A Study of the Book of Luke
Sermon # 48
“Persistent Prayer”
Luke 18:1-8
Cable television tycoon Ted Turner has often been quoted as being critical of fundamentalist Christianity. Turner made some very revealing remarks at a banquet in Orlando, Fla., in 1990, where he was given an award by the American Humanist Association for his work on behalf of the environment. “Turner said he had a strict Christian upbringing and at one time considered becoming a missionary. "I was saved seven or eight times," the newspaper quoted him as saying. But he said he became disenchanted with Christianity after his sister died, despite his prayers. [Spokesman-Review, May 1, 1990. www.christianglobe.com/illustrations/prayer unanswered]
In regard to our prayers, probably every one of us has considered giving up on seeing some of our prayers answered. Probably more than just a few of us actually have given up and stopped praying, maybe not altogether, but at least quit praying for certain things. We quit praying because of discouragement and doubt. We quit praying because deep down we sometimes wonder if prayer really makes a difference. So how do we keep going when we feel like bailing out?
John chapter eighteen opens with Jesus telling his disciples a parable. “Then He spoke a parable to them…” This parable of Jesus concerning the place of prayer follows immediately his warning concerning the second coming (17:10-36). He knew that one of the dangers his followers would face was to be come discouraged as they waited for his return. He thus links his words about the need to be watchful with to this words concerning prayer.
In this text Jesus give us five wonderful reasons never to give up.
1. Don’t Give Up There Is Too Much At Stake
Dr. Luke does not leave us guessing as to the point that Jesus intends to make. “Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart.”
The phrase “ought to pray” is really not quite strong enough. Prayer is not something that we are just permitted to do if we please. The word should be translated “must”, “they must always pray.”
Furthermore Jesus says that men always must pray and as it is translated in the KJV “not faint.” The word “faint” is used to describe a believer who loses heart and gets so discouraged that they want to quit. The meaning seems clear, the choice is ours, “If we don’t pray we will lose heart.” Who among us has not felt like since our prayers are not being effective, we might as well just quit? But perhaps the question that we should consider is, “What happens when we give up?”
“George Mueller, the founder of a great Christian orphanage work in England in the 1800’s, was a powerful man of prayer. He knew the importance of keeping at prayer evne when the answer seemed delayed. When he was young he began praying that two of his friends might be saved. He prayed for them for more than sixty years. One of the men was converted shortly before his death at what was probably the last service Mueller held. The other was saved within a year of his death.” What do you think would have happened had Mueller given up.
[James Montgomery Boice. The Parables of Jesus. (Chicago: Moody Press, 1983) p. 158]
There are two characters in this parable and we are introduced to the first one in verse two, “There was in a certain city a judge who did not fear God nor regard man.”
The first character that we are introduced to is the Judge, and he certainly is a sweet guy. We are told up front that this judge does not care about God or about men. He is moved neither by fear of God nor by compassion for his fellowman. Today we would say, “He could not have cared less.” The judge that this widow had to face made Judge Wapner look like Prince Charming; as far as the possibility of getting justice under his ruling.
To understand this story we need to understand its New Testament setting, Wiersbe describes it this way, “The courtroom was not a fine building but a tent that was moved from place to place as the judge covered his circuit. The judge, not the law, set the agenda; and he sat regally in the tent, surrounded by his assistants. Anybody could watch the proceeding from outside, but only those who were approved and accepted could have their cases tried. This usually meant bribing one of the assistants so that he could call the judges attention to the case. This is still true in much of the third world countries today.” [Warren Weirsbe. Be Courageous Luke 14-24. (Wheaton, ILL.: Victor Books, 1989) p. 62]
Don’t Give Up There Is Too Much At Stake and…
2. Don’t Give Up When Circumstances Seem to Be Against You (v.3)
The next character, introduced in verse three, is a widow, “Now there was a widow in that city; and she came to him, saying, "Get justice for me from my adversary.’
