“Why Bother To Keep On Praying?”
Luke 18:1-8
INTRODUCTION: Do you ever feel as though your prayers are being returned unopened? Does it ever feel like you’re just getting heaven’s voice mail? Like you’re just getting a runaround and you wonder, “Is there anybody else up there I could speak to?” Maybe you’ve been praying for something for a long time, very regularly, and with great fervor. It’s hard to persist in prayer when no answer seems forthcoming. You know the kind of situation I mean--God hasn’t granted our request, but He hasn’t obviously closed the door on it either, and what we pray for certainly seems to us like it’s a good thing He would want to give us. I’m thinking of prayers for the salvation of a close friend or family member, for example.
>> Jesus tells a story in Luke 18 that suggests that when we find ourselves in that situation, we are simply to keep at it. Jesus wants us to understand how critical it is that we persist in prayer. [READ Luke 18:1-8]
I. Jesus tells us it’s important to persist in prayer (1-5)
A. To “persist” is to refuse to give up, especially when faced with opposition or difficulty; to continue insistently, like the widow in this story. The widow who needs help represents a person helpless in that society, whose only appeal for justice comes from the authority of the judge.
1. Though we probably think of her as an older woman, in the ancient world it was not uncommon for a widow to be as young as her 30s.
2. She is seeking justice and appeals to a judge for help. It’s likely someone was trying to cheat her out of money or land her husband left her. This was prevalent in that day, because women had few legal rights.
B. In Jesus’ story this widow not only had the hurdle of being a female, she faced a terrible judge.
1. He didn’t have any fear of God, so he wasn’t motivated by pleasing God, showing compassion, or doing right.
2. Nor did he care what other people thought about him, so he wasn’t motivated by any concern for his reputation.
>>He had no reason to help this woman, and wasn’t about to do so.
C. For some time this judge does not act, but he eventually relents. Her persistence wears him down.
1. Anyone who has experienced persistence in a request can understand how the judge feels!
a. Example: My kids asking for things incessantly
b. Example: My dog eyeing our dinner table leftovers
2. The woman is bothering him constantly, and he anticipates being “worn out” by her. He is tired of her persistence, so he will act.
D. ILLUSTRATION: A huge Chicago company is one of the world’s largest magazine fulfillment firms. That means they handle subscription mailings by computer. Among other things, they send out renewal and expiration notices.
One day the company’s computer malfunctioned. Soon after, a rancher in Powder Bluff, Colorado, got 9,734 separate mailings informing him that his subscription to National Geographic had expired.
This got the rancher’s attention. He dropped what he was doing and traveled 10 miles to the nearest post office, where he sent in money for a renewal—along with a note that said, "I give up! Send me your magazine!"
There is something about multiple requests that brings answers. For reasons known only to God, that is true also in prayer.
E. APPLICATION: Persistent prayer is not something contemporary American Christians are known for. All the recent studies suggest that American Christians today, even ministry leaders, do not have regular times of daily prayer. Or if they do, they involve two, three, maybe five minutes—hardly enough time to say much to God or hear much from Him.
1. APPLICATION: Praying before I check email
2. APPLICATION: Praying whenever I get an emailed prayer request.
>>It IS possible, even in the frantic pace of contemporary American life, to make prayer a priority. But why should we? Why should we persist in prayer?
II. We should persist in prayer because God’s justice is certain (6-8a)
A. The Lord asks us to “learn a lesson from this evil judge” by reflecting on his reaction to the persistent requests of the woman, which in turn picture our prayers.
1. Jesus’ argument goes that if this godless judge, who is no respecter of persons, hears the cry of the widow, how much more will a compassionate God hear the cries of His people!
2. God will vindicate His people who constantly cry out to Him. The remark is stated emphatically with double emphasis: God will definitely vindicate His people.
B. QUOTES: C.S. Lewis wrote, “Prayer is request. The essence of a request, as distinct from a demand, is that 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.” Ruth Bell Graham, the wife of Billy Graham once said, “If God answered every prayer of mine, I would have married the wrong man seven times!”
>>BIG IDEA: But while God’s justice is certain, it’s our faith that’s in question.
III. We should persist in prayer because our faith is in question (8b)
A. Can we really believe the promise of v.8? Twenty centuries after Jesus spoke these words, and the world continues as corrupt and wicked as ever? It’s not a new question—it was a concern in the 1st century.
