The Power Of Prayer

Luke 18:1-8

“The Power of Prayer”

January 5, 2025

All of us have prayed about serious problems that God has not or did not seem to give us an answer to. Every one of us has had an issue that we have brought before the Lord and it seems as if He did nothing. Most of us have suffered some type of injustice where we just wanted God to avenge us, but yet our adversaries seem untouched. Ills: When I was in High School I was diagnosed with a heart murmur. They told me that I was born with a small hole in my heart. They said that a lot of children are born with this imperfection, but it usually heals itself before the age of twelve. So I was poked and prodded and tested but still the murmur remained. I can go years without any sign of trouble, but then in an instant as if I had asthma, I’d lose my breath and my heart would race. One time it happened while I was playing with my children and another time when I was reading a book. I have often had the fear that it would happen during preaching and I would have to sit down and you guys would think it’s something worse. I have prayed that God would take this condition away but as of yet I stand here today still with a small hole in my heart.

• What do you do when you have prayed that prayer before?

What do you do when you have asked God to heal your addiction and yet you are still drawn to the thing that is killing you.

What do you do when have suffered an injustice no one in authority seems to care?

• I’ve come to let you know that there is Power in Prayer, and that Jesus said to “Pray & Faint Not!”

• In our parable today Jesus teaches us to be persistent in prayer.

There are least three reasons found in the text why we should be persistent:

1. Prayer reminds us of the power of God.

2. Prayer refines our petitions to God.

3. Prayer redirects our plans in God.

Let us examine the text: This parable must be interpreted in light of the previous chapter and its emphasis on the coming kingdom. It teaches how to live with the problems and pain of this world as we wait for the Lord’s return. Does this lesson teach us to wear down God? No! In contrast, Jesus said in verse 7 & 8. God will avenge His own elect. It should remind us of Isaiah, who asked, (40:28)

Hast thou not known? Hast thou not heard that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? There is no searching of his understanding. He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

I. Prayer Reminds us of the Power of God.

The woman in the parable knew no one but the judge could help her.

It’s like what Peter said when asked if they would leave Jesus also, “where would we go?”

Abraham Lincoln once said, “Many times I was driven to my knees because I had nowhere else to go.” God wants you to know there are some issues that only He can resolve.

II. Prayer Refines our Petitions to God.

It’s like when Elijah faced 850 false prophets of Baal on Mt. Carmel.

Queen Jezebel (Ahab’s wife) sent word that she was going to kill him.

What was his prayer? That God would take his life! He thought he was the last prophet. He thought he was alone. God told him that He had reserved 7000 that never bent a knee to Baal!

Illus: I had a neighbor once that always borrowed my lawn equipment and never put gas in it when he returned. One day he was trying to flag me down and I acted like I didn’t see him. I was l later told that he had questions about Jesus before he was to turn himself in to the authorities. I prayed that I would never be so selfish again. God is more concerned with your character than with your comfort.

III. Prayer Redirects our Plans in God.

Jesus ask His Disciples to pay attention to the parable, “Hear what the unjust judge said... 'Though I do not fear God nor regard man, yet because this widow troubles me I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.'” Shall not God work it out for His Own Elect who cry to Him?

Ills: Many years past and God gave me another opportunity to redirect my plans for the Kingdom. I was working at a freight company and one day I noticed a driver toss something out of his window as he passed by our dispatch center. I went to investigate only to find that he had tossed out a very small puppy. I washed her in the shop sink and took her home for the weekend to find her a shelter, but she became a member of my family that day. As I was trying to leash train the unruly little mutt another neighbor asked, “Hey preacher, can you answer a question I have about your bible?” I said sure can and he pulled out one of those large family bibles that you get at a memorial. Day after day when he would see me walking the dog he would stop me and say, “Hey preacher, can you answer a question I have about your Jesus?” It didn’t matter if it was raining or if the dog was acting up when he had a question, I would do my best to teach him the word of God. One day out of the blue he stopped me and said, “Hey preacher, can I tell you about my Jesus!?!” We baptized him right here on first Sunday and 6 months later he found terminal cancer in his pancreas and he died soon after. We held his funeral services right here and one by one members of his family, friends and community told us that he had shared Christ with more people in those 6 months than most of us have done in our lifetimes!

Jesus knows about the Power of Prayer, (Matthew 26:36) in the Garden of Gethsemane saying, “O My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from Me: nevertheless not as I will, but as Thou wilt” We Serve a “Nevertheless Kind of God!” Yes we do. It is in the text today Jesus said in verse 8: NEVERTHELESS when I come, shall there be faith on earth? Prayer has the Power to prove your faith in God! James 5 says, “Pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.”