And that is still true today, because we all tend to hear what we want to hear.
The Lord used these parables to convey a truth to the listeners then, and to His listeners now, by taking a physical situation to teach a spiritual truth.
Luke 18:1-8 is a parable about prayer.
This is made clear in the first verse of this parable, look at Luke 18:1, we read, “And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint.”
This is not only a parable about prayer, but it is about persevering in prayer.
For example, some have referred to the woman in this parable as the HOUND OF HEAVEN. SHE WAS DETERMINED!
But what we discover is that her persistence paid off. But there is a word of caution as we deal with persistence in prayer.
WHAT IS THE CAUTION?
Many folks have persisted in prayer, and asked God for things they wish they had never asked for.
THE CAUTION IS: "Be careful what you pray for... you may get it! After you get it, you may wish you had never prayed for it.”
For example:
• Many folks have persistently prayed for a particular mate they wanted to marry, and now they wish they had not persisted
• Many folks have persistently prayed for a particular house, and now they wish they had not persisted
• Many folks have persistently prayed for a particular car, but now they wish they had not persisted
When the Lord does not grant our prayer, it could be that He does not grant it because He sees it is not in our best interest.
WILL GOD GRANT A REQUEST WHEN IT NOT IN OUR BEST INTEREST? Yes, we have Bible proof of that.
In 2 Kings 20:1-6, we read, “In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz came to him, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Set thine house in order; for thou shalt die, and not live. Then he turned his face to the wall, and prayed unto the LORD, saying, I beseech thee, O LORD, remember now how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept sore. And it came to pass, afore Isaiah was gone out into the middle court, that the word of the LORD came to him, saying, Turn again, and tell Hezekiah the captain of my people, Thus saith the LORD, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will heal thee: on the third day thou shalt go up unto the house of the LORD. And I will add unto thy days fifteen years; and I will deliver thee and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria; and I will defend this city for mine own sake, and for my servant David's sake.”
Was it the will of God for Hezekiah to die? Of course, the Bible tells us that he sent the prophet Isaiah to tell him he was going to die.
But this godly man turned to God and began to pray. As a result of his prayer, God gave him another fifteen years.
BUT CONSIDER THIS…
This may sound cold hearted, but it would have been better if when the time came for Hezekiah to die, HE HAD DIED.
• After God granted him fifteen more years, he produced a son by the name of Manasseh.
• King Manasseh grew up to be the worst and most wicked King that Judah had.
• Also in the last fifteen years of his life he became arrogant.
God knew what he was doing when He sent Isaiah to him and told him he was going to die, but HE PERSISTED IN PRAYER, and God gave him fifteen more years, which proved to be not the best thing for him or Judah.
As we persist in prayer, we always need to end it, “Thy will be done,” because He truly knows what is best for us. If we continue to persist, He may grant it, and we may wish we had never persisted.
But as we consider this caution, we also need to keep in mind that PERSISTENCE pays off in most cases, and that's especially true for those who trust in God.
It seems the whole purpose in the Lord giving this parable is to teach us the PERSISTENCE OF PRAYER. It is something we should do, but with caution.
Let’s first look at-
I. THE JUDGE
Look at verses 1-4, we read, “And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint; Saying, There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man: And there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary. And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man.”
These verses teach us some wonderful things. Notice, they teach us that PRAYER IS NEEDFUL.
The Lord said, “Men ought always to pray, and not to faint…”
He does not say we should:
• Pray when you need something
• Pray when things are not going well
• Pray when things are going well
• Pray when you are worried
The Lord said, “Men ought always to pray…”
Paul says basically the same thing in 1 Thess. 5:17, we read, “Pray without ceasing.”
Now we know that “Pray without ceasing” is a figure of speech known as a hyperbole. That is an over exaggeration to make a point. And the point that Paul is trying to make, is that we Christians should spend a great deal of our waking moments in prayer.
Many are going to be surprised when they get to heaven and discover what they could have enjoyed on earth had they spent more time in prayer.
The Lord said in James 4:2, “Ye lust, and have not…because ye ask not.”
The Lord teaches that men ought to always pray because if they do not, they will FAINT under the load they are carrying.
The reason so many Christians are fainting under the load they are under is because they are not spending sufficient time with the Lord each day in prayer.
Illus: Why is it that a doctor can say to a person, “I want you to spend at least an hour each day exercising,” and people will do it without hesitation! But God can say, “I want you to spend at least an hour in prayer each day,” and people will say, “I can not do that!”
This passage of scripture teaches us THAT PRAYER IS NEEDFUL.
We have looked at THE JUDGE, but now let’s look at-
II. THE JUDGEMENT
Look at verses 5-8, we read, “Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me. And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith. And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them? I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?”
In this parable, Jesus tells a story that is all too common. A defenseless widow is taken advantage of, and refused her rights. However, through sheer persistence, she wears down an unscrupulous judge until he gives her justice.
But notice the judge that this woman had to appear before.
Look at verses 2-4, we read, “There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man: And there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary. And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man.”
Let’s look at this widow. As a widow, she had been done a great injustice. There have always been those who prey upon widows.
• Politicians prey on the widows and the elderly. For example, when it comes time for them to go to the polls and cast their votes, they often frighten them by saying, “If you do not vote for me, my opponent will take away your social security!” This has been something that has been done in many of the recent national elections.
