to faint.
“that men ought always to pray, and not to faint” (Luk 18:1);
It is interesting to me that so often when people come, almost fainting over the dilemma that they are facing, that they are just breathless, at the end of the road. They’re desperate; they’re almost beside themselves as they begin to pour out. They’re just so full, they pour out all of the woes and the problems and the difficulties and all. And that release valve is popped, and it just comes out all over the place. And then you say to them, when they finally come to some kind of equilibrium, you say, “Well now, have you prayed about it?” “No, no, but we’ve got to do something. We can’t pray.” And yet, that’s exactly what the Lord is saying, “We ought to pray and not to faint.” You know, I have found that the Lord doesn’t give needless warnings.
Now many times when He warns I think that they are needless. I think, “Lord, You don’t need to talk to me about that. I’ve got that one wired, Lord. No problems there.” And yet, it is in that area where the Lord has given me warning that I ultimately end up in trouble. Because I didn’t listen; I didn’t think I needed the warning. As I read through the scriptures, I find that those things that the Lord warned the kings about were the very things that ultimately they got in trouble for. God knows. He knows what lies down the road. And He doesn’t warn us needlessly, nor does He exhort us needlessly. And in this parable, to the end that men ought always to pray and not to faint, that is the area where so many people have problems. They’re always fainting and not praying, just turning it around.
Now, in the parable, do not make the mistake of thinking of it in parallelisms because Jesus, first of all, speaks of a wicked judge. The Roman judges, or those that were appointed by the Roman government, were notoriously crooked. In fact, there’s a Greek phrase that means “the judge of honor.” But by just a slight change, the phrase is “the robber judge.” And so it was very common. And in the classical Greek you can read often this switching of the phrase; and rather than saying “the honorable judge,” they’d say “the robber judge.” Because they were so notoriously wicked. They said you could buy them with a pound of beef. They were just wicked men. And they used their position. And so Jesus is talking about this kind of a judge. And He said, There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man: and there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary. And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man (Luk 18:2-4); It shows what kind of a person he was. Yet because this widow troubles me, will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she wears me out (Luk 18:5).
She wearies me. And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge said (Luk 18:6).
And then He gives His lesson in prayer. Now, I said be careful that you don’t get into parallelisms with this parable and think that this unjust judge represents God. That is not the case. Jesus often taught in parallels with sharp contrasts, and this is one of the those parables not of parallelism, but of sharp contrast. For surely He would not put God in the light of an unconcerned, unjust, judge, unfeeling. That’s the exact opposite of what He teaches us of the Father, who loves, who cares, and who is concerned. So this parable is one of contrast. The contrast is this: if a wicked man, hard, who neither regards neither God nor man, if he can be persuaded just because of the persistency of this little widow, in sharp contrast,“Shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry unto him day and night, though he bear long with them? I tell you that he will avenge them speedily” (Luk 18:7-8).
Now Jesus isn’t really then teaching that you’ve got to persist in prayer and continue and continue and continue until you get your answer. He is saying that God will avenge speedily those who call unto Him. So, don’t in your mind draw the parallel, “This God is like this judge, and I’ve got to just keep pestering Him until I get what I want.” If your cause is right, if your cause is just, I believe that God is only waiting for you to open the door through prayer so that He can do what He’s been wanting to do the whole time. You see, I’m convinced, from the scriptures, that God knows what I really need long before I ever know it. God knows what I’m going to be needing six months from now. God knows what I’m going to be needing five years from now. Prayer is not really informing God of my needs. Jesus said, “Your Father knows what you have need of before you ever ask Him.” Yet, so often we think of prayer, we are informing God now of what my need is. “God, let me tell You what I need here. And I’m going to cue you in, Lord, so You can understand what I really need.” And I’m using prayer as a means to inform God. How ridiculous! God doesn’t need that I should inform Him of anything, for He knows everything. God loves me. He is my heavenly Father. His chief concern is my eternal good. Notice, eternal good, not my temporary good. Now, there are some things that I may feel would be temporarily beneficial to me, but God knows that eternally they’d be damning to me. And so, I try to inform God of my temporal need, and all the while He knows my eternal need. Now, if I could by persistence, just by dogged persistence, by bugging God through prayer, break God down so He’ll say, “Oh, answer that nut! I’m getting tired of him calling!” then I could be bringing into my life all kinds of hurtful harmful things. And God loves me too much to be dissuaded from His perfect will for my life by responding to my prayers when they are not in accordance with His eternal plan. I want to share something with you. I don’t want God to switch His plan as the result of my continued requests. I want God’s perfect will for my life, and prayer is not really intended to get my will done on earth. Prayer is intended to get God’s will done on earth, and so true prayer begins with the purpose of God, the plan of God, the will of God. And He makes that known to my heart, and I express it to Him in prayer. And by my expression in prayer, what I am actually doing is opening the door and giving God the opportunity to do what He’s been wanting to do, what He’s desiring to do, but will not do against my will. You see, God has given to you this business of free will, the power of choice. God will not violate that choice. Therefore, prayer opens the door for God to do those things that He desires to do in my life.
