In Jesus Holy Name October 17, 2010
Text: Luke 18:1-8 Pentecost XXI - Redeemer
“God is Not Our Cosmic Bellhop”
Jesus told his disciples a parable. In our journey though the Gospel of Luke we have arrived at the parable of the Persistent Widow. When Jesus tells a parable it is an invitation for the hearers to change their thinking or to answer a question that has been asked. Like writes: Jesus told a parable “to show that they should always pray and not give up.”
When reading this parable and preparing for this message I had to ask myself: “Is the parable about prayer or about the character of God? Or both? Am I to learn something about prayer…. Or am I to learn something about my heavenly father?”
As we look at this parable we are introduced to two characters. “there was in a certain city a judge who did not fear God nor had regard for man.” He is not moved by fear of God nor by compassion for his fellowman.
To understand this story in the N.T. setting Warren Weirsbe describes it this way. “The courtroom was not a fine building but a tent that moved from place to place as the judge covered his circuit. The judge, not the law set the agenda. He was surrounded by his assistants. Anybody could watch the proceedings from the outside, but only those who were approved and accepted could have their case tried.
This usually meant bribing one of the assistants who that he could call the judges attention to the case. Still true in many places around the world.” (from “Be Courageous” Victor books 1989 p. 62)
The second character is the widow. “Now there was a widow in that city and she came to him saying…”give me justice from my adversary.” Life in the first century for widows was difficult. The often fell to the bottom of the social and economic community. When God was instructing the children of Israel through Moses we find these rules regarding “social responsibilities”. Exodus 22:22 “Do not take advantage of the widow and orphan” “If you do and they cry out to me, I will certainly hear their cry….my anger will be aroused.”
When the children of Israel asked for a King in the days of Samuel, this responsibility was transferred to the king. When the O.T. prophets had complaints against the kings of Israel it often had to do with the lack of care for those in society who had lost their legal rights for protection. Isaiah 10:2 “Woe to those who make unjust laws, to those who issue oppressive decrees…with hold justice from the oppressed of my people, making widows their prey….” and Micah 2:9 “You drive the women of my people from their pleasant homes…”
When Isaiah is speaking the word of the Lord to those living in Jerusalem he proclaims:
“Take your evil deeds out of my sight. Stop doing wrong, seek justice,
Encourage the oppressed defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the
Cause of the widow.”
This is the second character in the parable. It is likely that someone was trying to cheat her out of money or land or a house that her husband had left her. In the society of that day a woman did not go to court. She was poor. Her situation was hopeless. She had no means to pay a bribe. Her only hope was to be persistent.
She faced a terrible judge. She had no social leverage. The situation worsened. The judge to whom she went was unjust. He cared nothing for her plight. She could remind him that God threatens to punish judges who pervert justice. But the judge did not fear God. Could the widow argue that the people of the town will despise the judge for not helping her? No. For the judge “neither feared God nor cared about men.” He was indifferent to human opinions about him. Her only hope was to be persistent.
The language of the text leaves open the possibility of confrontation every where, not just in court. She pleaded with him in front of his friends and colleagues. She confronted him in the street, she pestered him in the market. She was persistent at the open air tent where court was being held.
The widow did not sit at home wringing her hands about her problems. Instead of worry, she got up and approached the only person who could help her. William Ward wrote this about worry: “Worry is faith in the negative, belief in defeat, for worry is wasting today’s time to clutter up tomorrow’s opportunities. Worry is like rocking in a rocking chair. It gives you something to do, but you never get anywhere with it.”
When the Apostle Paul was stuck in a Roman dungeon he wrote to the Christians in Philippi. Paul was in chains and he writes: “Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worry into prayers of thanksgiving. Present your requests to God. Don’t be anxious….and the peace of God will guard your hearts.” (Phil. 4:6-7)
Jesus is telling the disciples and us to be persistent in prayer. But this does not mean that “God is our cosmic bell hop.”
