New York UBF – NY University Bible Fellowship (NYUBF)

Luke Lesson 56 (2010)

PRAY ALWAYS AND NOT GIVE UP

Luke 18:1-8
Key Verse: 18:7-8

“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?”

A father was weary of telling bedtime stories to his five-year-old son over and over again every night. So one night the father told his son that after they had said their prayers together, had the last glass of water, told each other “good night,” and turned off the light, that there would be no more talk. The father was sure that his son would not ask him anymore and go to bed. But in five minutes, his son called out for another glass of water. The father went in with a glass of water, reviewed the rules, and told his son he’d better go to sleep. “Okay, daddy” the son agreed. When the father was about to fall asleep, his son requested more water. The father was annoyed and raised the tone of his voice. He told his son that he would get a spanking if he asked for water once more. This time the father was sure that his son would not call him anymore. Well, he was mistaken. His son called him again and said, “Daddy, when you come in here to spank me would you bring me a glass of water, please?” Of course, his father didn’t spank him. The boy got the water. His persistence paid off. According to Jesus, our God is like the father in the story who loves and cares deeply for his son. Today’s passage, the parable of the persistent widow, is the continuation of Jesus’ instructions about his return or the coming of the kingdom of God. Let’s think about why we should always pray and not give up.

Look at verse 1. “Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.” In the previous passage, Jesus taught his disciples about the sudden coming of the kingdom of God. (Lk 17:20-37) He basically told them that the second coming of Christ will be sudden and unexpected, so that no one is able to predict in advance the exact time of his coming. Jesus continues to teach his disciples that when his coming was slow in taking place, they should not become discouraged or overwhelmed while struggling to live by faith in the world. Instead, they should always pray and not give up.

Our life in the world is not easy by any means. Jesus’ disciples have to work hard in a very competitive world. Many of us are surrounded by ungodly, selfish, unfair and harsh environments. As disciples of Jesus we also struggle to be a good example and embrace all kinds of people with the love of Christ. It can be very exhausting especially when we are falsely accused or persecuted because of our faith in Jesus. Often our future seems uncertain, and we often feel that we still have too many things to be concerned about. After all, our struggle as disciples of Jesus is not against people made of flesh and blood but against the devil and the authorities of the unseen world and the powers of darkness. (Eph 6:12-NLT) So how can we survive in this world financially, emotionally, psychologically and spiritually? I don’t think there is an easy answer to this question. But Jesus said that his disciples should always pray and not give up.

Three things are essential for our spiritual survival in this world; the word of God, prayer and service, including worship. Without Bible study, prayer and service one cannot survive or grow healthy spiritually. Prayer, particularly, is our lifeline through which the breath of God is provided. The religious Jews in Jesus’ time prayed regularly three times a day. But the disciples of Jesus must pray always, which means we should pray continually, never stop praying, like we never stop breathing. When we hear the word “prayer”, what comes to your mind? Many of us feel burdened or guilty, acknowledging that we don’t pray enough. But prayer shouldn’t be a burden to us because it is the privilege of God’s children. When my son, Daniel, who is in Texas, doesn’t call me, I don’t criticize him. But I would be wiling to call him or receive a phone call from him anytime. Likewise, when we don’t pray enough, God would not condemn us for our lack of prayer. Instead, He would be so eager to hear from us and talk with us anytime. Prayer is our intimate communion with God our Father. It’s a blessing and privilege for God’s children.

The problem is that not all of God’s children truly enjoy this privilege. We often neglect or fail to pray. We don’t feel like praying because we think that we are in control. So some of us don’t come to God in prayer unless something terrible happens. In fact, many of us feel that we are too busy to pray. It’s like we are too busy to breathe. Isn’t it supposed to be the opposite? The more exercise we do, the more oxygen we need. So the busier we are, the more we ought to pray. But in reality, it’s hard to pray when we have so many things to do. Prayer is not like our natural and unconscious breathing. It requires us a conscious effort to pray.

How can we pray always when we have so many things to do? Did Jesus mean that we should only pray all day long and do nothing else? Of course not! We may pray regularly and as often as we can, early in the morning, during our lunch break or even at night. It’s also good to pray two by two or three by three as Jesus said in Matthew 18:19, “If two of you agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by God the Father in heaven.” We should prayer regularly and as often as possible. But when Jesus said that we should always pray and not give up, he meant that we should live in a prayer mode. In other words, we should bring everything, both big things and small things, to God in prayer.

One devoted lady I admire prays for everything and everyone she knows. Even before she goes to a grocery store, she prays for what she buys. When I first heard about her prayer life, I thought it was too much. But it actually shows the depth of her total dependence in God. I am sure she prays for everything in detail because she believes that God is interested in both big and every detail of her life. Paul said the similar thing in his letter, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, 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.” (Phil 4:6-7) According to Paul, prayer is not just asking something of God. He includes thanksgiving and praises in prayer. In fact, thanksgiving and praising God are very essential to our prayer life because by doing so we can acknowledge God’s absolute presence and sovereignty over all things. When we acknowledge God’s presence in our lives, we can always pray. We can have a deep and intimate fellowship with God in the Spirit. We can sometimes cry out to God or remain in silence before His presence. We can pray for everything. We can pray even while walking, working, babysitting, teaching, cooking, talking, studying or even driving.

Isaiah 40:30-31 reads, “Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” These verses show that through prayer we can survive spiritually and be fully energized in our day-to-day lives. Jesus encourages us to pray always because he was convinced that we can overcome any temptation of the devil and all the forces of evil when we are in a close connection with God through our prayers.