In the fifteenth chapter of John, that glorious chapter of the relationship between the believer and Christ, Jesus said, “You’ve not chosen Me, but I’ve chosen you and ordained that you should be My disciples. That you should bring forth fruit,” cause that’s that fruit-bearing chapter, “I’m the vine; you’re the branches;” “and that your fruit should remain. That, whatsoever you ask the Father in My name, He may,” notice, He “may,” not He “shall,” “He may give it to you.” You see, it opens the door that God may do now what He’s desiring to do. Your prayer has opened that door for God to act freely without violating your will. So, I am of the opinion that the wisest prayer any of us can ever offer to God is, “Lord, just work out Your complete perfect will in my life. Have Your way, Lord, in my life. Do for me what You want to do.”
I think that many times our prayers can be limiting God. We limit Him in our prayers. They’re putting the boundaries and the restrictions on God. Like the children of Israel who limited the Holy One of Israel, so we so often do that in our prayers. “Oh, Lord, I need a hundred dollars! I need it desperately, Lord. You know the bills are overdue, and I need a hundred dollars. God, please send a hundred dollars.” Why don’t you just say, “Lord, please send what you know I need”? Why limit Him to a hundred dollars? He may be wanting to give you a thousand. So there are sometimes when I think that being very specific is not so good. For years I prayed for a church of 250 people. I thought that was the ideal size, and oh, how I dreamed of pastoring a church of 250 people. I prayed for that number for years, limiting God. God had other things in mind. I didn’t know what He had in mind. Oh, that we would understand how much the Father loves us. Oh, that we would trust His wisdom in His dealing in our lives. Oh, that we could come to that place of total commitment of ourselves to Him, “Lord, You do what You want for Me. Lord, I rest in You.” I’m not making any demands on God. I’m not trying to command God. I’m not trying to sit on the throne and be sovereign myself. I’m not trying to get my will done on this earth. That’s not why I’m here, and that’s not the purpose of prayer. It’s to work in harmony with God, to get His program accomplished on this earth. It’s to link together with God and join with Him in His great program of reaching this world with the love of Jesus Christ. “God, Your will be done! Your purposes be accomplished. Use me as ever You see fit as Your instrument, Lord, to do Your work. Here I am, I’m available to You and whatever You want, Lord, for my life. Whatever You want to do in me, whatever You want to do through me, Lord, I’m available. Here I am. Your will be done.” Commitment!
Now, I don’t always understand the difficulties that I am going through. I don’t always understand my trials. There are times when I cry out of my distress. And yet, there is always that understood relationship that I have with God; that even though I don’t understand, Lord, Your particular working in my life at this moment, You just keep on working. Like my wife says, if I scream and yell and holler, “Don’t let me have another bite of chocolate.” And that’s pretty much, “Lord, if I scream and yell and holler, ‘Don’t do anything contrary to Your will,’ I don’t care how much I scream, how much I holler, Lord, Your will be done in my life. That’s supreme, that’s paramount.”
So, Jesus is not saying that God is like this unjust judge. He’s saying He’s totally unlike the unjust judge. But He’s illustrating by contrast. If a man who is so hardened, so callous, so crooked, that he has no regard for God or man, if he can be persuaded by the persistency of the little widow, shall not God avenge His children speedily? “Yes,” He said, “I say He will.”
But then Jesus asked an interesting question. “He said, Nevertheless, when the Son of man comes, shall he find faith on the earth?” (Luk 18:8)
We are told in Matthew’s gospel, chapter 24, one of the signs of the end of the age would be the iniquity in the earth abounding, causing the love of many to wax cold. That goes along with this question. I believe that we are living in the hardest period of history to live a consistent consecrated Christian life. I don’t believe that ever in history has there been more temptation placed so freely before men. Through the media, through the movies, through television, through magazines, we have been overexposed to sexual enticements. That area has been stimulated and aroused. And at the same time, there has been a deteriorating of the moral standards, a broad acceptance of relationships in the society in which we live. And I do not believe that ever in the history of man has there been such a broad exposure and a more difficult time to really live a truly committed life to Jesus Christ. And because the iniquity in the world is abounding, the love of many is waxing cold. And the question then that Jesus asked becomes very significant, “When I return, or when the Son of man comes, shall He find faith on the earth?” True, genuine faith and trust in His Word. Prayer Is A Victory Giver- It is the praying Christian who is the overcomer. Real faith in the heart is expressed in the believer’s prayer life. One who has no faith will not pray. So many people and churches are defeated, floundering in their spiritual walk, because of prayerlessness.
- Prayer seems as much an instinct of the soul as breathing, eating, drinking are instinctive actions of the body, which we need neither to be told, nor to learn, to do.
- It teaches us how to pray. The point here is the fervour and frequency, the constancy and perseverance, or what has been called, in one word, the importunity of prayer. This implies, at least on our part, stated daily praise. To omit prayer is to go to battle, having left our weapons behind us in the tent; is to go to our daily labour without the strength imparted by a morning meal; is to attempt the bar where breakers roar and rocks hide their rugged heads without taking our pilot on board.
- The parable teaches persevering prayer. It is hard, fainting work praying. It is harder to pray than to preach. We do not believe what we profess, nor feel what we say, nor wish what we ask; or, if we do, we do not take the right way of getting it. And how can we expect God to answer prayer when He sees, what we ourselves might see, that we are not earnest? If we were we would be urgent, praying in the house, by the way, on our beds, at our business prayer sounding or silent, a constant flowing stream. By constant dropping the water wears a hole in the hardest stone. And who, as he sat on a jutting crag, amid the spray of the roaring, flashing cataract, has not marked how by her constant flow the river has polished its rugged sides, and worn out smooth runnels for its streams. So, as it is only perseverance in grace that can carry us up to heaven, it is only perseverance in prayer that can bring its blessings down. Such is the plan of redemption, the ordinance of God. “The kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.”
In the Bible, God commands people, multiple times, to pray. But why do we need to pray? This is a question many Christians, as well as people with other beliefs, have asked. If God is in control of human history and also directs individual lives, what’s the point of praying? The answer lies in understanding what prayer is. If you see prayer merely as a means of taking some level of control of your life and the world — as a means of leverage — then you will inevitably be troubled by what appears to be unanswered prayer. But if you see prayer primarily as an ongoing conversation with God, then you’ll realize there is really no such thing as an unanswered prayer. If prayer is first and foremost a conversation between you and God, then His promise to always listen may be the answer your heart needs most. God might not choose to do what you ask Him to do when you ask Him to do it. You might have seasons when you find it hard to hear what He’s saying for all sorts of reasons. It’s hard when someone says no, or even not yet, to what seems like a good and valid request. But if prayer is first and foremost a conversation between you and God, then His promise to always listen may be the answer your heart needs most. There is a famous verse in the Bible that is often misinterpreted, and it’s vital to the questions we’re thinking about here: “Take delight in the LORD, and He will give you the desires of your heart” (Psalm 37:4, New International Version).
You can interpret this verse as saying if you focus on enjoying God, He will give whatever you want. Or you can understand it to mean that if you take delight in God, over and above anything else in your life, He will shape your heart so it wants the things He already wants to give you. His desires will become your desires. It’s safe to say that the second interpretation is more consistent with the teaching of the rest of the Bible. Scripture does not guarantee God will provide you whatever you want right now. With this in mind, let’s look at the reasons we choose to pray — and some reasons we often choose not to.