1. II Peter 3:8-9, “But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand slowness. Instead He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”
2. The reason God has not brought the end of the world and the righting of all wrongs more quickly is because when He does, the door will forever be closed to even one more person responding and coming to Him in faith.
B. The key issue is not if we can make sense of God’s delay—we can. The key issue is the one Jesus poses in the last half of v.8, which forms the conclusion and the climax of this passage. Even though from our perspective it seems like a long delay, will Christ, the Son of Man, find faith when he returns? That is to say, will he find his followers persisting in their faith, however long and arduous the wait?
C. ILLUSTRATION: In a German prison camp in WWII, unbeknownst to the guards, the American prisoners managed to build a makeshift radio. One day news came that the German high command had surrendered, ending the war—a fact that, because of a communications breakdown, the German guards did not yet know. As word spread, a loud celebration broke out. For three days, the prisoners were hardly recognizable. They sang, waved at guards, laughed at the German shepherd dogs, and shared jokes over meals. On the fourth day, they awoke to find that all the Germans had fled, leaving the gates unlocked. The time of waiting was over. As followers of Christ, we don’t need to respond with fear and anxiety to contemporary crises. We just need to persist in prayer. Like the Allied prisoners, we can act on the Good News we say we believe. As Philip Yancey says: “the trick of faith is to believe in advance what will only make sense in reverse.”
IV. Faith requires persisting in prayer
A. APPLICATION: When you’re worried—persist in prayer
1. In Jesus’ story, the widow didn’t sit at home wringing her hands about her problem. Instead of worrying, she got up and approached the only person who could help her.
2. William Ward wrote this about worry: “Worry is faith in the negative, trust in the unpleasant, assurance of disaster, and belief in defeat ... Worry is wasting today’s time to clutter up tomorrow’s opportunities with yesterday’s troubles.”
3. Worry is like rocking in a rocking chair–it gives you something to do, but you never go anywhere with it.
B. APPLICATION: When you doubt—persist in prayer
1. If I walk into a room and flip the light switch, I expect the light to come on. If it doesn’t, I don’t curse Thomas Edison and say electricity is a lie. I start looking for the problem. Maybe the light bulb is burned out, or a breaker has been thrown, or the power is out.
2. If it seems your prayers aren’t answered, don’t quit praying–start looking for the reason. It may be the wrong request, or you may have unconfessed sin in your life, or the timing may not be right. God always answers prayer.
C. When you feel like quitting—persist in prayer
1. In the story, the poor widow kept on begging the judge to grant her justice. She didn’t just ask once and say, “Let me know what you decide.” She peppered his ears with persistent petitions. Have you ever asked God for something, and when He didn’t answer your prayer immediately, you quit praying? That’s a big mistake.
2. ILLUSTRATION: English preacher George Mueller wrote these words about praying: “The great point is never to give up until the answer comes. I have been praying for 63 years and 8 months for one man’s conversion. He is not saved yet, but he will be. How can it be otherwise? I am praying.” George Mueller died in 1897 and the man was still not saved. But as they lowered Muller’s casket into the ground, the man repented of his sins and trusted Jesus as his Savior. That’s persistent praying!
CONCLUSION: One of the most beloved and colorful sports personalities of our time was a man named Jim Valvano, "Jimmy V" as he was known affectionately to sports fans around the country. Jim Valvano tragically died just a few years ago after a year-long battle with cancer. He was just 47 years old. He will be remembered as a great basketball coach. His North Carolina State team won the national championship in 1983. Jim Valvano will also be remembered as an outstanding TV analyst, an eloquent inspirational speaker, and as a lovable, wisecracking humorist. But, most of all, he’ll be remembered for the courageous way he faced a debilitating illness.
A few weeks before he died, he was honored on national television and to that vast viewing audience, he said this: "Today, I fight a different battle. You see, I have trouble walking and I have trouble standing for a long period of time. Cancer has taken away a lot of my physical abilities. Cancer is attacking and destroying my body, but what cancer cannot touch is my mind, my heart, and my soul. I have faith in God and hope that things might get better for me. But even if they don’t, I promise you this: I will never, ever give up. I will never, ever quit. And if cancer gets me, then I’ll just try my best to go to heaven and I’ll try my best to be the best coach they’ve ever seen up there." Then, pointing to his 1983 championship team, he said, "I learned a great lesson from these guys. They amazed me. They did things I was not sure they could do because they absolutely refused to give up. That was the theme of our championship season: ’Never, ever give up!’ That’s the lesson I learned from them, and that’s the message I leave with you. Never give up. