Subject: “A Call to Prayer: The When, How and Why of Prayer”
Text: Luke 18:1-8
Introduction:
Jesus in Luke 17 concludes the chapter by making the disciples aware of the turbulent times ahead. Jesus describes those days as the days of Lot when sin and sorrow would greatly increase. In verse 32, he said, “Remember Lot’s Wife” as a way for his disciples to be alert and ready for the return of the Lord. Jesus encourages prayer as the only solutions for surviving evil days. During evil days, there will be a temptation to stray from the straight and narrow way and conform to the world. And there will also be a temptation to become so attached to this world that His coming will catch them and us unprepared. But finally, during evil days, men will be tempted to faint or to give up. So the text says, “And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint,” Jesus told this parable so He might teach us to pray and not faint. That word faint means to lose courage, to lose heart or hope. It means that you won’t want to give up, which speaks of discouragement. The Lord’s only answer for discouragement in life was prayer. When we get discouraged we may try binge eating, or to stop eating, shopping, or walking or working out. Some will try to escape by golfing, fishing, reading or any other number of ways. Others throw a pity party and make everyone else miserable. Some get drunk or high. The ways we’ve devised to deal with our problem are endless, but according to Christ, prayer is the only effective method for dealing with it. The woman of our text teaching several things about prayer: (1) we should pray with faith. This woman had faith that the judge could take care of her problem. She didn’t bother going to her friends. She didn’t bother her extended family about avenging her. She demonstrated her faith by going straight to the power source, the judge to get help for her problem.
(2) We should Pray with persistence - Not only did the woman have faith that the judge would take care of her problem, she proved to him that her case was important to her. I understand that we teach that we can take our problems to God and leave them there, but there are instances in our lives where the Bible seems to say to us that God wants to see how important these things are to us. The Bible gives many examples of the prayer of intercession. Abraham made repeated intercessions for the deliverance of Sodom and Gomorrah. Jacob wrestled with the angel all night. Moses prayed for 40 days and 40 nights. Daniel prayed and fasted for 21 days. On more than one occasion, the Lord Jesus Himself went into some deserted place and spent the entire night praying. How seriously are you seeking God’s help in your time of need? Do you really want God’s deliverance? Are you willing to beg for it? Are you willing to come day after day after day in prayer, communicating to God your own insufficiency to meet your needs, recognizing at the same time God’s complete sufficiency with those same needs?
(3) We should pray with confidence. The woman’s confidence was that the judge would avenge her injustice. We are not told exactly what her trouble was or how long she was confronted with it. But we are told about the Judge with whom she was doing business. We can be sure that our God is totally opposite of the unjust Judge. The object of our faith is a kind loving Father who delights in answering his children cry. So when our prayers are communicated with persistence, we can be confident that He will hear and speedily answer our prayer and bring us through the difficulties we face. Discouragements in the hard places of life are no fun. As a matter of fact, if it is not dealt with quickly, it can become a prison that drains us of our peace, joy and power.
Jesus tells us when men ought to pray: “Always” and this parable teaches us how men ought to pray; with faith in God as our source, with persistence and with confidence. Why is it so important for men to always pray? Listen to following reasons I believe that men ought always to pray:
1. First of all, Prayer is a way of keeping open communicating with God. – Our children call us all the time. Many times they want to know how we are doing or where we have been in revival. They call for advice. They call to share good news. Sometimes, they call to say thank you for being good parents or to tell me how we looked in a particular photograph. They keep the channel of communication open. When they have a need, they don’t mind sharing it with me, and I don’t mind responding to their need.
God is a loving Heavenly Father who is always ready to hear and answer prayer. Prayer is a wonderful opportunity He has provided that we can keep the channel of communication open. I wonder how I would feel if I never heard from my children until they were in trouble and wanted something. When we keep the channel of communication open, there is a wonderful freedom in the relationship. God wants us to spend time with Him. He wants us to tell Him how wonderful He is. He wants to hear how much we appreciate Him. Just like people like to be told how much they are appreciated and loved, God is no different in that respect. Men ought to always pray because Prayer is a good way to keep the channel of communication open.
2. Prayer is a way of learning the mind of Christ. – Believers are commanded in Philippians 2:5 says, "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus" Through prayer, we can share the Mind of Christ. We can begin to think like Christ. We can begin to know what Christ would do in certain circumstances. And we can know these things, simply because we have spent time together. The more time we spend with Christ the more our minds are becoming like Christ’s. Many times, when my wife and I go out to eat, I could probably order my wife’s entire meal because I know what she likes. Sometimes I can tell what she is thinking…and she can tell what I am thinking because we have spent time together... and our minds have merged to a certain degree. Men ought to always pray because it is a way to the communication open and it is also a way to learn the mind of Christ.
