Text: “Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up” (Luke 18:1).
Have you ever felt like giving up because you thought something was too difficult for you to learn or do? Maybe the therapy you were going through caused you pain and you felt you just could not go on because results were not evident. Have you ever thought about giving up praying to Almighty God because what you were praying for did not happen?
Imagine how your life would have been if you had never learned to walk. For a child, learning to walk is a real task. They have no sense of balance.
They have to work to develop their muscles so they can pull themselves up to a table or chair and remain standing. The child learns to reposition their legs to move them from one place to another. They wobble with each step and they fall many times before learning this new skill.
Children do not give up trying to accomplish a task. They are not afraid to try repeatedly. As they gain strength and balance, their self-confidence becomes greater and greater. Soon they have mastered the skill of walking, playing an electronic game, learning to play a musical instrument and a host of other skills.
Children are not afraid to try new skills, whereas adults seem to find a comfort zone and want to stay there. Many adults are not interested in doing or learning something new because they are comfortable living in their present mode.
When it comes to praying, children will pray for the impossible, but adults only pray for what they can see or touch. To a child, nothing is impossible, but to an adult some things are impossible simply because they do not want to exert the effort. Some adults have faith, but only in the things that are visible and not the things that are invisible.
I heard a story about a little girl who wanted a kitten, but her mother was not a cat lover. The little girl kept asking her mother about acquiring a kitten. This went on repeatedly day after day.
The mother got so tired of hearing her persistent daughter that she told her daughter if God wanted her to have a kitten, He would provide one. Once the mother said this, the little girl was sure God would not let her down.
She was so happy that her mother agreed, she went out into the back yard got down on her knees, bowed her head and began to hold God to His word which said, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find….” (Matthew 7:7). There was absolutely surety God was good and He would provide a kitten for her.
Do you know what happened? As the little girl was praying, a kitten fell from the sky and landed right in front of her. She opened her eyes, scooped up the kitten in her arms and thanked God for being true to His word.
That is a true story. It really did happen. God had provided the kitten the little girl wanted. Here is a little bit of the background to the story.
A pastor had a kitten that climbed up a tree in his backyard. That wasn’t bad, but once the kitten climbed the tree, it was afraid to come back down. He did all he could to convince the kitten back down.
The pastor was a rather big man and the tree was not strong enough for him to climb, but he really wanted to get the kitten down. He got a real bright idea. He backed his car near the tree and tied one end of a rope around the tree and the other end around the bumper of his car. His idea was to pull the car forward enough to bend the tree toward the ground and then he could reach up and get the kitten.
As he moved the car forward, the rope broke and sent the kitten flying through the air like a cannon shot. When this happened, the pastor felt very bad. He didn’t know what to do except to go through the neighborhood looking for the kitten.
As he went to each house in the neighborhood, the response was the same. Not a single neighbor saw the kitten. Of course, the pastor was very disturbed because of what had happened.
About a week later, the pastor was doing his grocery shopping when he noticed one of his neighbors doing her shopping. As he approached her, he noticed that in her grocery cart were cans of cat food. He knew, without a doubt, this neighbor did not have a cat because she did not like cats.
He worked up enough nerve to ask her why she was buying cat food and she told him how her daughter had earnestly begged and prayed for a kitten. She said she told her daughter she would not acquire a kitten for her, but if God really wanted her to have one, He would provide one for her.
She told the pastor that something unbelievable happened. She told him her daughter went out in the yard a couple days ago, got down on her knees, bowed her head, closed her eyes and prayed for a kitten. As I watched her, I saw something take place right before my eyes that changed my life.
As she was praying, a kitten flew through the air and landed on the ground directly in front of her. Pastor, that is my story and I am sticking to it.
The persistence of the little girl brought about a miracle that forever increased her faith and the faith of her mother. Persistence is something that many adults do not have. They tend to crumble under rough times. They seem to think worldly instead of heavenly. They try to figure out things using man’s ability instead of using God ability.
Some people are optimistic and some are pessimistic. The optimist looks on the bright side and knows nothing is impossible. The pessimist sees only the darker side and is easily convinced of despair or hopelessness.
Story: “The Optimistic Frog”
Two frogs fell into a deep cream bowl,
One was an optimistic soul;
But the other took the gloomy view,
“We shall drown,” he cried, without more ado.
So with a last despairing cry,
He flung up his legs and he said, “Goodbye.”
The other frog with a merry grin, said,
“I can’t get out, but I won’t give in. I’ll just swim round till my strength is spent, then will I die the more content.”
Bravely he swam till it would seem
His struggles began to churn the cream.
On the top of the butter as last he stopped,
And out of the bowl he gaily hopped.
The moral to the story is easily found:
If you can’t hop out, keep swimming around.
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In other words, be persistent or persevere and you will be a winner. When trials and tribulations come our way, we are not to give up. When hard times face us, we are not to back off and look for an easy way out. When sickness comes upon us, we are to be persistent in our prayers to Almighty God. When we are persistent, we will end up a victor instead of a victim.
We are to hold on believing God’s Word that says, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13). We know that the Power of God will uplift and guide us over, through, or around any mountain that appears before us. It is not our strength, but it is the strength of God the Father. Our faith stimulates us to believe in the awesome power of our Lord and Savior.