“We live in an age of the electronic church. Beamed into our homes each day are a number of religious programs that paint a rather interesting picture of religious faith and the power of prayer. The P.T.L. Club, the 700 Club, and other local varieties portray preachers eliciting phone calls from their audiences promising an answer to every prayer and need. Ranks of phone operators are standing by to handle every call. If one gets a busy signal, he or she must keep calling until a contact is made through the prayer line.
This television image of prayer is unfortunately the way in which many believers have begun to conceive of prayer. God is sort of a chief executive officer for the Heavenly Phone Company and has ranks of angels handling all our prayer requests. Sometimes we get a busy signal and must keep repeating our prayers until we get through. On other occasions our prayers seem to be on “hold” with no indication as to when our prayer will be handled.” (article The Crux of Prayer October 19, 1980 Sound of a Sermon)
We need to understand that Jesus is not comparing God to an unjust judge. Rather he is making a point by contrast. Unless we see that Jesus is point out contrasts, we will get the idea that God must be argued with or bribed into answering our prayers. But if a poor widow can get an uncaring judge to answer her requests by perseverance, then how much more should we expect our God, who is a righteous judge, who does care, will answer his children who pray.
“Jesus knows that we understand enough about God to see the point of the comparison. Jesus, by his own actions, was demonstrating that God is compassionate and absolutely just. Far from being reluctant, God is eager to give his children good gifts. Jesus is contrasting this dishonest judge with the loving father. If an unfair judge can be persuaded, how much more can we expect God to answer our prayers, for our good. For if God demonstrated his love for us in that “He did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all, how will he not also…give us all things.” The writer of the Hebrews tells us to “…approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” (Heb. 4:16)
God is not like the unjust judge. He does not have to be pestered and coerced before He will answer your prayers.
Now, is God’s promise to answer prayer like a blank check? No, for even an earthly father knows how to give good gifts to his children. Not everything that children ask for is good. A wise father takes into account the entire situation. How much more so with God our heavenly Father. We can be thankful that God in his wisdom does not always give us everything for which we foolishly pray.
The parable of Jesus points to that same truth. The widow in the story asked for a fair resolution of her case. Like wise, our prayers need to be that God will establish his righteous will.
Ron Dunn in his book: “Don’t Just Stand There, Pray Something” wrote: “God answers prayer along the route that brings Him the most glory…. So don’t stop praying even if things seem to be worse right now. Rev. Dr. David Dykes of Green Acers Baptist Church in Tyler, Texas shares an experience from his own life of prayer.
“When my mother was dying of cancer and living with us in 1983, I fasted and prayed and asked God to completely heal her. I didn’t worry about it, I prayed about it. I didn’t stop praying, I prayed persistently. I prayed in positive faith… I expected God to heal my mother. After months of praying for God to heal her, one day He clearly spoke to my spirit and said, “David, I’m not going to heal her the way you want her healed. I’m going to totally heal her by bringing her home to be with me.” At that moment, Rev. Dykes said, “I stopped praying for her healing. I changed my prayer to , “Dear Lord, keep her free from pain and help her to enjoy the days of physical life she has left…” God answered that prayer.
C. S. Lewis wrote: “Prayer is request. The essence of a request, as distinct from a demand, that is why it may or may not be granted. And if an infinitely wise Being listens to the requests of finite and foolish creatures, of course He will sometimes grant them and sometimes refuse them…. If God had granted all the silly prayers I’ve made in my life, where would I be now?”
A request… which is what a prayer is… by its very nature connects us with God. A demand by contrast separates us …. A demand is us pretending that we know what is best.
Dallas Willard in “The Divine Conspiracy” writes: “In the very nature of a request, we acknowledge that the other can say no. Yet God wants us to ask, we are suppose to ask. “Ask, Jesus said, “and you shall receive. Seek and you will find, knock and it shall be opened to you.” Prayer is the proper way for us to interact with God.”
But a request does not always get us what we have in mind as we make it. This is true when addressed to another human being or true when addressed to God.