• Contractors prey on the widows and the elderly. They will come out and give them an estimate on doing a major job of renovation or addition to their home. Once they agree on the price, they might say, “Well, I need to get a ten thousand dollar deposit for materials.” The widow writes them a check, and the widow never sees the contractor again.
• Auto mechanics prey on the widows and the elderly. For example, they have a car problem and take their car to a mechanic, and if he is not honest, he can claim that he did all kinds of things to her car, when he didn’t do anything he claims he did.
• Repairmen prey on the widows and the elderly. For example, in Columbia, South Carolina, a widow had a minor problem with her commode. She called for a repairmen to come and fix it. He had to replace a flap in the water tank, and he charged her $125.00 dollars.
• Doctors prey on the widows and the elderly. Sometimes they do operations on people that are not needed. Sometimes they prescribe medication for them, only because they get a kickback from the drug company.
In this parable, the Lord does not state how this widow lady had been wronged. But when she went to the Judge for justice, she did not get justice from him to begin with.
Why? The Bible tells us why!
Look at verse 2, we read, “There was in a city a judge, which FEARED NOT GOD, NEITHER REGARDED MAN.”
What a fix this woman was in. She had been wronged by someone, and now she appears before a judge who does not care about justice. Notice, the Bible said that HE DID NOT FEAR GOD AND HAD NO REGARD FOR MAN.
The Bible tells us she received the help she needed, because she was PERSISTENT!
The point the Lord wants to make with these disciples in this parable, is simply this, “If even an unjust judge will finally give in to a persistent widow, then how much more will God answer those who pray with patience and perseverance?"
Had she not been persistent, she would not have received the help she needed.
Conclusion:
Perseverance is a major part of the life of a Christian if we are going to succeed.
Illus: William Carey, often considered the father of modern missions, once wrote: “If, after my removal, anyone should think it is worth his while to write my life, I will give you a criterion by which you may judge of its correctness. If he give me credit for being a plodder, he will describe me justly…I can plod. I can persevere in any definite pursuit.” Today in the Word, April, 1998, p. 33
Illus: I look at a stone cutter hammering away at a rock a hundred times without so much as a crack showing in it. Yet at the 101st blow it splits in two. I know it was not the one blow that did it, but all that had gone before. - Jacob Riis, quoted in Reader’s Digest.
Illus: A mother’s daughter had telephoned to say, ‘Mother, you must come see the daffodils before they are over.’"
She wanted to go, but it was a two hour drive from Laguna to Lake Arrowhead. "I will come next Tuesday," she promised, a little reluctantly, on her third call.
Next Tuesday dawned cold and rainy. Still, she had promised, and so she drove there. When she finally walked into Carolyn's house and hugged and greeted her grandchildren, she said, "Forget the daffodils, Carolyn! The road is invisible in the clouds and fog, and there is nothing in the world except you and these children that I want to see bad enough to drive another inch!"
Her daughter smiled calmly and said, "We drive in this cloud of fog all the time.”
"Well, you won't get me back on the road until it clears, and then I'm heading for home," she assured her.
The daughter said, "I was hoping you'd take me over to the garage to pick up my car." “How far will we have to drive?" she asked. "Just a few blocks?"
Carolyn said. "I'll drive. I'm used to this." After several minutes, she had to ask, "Where are we going? This isn't the way to the garage!" "We're going to my garage the long way," Carolyn smiled, "by way of the daffodils."
"Carolyn," she said sternly, "please turn around." "It's all right, Mother, I promise. You will never forgive yourself if you miss this experience."
After about twenty minutes, they turned onto a small gravel road and she saw a small church. On the far side of the church, she saw a hand-lettered sign that read, "Daffodil Garden."
They got out of the car and each took a child's hand, and she followed Carolyn down the path. Then, they turned a corner of the path, and she looked up and gasped. Before her lay the most glorious sight. It looked as though someone had taken a great vat of gold and poured it down over the mountain peak and slopes. The flowers were planted in majestic, swirling patterns, great ribbons and swaths of deep orange, white, lemon yellow, salmon pink, and butter yellow.
Each different colored variety was planted as a group so that it swirled and flowed like its own river with its own unique hue.
There were five acres of flowers. "But who has done this?" she asked Carolyn. "It's just one woman," Carolyn answered. "She lives on the property. That's her home." Carolyn pointed to a well kept A frame house that looked small and modest in the midst of all that glory. We walked up to the house.
On the patio, they saw a poster. "Answers to the Questions I Know You Are Asking" was the headline.
• The first answer was a simple one."50,000 bulbs," it read.
• The second answer was, "One at a time, by one woman. Two hands, two feet, and very little brain."
• The third answer was, "Began in 1958." There it was, The Daffodil Principle.
For her, that moment was a life-changing experience. She thought of this woman whom she had never met, who, more than forty years before, had begun - one bulb at a time - to bring her vision of beauty and joy to an obscure mountain side.
The principle her daffodil garden taught is one of the greatest principles of celebration. That is, learning to move toward our goals and desires one step at a time.
She admitted to Carolyn. "What might I have accomplished if I had thought of a wonderful goal thirty-five or forty years ago and had worked away at it 'one bulb at a time' through all those years. Just think what I might have been able to achieve!"
Her daughter summed up the message of the day in her usual direct way. "Start tomorrow," she said. “It's so pointless to think of the lost hours of yesterdays.”
The way to make learning a lesson of celebration instead of a cause for regret is to only ask, "How can I put this to use today?" - Author Unknown
I. THE JUDGE
II. THE JUDGEMENT