Jesus said, “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.’ For some time he refused. But finally 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’” (Luke 18:2-5).
God wants us to be persistent in our prayer life. This does not mean that we pray the same words over and over, but that we constantly keep our wants and needs before His presence. We can only do this by living for Him on a daily basis.
When God is constantly in our thoughts, we are living in faith and we believe that He hears our prayers and is willing to grant our wishes or give us something better than that which we are asking.
Our prayers must be consistent and persistent and our patience must be lasting. God does not operate on our time table or time schedule, but He does respond to our prayers of need and want. The more persistent we are; the more our character will expand; the stronger our faith will become; and, the greater will be our expectations.
In this parable, a woman kept coming to the judge asking for justice against her adversary, her opponent or her enemy. As a child of God, each of us will have opponents, enemies, or adversaries because those who are not with us are against us.
In other words, because we are a child of God, we will undoubtedly face opposition. Not everyone will think the way we think, believe the way we believe, or live life in the shadow of Almighty God as we live our life.
In Jesus’ day, influence was a big factor that led judges to do certain acts just as influence turns the opinion of judges today. Widows and orphans are very vulnerable people. Money is an item that will influence people to make wrong decision and commit sinful acts.
Orphans and widows were usually poor people who often did not receive justice. In our time, poor people seem to have a more difficult time acquiring justice as compared to someone who is very wealthy. Influence may be a factor for present day judges, but it is not a factor for our heavenly judge.
He is in control of all because He created all. He knows us inside and outside. He knows where we are; what we are doing, and the words we are thinking before we speak them and He knows everything else about us. The widow kept pressuring the earthly judge to grant justice who finally gave up because she was wearing out his patience.
This parable illustrates what God requires of you, all His children and me. He wants us “to cry out to Him day and night” (Luke 18:7). We are not to walk the road of life by our self. We are to walk hand-in-hand with God.
God will never move away from us. He is constantly by our side. He is very persistent in taking care of us. He is concerned about every facet of our life. He said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5). God wants us to have this kind of persistence and that is why Jesus said, “…cry out to him day and night” (Luke 18:7).
There will be times in life when we feel alone and discouraged because something is not progressing the way we think it should, but we are not to give up or even think about quitting.
Poem: “Don’t Quit”
When things go wrong as they sometimes will,
When the road you’re trudging seems all uphill,
When funds are low and debts are high,
And you want to smile but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest if you must, but don’t you quit.
Life is queer with its twists and turns,
As every one of us sometimes learns,
And many a failure turns about,
When he might have won had he stuck it out.
Don’t give up, though the pace seems slow---
You may succeed with another blow.
Often the goal is nearer than
It seems to faint and faltering man;
Often the struggler has given up,
When he might have captured the victor’s cup.
And he learned too late, when the night slipped down
How close he was to the golden crown.
Success is failure turned inside out—
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,
And you can never tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems afar.
So stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit—
It’s when things seem worse that you mustn’t quit.
---------------Baptist and reflector
In our Scripture reading, the widow’s persistence is what led to justice. She had nothing to offer the judge except her honest persistence. She did not come before the judge because someone else encouraged her, but she came upon her own merit.
Her persistence was annoying to the judge, but our persistent prayer to Almighty God is music to His ears. He wants us to “Pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17). His word says, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made know to God” (Philippians 4:6).
The only thing we need to offer Jesus is the invitation for Him to come and live within our heart. He doesn’t ask for anything else. He wants to be a crucial part in our daily walk. He wants us to love Him, communicate with Him, depend upon Him, and be obedient to His word. He wants us to call upon Him day or night. All this is possible when He is our personal Lord and Savior.
Psalm 121 says, “Behold, He who keeps Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. The LORD is your keeper; The LORD is your shade at your right hand. The sun shall not strike you by day nor the moon by night. The LORD shall preserve you…” (Vv. 4-7).
Conclusion:
The widow was so persistent with her request that the judge finally gave in and granted her the justice that she desired. The judge said, “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” (Luke 18:5).
God wants us to come to Him with our issues at any time. We will not get on His nerves nor will He ever get tired of listening to our prayers. If an earthly judge can grant justice, just think how much more our heavenly judge can grant. God’s justice is based upon His love for His children. He wants us to be persistent and keep on communicating with Him through prayer.
Poem: “Keep On Praying!”
“Though the foe of right oppress,
Keep on praying;
God is ever near to bless,
Keep on praying;
Let not fear your heart appall,
Naught of evil can befall,
Stronger is your God than all.
Keep on praying.
“Pilgrim, have you weary grown?
Keep on praying;
God is still upon the throne,
Keep on praying;
He will hear your faithful cry,
He to help is ever night,
You shall conquer by and by,
Keep on praying.
“Christian, has your faith grown weak?
Keep on praying,
Do the tears roll down your cheek?
Keep on praying,
Soon you nevermore will sigh,
Tears no more shall dim your eye,
Pray to Him who’s ever nigh,
Keep on praying.”
----------------R. A. Smith in Gospel Herald
Amen.