Here are some shortcuts to specific sections of content if you’re in a hurry: Why Pray if God Already Knows What Will Happen? Why Pray if God Already Knows What You Will Say? What Happens When You Pray? Why Do Some Christians Choose Not to Pray? Why Pray if God Already Knows What Will Happen? What a great question. Prayer is counterintuitive. In what other situation do you ask for something or plead with someone when you know for certain their mind is already made up about what they will do?
Psalm 115:3 (NIV) even tells us, “Our God is in heaven; He does whatever pleases Him.”
To understand all this, we need to think about what Christians call “the sovereignty of God.”
It’s true that God already knows everything that will happen for the rest of eternity. He knows the big events and the small moments of each of our lives, and nothing is beyond His control. So it’s a mistake to think of prayer as the way we change God’s mind or alter His direction in a situation.
Prayer is a process through which we learn to trust God. He listens to us patiently. He takes our requests seriously. Then He considers everything in the context of the bigger picture only He can see.
Pete Greig, the founder of the 24/7 Prayer movement, says, “In prayer, we use our will to come into agreement with God’s will — ‘Let your kingdom come.’”
God knows better than you do what the eventual outcomes of every situation will be. If you pray for dry weather for an outdoor event your church has planned, God might know of another reason why it needs to rain that day. It’s easy to accept this idea when it does not affect a personal situation in your life, but the test of faith comes when God asks you to trust Him with something or someone that matters to you.
Why Pray if God Already Knows What You Will Say?
Again, this is a valid question. In the Bible, we read these words,
“You have searched me, LORD, and You know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; You perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; You are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue You, LORD, know it completely.” (Psalm 139:1-4, NIV)
If God knows what you are thinking, why is He so concerned about you talking to Him? Because prayer is one of the main ways you develop a connection with God. In prayer, you’re talking with Him, not just to Him. The apostle Paul tells us, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7, NIV).
It’s interesting that Paul does not say that when you bring your concerns to God, God will give you peace by explaining or resolving every situation you bring to Him. Instead, he suggests that the peace of God in your heart and mind is somehow more likely to satisfy you and ease your fears than if He fixed or explained everything immediately. Through prayer, you develop a trusting relationship with God. Over time, you also learn to recognize His voice as He speaks to you. The Bible clearly shows Him choosing to act in response to the prayers of His people. Through prayer, God transforms your heart so that having your requests fulfilled becomes secondary to feeling truly known by God and precious to Him.
What Happens When You Pray?
God invites you to pray in all circumstances. Prayer is essential to the way He transforms you, and the Bible encourages you that your prayers can have a powerful effect in the world. So what can you expect to see happen as you commit to praying regularly? 1. You will recognize that you are not God. Every time it occurs to you to pray, you are saying, “In my own strength, I cannot do all that I want to do. I need something more, someone else.” 2. You gain strength from God Himself. Prayer is a way of inviting God to join you in life’s struggles. 3. You invite the Holy Spirit to do what He was placed within you to do. You realize the world does not begin and end with you. Being dependent on someone else to meet your needs is humbling. When infants cry or scream, someone usually comes and meets their needs. It’s easy to allow prayer to become too focussed on registering complaints or making requests (or demands). Whether you pray for yourself or another person, you acknowledge that someone else — God — is the center of the universe. You acknowledge that He needs to change something about you or the situations you are bringing to Him. 4. You surrender control to somebody else. Everyone craves control to one degree or another. Some just believe they’re better at being in control than others. Prayer allows you to admit to God that He belongs in the driver’s seat of your life. 5. You communicate your real feelings about a situation. Prayer creates a safe space to process your thoughts and feelings. Do you feel ready to give God control of your life? Do you feel safe being completely known by God, or does that make you feel exposed? You are under God’s protection — in His safekeeping. Over time, as you pray, you will feel able to bring the real you to your moments with God. 6. You trust that God is with you. Unless you are happy to admit that you talk to floors or ceilings, when you pray, you’re believing that someone is listening. The more you trust in the presence of God’s Holy Spirit as you pray, the more you will learn to trust Him with the outcomes. 7. You feel inspired to take steps of faith. Perhaps you have a desire to be bolder in talking about what you believe. Or maybe you have a neighbor or colleague you feel God nudging you to go deeper with. Praying for that person is a step of faith in itself, because God may invite you to be part of the answer to your own prayer.