3. Prayer is a way of enjoying the presence of God on life’s journey. Prayer makes our journey here in this hostile environment much more enjoyable. In prayer, we can sense the presence of God. It allows us to know that we are not walking through life alone. When my wife and I were dating, I didn’t have a car, so most of time we were riding with her parents or my parents. So you know that we were either going to church or to work. But because it gave us time to be together, we enjoyed the journey. The same is true with our prayer life. Heaven is going to be a wonderful place...but our time spent with the Lord along the journey...makes the journey so much more enjoyable. Prayer allows us to enjoy His presence here and now. According to Proverbs 18:24,
“We have a Friend who sticks closer than a brother!”
4. Prayer is a way of experiencing God’s power and celebrating his answer to Prayer.
Have you ever been praying for something and then, in an incredible way, God answers that prayer? Prayer allows us to personally witness God’s power being displayed in our behalf. When God shows up, we celebrate the fact, that He heard and answered our prayer. When my brother was recently hospitalized, the doctor called us in and said, if you know anything about prayer or anyone who knows how to pray, you need to call them now! He said, the mass in his colon was aggressive and bleeds. He needed major surgery, but his heart had four block arteries and the surgery could result in a massive heart attack. Because his condition was so critical, we prayed and they must go forward with the surgery. When my brother came through the surgery with no complications, the doctor said, that it was nothing short of a miracle. Prayer is a way for us to experience God’s power and celebrate his answers to Prayer.
5. Prayer is the channel God has chosen to supply our needs. - Prayer is the tool whereby God supplies our needs. When God supplied the manna for the Children of Israel in the wilderness, He could have supplied enough to last them for months... but instead, He only gave them enough to last 1 day. And there was a reason for this... God wants us to be in constant regular and faithful communion with Him. If God provided the manna once a month you can be sure the Children of Israel would have only gone to the Lord in prayer once a month...just when they had the need! Perhaps that is why Jesus; when Jesus taught His disciples to pray... He told them to say, "Give us TODAY our DAILY bread" Matthew 5:11. Prayer is the tool whereby He plans for us to as for what we want and wheat we need and finally;
6. Prayer Helps Us to Keep from Taking God for Granted - Everything we have comes from God...Job said, "Naked I came into the world, and naked I shall return". Everything else is just gravy! We all drink from a Saucer because our cup has overflowed. Do you have clothes to wear? Give glory to God!! Do you have food to eat?
Give glory to God!! Do you have a roof over your head? Give glory to God!!
Are you able to breathe in and out? Are you able to come to the house of God?
Are you able to worship Him? Do you enjoy the bonds of friendship with someone else?
Do you have someone that loves you? Do you have a God that loves you so much that He sent His Son to die for you? Give Glory to God!!! Let us never take God for granted!
We know that the Children of Israel got real tired of manna. I can remember a time in my life when we ate a LOT of Irish Potatoes. And you can get tired of white potatoes after a while, even if they are stewed, fried, diced or mashed, but PRAISE THE LORD for white potatoes!!
Philippians 4:6 says, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God (NIV)
1 Thessalonians 5:17 -18 says, "Pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you (NKJV). And the words of our original text:
Luke 18:1 Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up Luke 18:1 (NIV)
And then Jesus told the story of a widow who was persistent in coming to the judge.
She just wouldn’t quit!! The judge...who wasn’t much of a judge in the first place...
finally thought, "well, I better go ahead and help this stupid woman...I mean, I could care less about her, but if I don’t do something soon, she will just wear me out...she will not quit! And then Jesus basically tells us, if a wicked judge will give justice to a poor widow if she is persistent? Will not the God of the Universe--the God of justice-- the God who loves you and cares for you-- will He not hear us when we cry? Will He not answer us when we call upon His Name? Of course He will! But God wants us to pray! Because prayer keeps the channel of communication open. God wants us to pray because through prayer, our minds become more like Christ! God wants us to pray because prayer makes the journey so much more enjoyable. God wants us to pray because then; when He answers our prayers; it is always such a wonderful blessing and time for celebration! God wants us to pray because that’s the way He designed the plan to provide for our needs. And, God wants us to pray because it helps us to keep from taking God for granted.