In order to encourage his disciples to pray always and not give up, Jesus told them a story about the unjust judge and the persistent widow. However, it’s interesting to note that the judge and the widow in the parable do not represent God our Father and his children. Instead, they are portrayed in sharp contrast, not in comparison, with God our Father and His disciples.

Look at verses 2-5. 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.” We don’t know what her case was. She might have been mistreated by her boss or unfairly laid off from her job simply because she was a woman. For sometime the judge refused to even look at her case. It’s because he completely despised her status as a helpless widow. He thought that ignoring her case wouldn’t hurt his reputation at all. He really looked down on her and didn’t care about her sufferings. But his opponent was a tough woman, whose name was “Mrs. Persistence.” When she found out that the judge was avoiding her, she started chasing him everywhere. When the judge was at the barbershop, she came there and shouted, “Grant me justice against my adversary!” He was with his girl friend in the restaurant, there she appeared there and whispered, “Grant me justice against my adversary.” When he was in a shopping mall, she paged him, “Grant me justice against my adversary.” Her persistence haunted him so much that he might begin to have nightmares about her.

Now, this unjust judge who was extremely ungodly and selfish began to think that it’s going to hurt him more than anyone else if this situation continued. 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!” (4-5) Here, the phrase “wear me out” (Gr. hypopiaze me) is from an idiom that literally means “strike under the eye” or “otherwise she would give me a black eye.” Figuratively speaking, “a black eye” may mean “a damaged reputation.” The unjust judge granted her request for selfish reasons.

Now, does this story mean to tell us that we should give God a black eye, like the persistent widow did to the unjust judge? Of course not. In verses 6-8, Jesus continues to explain the parable to his disciples. Jesus said to his disciple, “Listen to what the unjust judge says…” Why did Jesus want his disciples to listen to the unjust judge’s words? It’s because he wanted them to know that he was teaching by contrast. In fact, God would never respond to a cry for help from his children as the unjust judge did. He then said in verses 6b-8a, “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.” (6b-8a) God is not like the unjust judge who did not care about the lady. And also we are not like the widow in the parable who was forgotten, abandoned and disconnected from the unjust judge. We, instead, are God’s favored children, precious sons and daughters of God whom God deeply cares for. And God is not like the unjust judge who was not interested in bringing justice. God is the God of justice. He is willing to bring justice especially for his chosen ones. And He cares us. Each of His children means a lot to Him. We are very important to Him.

“Will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night?” (6b-7) So what is that we are supposed to cry out to him day and night? What is the “justice for His children”? It is the coming of the kingdom of God. Justice on earth might be the beginning of the coming of the kingdom of God and the justice for His children, which includes also the glorious transformation of our body, the coming of the New Jerusalem, which is our eternal dwelling place, and the elimination of the power of sin and death. In fact, “justice for his children” is the fulfillment of God’s promise for His loving children. (1 Peter 1:3-4) And God is willing to bring justice for his chosen ones more than anybody. (7b)

Why should we cry out for it day and night, repeating the same thing over and over again? Some of us might ask, “Didn’t Jesus say that God already knows what we need even before we ask him?” (Mt 5:8) and “Didn’t he also say that if we ask some thing, we ought to believe that we already have received it?” (Mk 11:24) Does God hear us because of many words? Of course not! But Jesus clearly teaches here that we are to continue to pray until we receive the answer. Therefore, this persistent and continued prayer is not a sign of lack of faith but of persistent faith. In fact, Jesus taught his disciples by saying, “When you pray say, ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven…” We as God’s children pray for God’s kingdom to come over and over again because it is our persistent and unchanging faith in God’s promise. Therefore, we should always pray for God’s kingdom to come and never give up, believing that God’s kingdom will come soon and very soon.

Jesus concludes the parable by saying, “However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?” (8b) Here, Jesus sounded a little pessimistic about his disciples’ faith. Was he saying that no one would have faith in the coming kingdom of God in the last days? Probably not! He might be emphasizing the importance of spiritual struggle of faith in the coming of God’s kingdom for those who live in the last days. The opposite of faith here is disappointment.

In 1853, a baby boy was born to a Lutheran pastor in Holland. At the age of 16 the boy went to work for a firm of art dealers in The Hague. A few years later he took the opportunity to travel to England. There he fell in love with his landlady’s daughter, but she rejected him. In his grief he turned to Christ. He began helping a Methodist minister in small towns. The conviction grew that he should become a full-time evangelist, and in his mid-twenties he returned to Holland. He soon found great success in preaching to the poor, dressing like a peasant and living in their company. He washed their clothes, cared for their sick, consoled their dying and he led them to Christ. However, the church leaders of the day would have nothing to do with him and forced him to give up his ministry. He was so discouraged and disappointed that he eventually gave up even following Christ. He went back to the world of art and tried his hand at painting. His name was Vincent van Gogh. If he had overcome discouragement, van Gogh might have been able to express his commitment to Christ through his art and even beyond.

We are often discouraged, just like many servants of God have been, including Saint Paul who confessed in 2 Corinthians 1:8-11, “We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raised the dead. He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many.”

Are we discouraged? Are we discouraged by others or by our unfavorable human situation? Have some of us lost our vision and zeal for our ministry because of repeated failures? Have you lost your dream? Discouragement is one of our worst spiritual obstacles we should overcome. We must not remain in discouragement. We should always pray and not give up praying for God’s kingdom. May the Lord restore our faith and vision for each of our lives and for expanding God’s kingdom in the NY-campuses and communities through our prayers and ministering. We should stand firm, let nothing move us and always give ourselves fully to the work of the Lord, affirming that our labor in the Lord is not in vain. (1 Cor 15:58)