Explore what it means to take a step of faith.
The Bible shows God waiting to act in response to prayer.
God knows what He wants to do in the world and in our individual lives. He wants us to lean on Him in every situation, and He wants to change the world through us.
“If you remain in Me and My words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to My Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be My disciples” (John 15:7-8, NIV).
Read more about how God acts in response to our prayers. These are just a few of the outcomes when people come to God through prayer. As you choose to bring all your fears, hopes, ambitions and desires to God, you will see Him respond in ways that speak to you specifically. So how does this sound to you? Scary? Intriguing? Exciting? Or utterly confusing? All of those are natural responses. Prayer is a mysterious activity because, in prayer, you choose to humble yourself before someone you cannot literally see, hear or touch. It’s not surprising that many Christians struggle with prayer, then, and some of us go through seasons when we choose not to pray at all.
Why Do Some Christians Choose Not to Pray?
Here are just a few reasons why people sometimes decide not to pray — and what we think God wants to say to you if one of these reasons keeps you from praying. 1. Fear of disappointment: Have you ever brought a need to God and felt like He did not do what you hoped He would or, worse still, gave you no sense that He’d even heard your prayer? You are not alone. God never promises to answer prayers the way you want Him to. But as you spend time with God by praying and reading the Bible, you will develop trust in Him. This trust guards your heart during times when you feel let down by God, or even angry with Him. God is also completely willing to listen to you no matter how you feel about Him at that moment. Try reading Psalm 13 to discover what honest conversations with God sound like. 2. Struggling to pray “the right way” Do you ever try to pray but struggle with the feeling that you’re doing something wrong? Maybe you do not feel as connected to God as you want to, or perhaps you just struggle with distraction. Even the 12 men who spent three years with Jesus — His disciples — had to ask Him to teach them how to pray. He answered by giving them a simple prayer that Christians the world over have been using ever since. You can read what’s known as “the Lord’s prayer” in Matthew 6:9-13.
We have also created “How to Pray: A Beginner’s Guide” to help you develop the habit of praying regularly and to refresh your time with God if you’ve already had that habit. 3. Pride: There’s no getting away from the fact that sometimes you just want to do things in your own strength rather than relying on God. Human beings have a natural inclination to be prideful, wanting the credit for making things happen in their lives. When you pray, it can feel like you are being passive about something important — asking God to act while you do nothing. This feeling is not the truth. Prayer is about expressing our dependence on God’s Holy Spirit to live the way God wants us to live. Jesus warned His disciples about trying to branch out and do things in their own strength:
If you remain in Me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing. … If you remain in Me and My words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. (John 15:5,7, NIV)
Prayer is one of the most active things you can do as a Christian. It demonstrates that you are deciding to rely on God’s strength and not your own. It also demonstrates your willingness to give Him all the credit when your prayers are answered. Your enemy, the devil, wants you to try to live in your own strength because he knows you will inevitably experience more failure that way. He knows those failures lead to disappointment that can turn into resentment toward God. His purpose is to break down your connection with God by whatever means possible. Exploiting your pride is one of his favorite tactics.
If you want your relationship with God to grow deeper over time, you need to communicate with Him regularly. This is an example of what Christians call spiritual warfare. Learn more about what spiritual warfare looks like and what it means for your growth as a Christian. The reasons people neglect or avoid prayer are understandable. Everyone experiences times when praying feels like too much hard work without any obvious reward. But if you want your relationship with God to grow deeper over time, you need to communicate with Him regularly.
There are no rules about how many times each day or each week you need to pray if you want to see God respond. But the more time you spend with anyone, the more known and safe you will feel. The more you bring someone into the situations in your life that matter, the more you will understand how they think and respond. This is true of a friend or a spouse, and it’s true of God our Father.
God wants you to know Him in a way that transforms every aspect of who you are. Prayer is one of the ways He chooses to make that happen.
“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” (Matthew 7:7, NIV)
May the Lord bless you and keep you now and forever Amen!!!!
The Rev’d Engr Vincent Ifeanyi Nweke
Nike Diocese