As a widow she had several factors stacked against her. First of all as a widow, she had little standing before the law. In the society of that day a woman did not go to court. The widows, are a segment of society that was often oppressed and taken advantage of legally (Isa. 1:17, 23). Secondly, because she is a widow she did not have a husband to stand with her in the court. Finally, since widow and poor was almost synonymous, she had no means to pay a bribe even if she wanted too. We are not told the circumstances of her adversary or how he was oppressing her. But we are told that his oppression was unjust.
As hopeless as her situation must have seemed, she was persistent. The language of verse three (present tense verb) indicated that every day she begged him for help. “The language leaves open the possibility of confrontation everywhere, not just in the court. She pleaded with him in front of his friends and his colleagues, she confronted him in the street, she pestered him in the market, she called out to him at his home.” [R. Kent Hughes. Luke:That You May Know the Truth. Vol 2. (Wheaton, ILL.: Crossway, 1998) p. 185.]
You see her only option was to keep asking the judge to help her; she had no other alternative. By the same token, I do not think that we will ever really pray and especially keep on praying until we come to the place of complete desperation and have no other plan or recourse!
Don’t Give Up When Circumstances Seem to Be Against You And ….
3. Don’t Give Up the Answer May Be Just Around the Corner. (vv. 4-5)
According to verse four the judge finally became weary of her constant petitions. “And he would not for a while; but afterward he said within himself, "Though I do not fear God nor regard man, (5) yet because this widow troubles me I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me."
Although the Judge keeps refusing, she keeps coming. Today we might translate the Judge’s statement that the widow “troubles me” (v. 5) as “she is wearing me out.“ A literal translation of the phrase is “blackens the eye,” (marginal note of NASB) probably in the sense that by her persistence she is giving his reputation a black eye. The judge is finally moved to help her not out of sense of justice or compassion but one of self-preservation.
A page from John Wesley’s Diary reads as follows: “Sunday morning, May 5, preached in St. Ann’s, was asked not to come back anymore. Sunday p.m., May 5, preached at St. John’s, deacons said, "Get out and stay out." Sunday a.m., May 12, preached at St. Jude’s, can’t go back there either. Sunday p.m., May 12, preached at St. George’s, kicked out again. Sunday a.m., May 19, preached at St. somebody else’s, deacons called special meeting and said I couldn’t return. Sunday p.m., May 19, preached on the street, kicked off the street. Sunday a.m., May 26, preached in meadow, chased out of meadow as a bull was turned loose during the services. Sunday a.m., June 2, preached out at the edge of town, kicked off the highway. Sunday p.m., June 2, afternoon service, preached in a pasture, 10,000 people came to hear me.”
Don’t Give Up the Answer May Be Just Around the Corner And …
4. Don’t Give Up God is Working Out the Answer (vv. 7-8a)
Don’ t make the mistake of equating delay with denial. In verse seven, Jesus makes the application, “And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them?”
But 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 pointing out contrasts, we will get the idea that God must be argued or bribed into answering our prayers. But if a poor widow can get an uncaring judge to answer her request by perseverance, then how much more should we expect that the Righteous judge (God) who does care will answer the request of his children’s persistent request.
All down through the centuries believers have struggled with the seeming silence of God to their prayers in verse eight Jesus addresses that issue. “I tell you that He will avenge them speedily…” Here Jesus says that God answers all pleas of justice and does so quickly. So how are we to reconcile this promise with the fact that some prayers do not seem to be answered quickly, if at all. The moment that God hears our request, if it is in his will, he begins to work out the answer. We may not see it now but one day the answer will come.