An example: If you have weeds in your garden or a flat tire, it would be better not to just pray that the weeds will die or the tire be fixed. You can, of course, ask someone else to take care of the situation. And they may or may not refuse. But you had better just pull up the weeds or fix the tire if you can. Basically, that is your domain by nature and divine appointment. If you have a friend who is addicted to heroin, however, or lost in the jungles of intellectual faddishness, then whatever else you may do to help him, you had better pray. Not just because “fixing him” is beyond you, but because it is good it is beyond you.
When Jesus knew Peter would deny him, he did not just “fix him,” so he wouldn’t do the terrible thing. Surely Jesus could have fixed him. But that would not have advanced Peter in his “walk with Jesus.” So Jesus said to Peter, with perhaps sadness in his voice, “I have requested, concerning you, that your faith might not die. And when you have straightened up, uphold your brothers.” (Luke 22:32) #
We are to pray for what concerns us. We are to pray for things that concern God. We are to pray for our nation, and those in authority, as we exercise our authority to vote on issues and for those who desire to represent us. It is the vivid assurance of God’s greatness, His goodness that calls us to pray….Our requests do make a difference.
Two examples from the Old Testament.
The first scene is set in the aftermath of the rebellion of the Israelites that occurred when Moses was on the mountain receiving the Ten Commandments for the first time. He was gone a long time. They Israelites convinced Aaron to help them build an idol and they worshiped it, indulging in a massive orgy. God tells Moses he intends to destroy them all and raise up a new nation under Moses. (Exodus 32:10)
Moses offers an instructive education on prayer. First Moses reasoned with God, asking him why God should be defeated on His project with the people He had brought out of Egypt. Wasn’t God able to complete it? And the Egyptians would then believe that God brought his people into the wilderness to destroy them.
Then, there was the matter of God’s promises to Abraham, Isaac & Jacob. Moses boldly asked Yahweh to “change His mind”..
The second O.T. scene involves one of the really good kings of Judah, Hezekiah. He was faithful in prayer and saw the Assyria’s defeated at the very gates of Jerusalem by prayer. But now Hezekiah has fallen mortally ill. His friend and prophet Isaiah comes with the word from God: “You shall die and not live.”(II Kings 20:1) In the face of this declared intent Hezekiah does exactly what Moses did. He prayed to God. He reasoned with God on the basis of how he had walked with God before Him in truth and with an undivided heart.” Before Isaiah got halfway out of the Palace God told him, “Go back and tell Hezekiah, “I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears, I will heal you and I will add 15 years to your life….” and He did.
There is no “silver bullet” in prayer….but God wants to “connect with us in prayer”. Requests may be granted. Or they may not. Either way, that is how relationships between persons are. It is the same with a parent and a child.
In conclusion: “Sometimes we must wait for God to do as we ask because the answer involves changes in other people, or even ourselves, and that kind of change always takes time. Sometimes, apparently, the changes in question involve conflicts going on in the spiritual realm against “powers of this dark world and the spiritual forces of evil” (Eph. 6:12 & Dan. 10:13) We always live in a larger context of activities we do not see. Whatever the exact cause Jesus taught that we are to stay with our requests. We stay with our requests until it is resolved in one way or another. #
“He told them a parable in order to show how they should pray relentlessly and not give up. One of the most powerful men in the city, a judge, did not fear God and had no regard for men. And one of the weakest people in the city, a widow, came to him repeatedly, insisting that he apply the law to right a wrong done to her. This judge did nothing for a while, but then he thought, “Even though neither God nor man scares me, this widow is driving me nuts. I’ll give her justice to keep her from wearing me out by constantly petitioning me.” (Divine Conspiracy p. 251)
Listen to what the crooked judge says…. Will not God do what is right by his chosen ones? Of course. Prayer is not like plunking a coin in a candy machine. Prayer is our connection with God. He expects us to request for our own needs and the needs of those around us. What do we pray: “Thy kingdom come….thy will be done on earth as in heaven…” a good Lutheran question: What does this mean?