Let me tell you a story that I believe illustrate what I mean. “Roger Simms, hitchhiking his way home, would never forget the date--May 7. His heavy suitcase made Roger tired. He was anxious to take off his army uniform once and for all. Flashing the hitchhiking sign to the oncoming car, he lost hope when he saw it was a black, sleek, new Cadillac. To his surprise the car stopped. The passenger door opened. He ran toward the car, tossed his suitcase in the back, and thanked the handsome, well-dressed man as he slid into the front seat. "Going home for keeps?" "Sure am," Roger responded. "Well, you’re in luck if you’re going to Chicago." "Not quite that far. Do you live in Chicago?" "I have a business there. My name is Hanover." After talking about many things, Roger, a Christian, felt a compulsion to witness to this fifty-ish, apparently successful businessman about Christ. But he kept putting it off, till he realized he was just thirty minutes from his home. It was now or never. So, Roger cleared his throat, "Mr. Hanover, I would like to talk to you about something very important." He then proceeded to explain the way of salvation, ultimately asking Mr. Hanover if he would like to receive Christ as his Savior. To Roger’s astonishment the Cadillac pulled over to the side of the road. Roger thought he was going to be ejected from the car. But the businessman bowed his head and received Christ, then thanked Roger. "This is the greatest thing that has ever happened to me."
Five years went by, Roger married, had a two-year-old boy, and a business of his own. Packing his suitcase for a business trip to Chicago, he found the small, white business card Hanover had given him five years before. In Chicago he looked up Hanover Enterprises. A receptionist told him it was impossible to see Mr. Hanover, but he could see Mrs. Hanover. A little confused as to what was going on, he was ushered into a lovely office and found himself facing a keen-eyed woman in her fifties. She extended her hand. "You knew my husband?" Roger told how her husband had given him a ride when hitchhiking home after the war. "Can you tell me when that was?" "It was May 7, five years ago, the day I was discharged from the army." "Anything special about that day?" Roger hesitated. Should he mention giving his witness? Since he had come so far, he might as well take the plunge. "Mrs. Hanover, I explained the gospel. He pulled over to the side of the road and wept against the steering wheel. He gave his life to Christ that day." Explosive sobs shook her body. Getting a grip on herself, she sobbed, "I had prayed for my husband’s salvation for years. I believed God would save him." "And," said Roger, "Where is your husband, Mrs. Hanover?" "He’s dead," she wept, struggling with words. "He was in a car crash after he let you out of the car. He never got home. You see--I thought God had not kept His promise." Sobbing uncontrollably, she added, "I stopped living for God five years ago because I thought He had not kept His word!" [J. Kirk Johnston, Why Christians Sin, Discovery House, 1992, pp. 39-41. www.christianglobe.com/illustrations/prayer]
Don’t Give Up God is Working Out the Answer And
5. Don’t Give Up Jesus Always Keeps His Promises (v. 8b)
Jesus concludes with a question in the last part of verse eight, “Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?"
Why does Jesus want us to be persistent in prayer? Because prayer demonstrates faith. That is really what he is after. Without faith, prayer becomes little more than a ritual that we perform and then stand in wonder “Does it really work?”
Then when our prayer is answered we are amazed. In the book of Acts, chapter twelve Peter has been imprisoned for his preaching and in verse five we are told, “but constant prayer was made offered to God for him by the church.” I have no doubt that they were sincere, but when Peter is miraculously set free by an angel the gathered group of believers were “astonished” to see him knocking at the door (v. 16). So much so that he had to convince them before they would let him in.
But notice that Jesus does not say “if the Son of Man Comes” he says “When the Son of Man Comes” Jesus is saying something like this, “You can count on the fact I will return just as I have said I would and when I do will bring the justice that I have promised. Therefore don’t concern yourself about whether I will fulfill my promises, but rather whether you will be found faithful when I return.” What we need to concern ourselves in not the Lord’s faithfulness, but rather our own!
Conclusion
Jesus’ encouragement to his disciples to pray and not give up is still relevant to us today. We can be like Ted Turner and either turn from a life of faith because unanswered prayer or be can be like the widow persisted in asking for what she needed. For unlike the widow who had to plead for justice we as followers of Jesus are God’s children who have his ear at all times. Unlike the widow who had no one to plead her case, Jesus’ followers have an advocate in heaven.
We are really faced with a choice between praying or losing heart, going on with God or Giving up on God.
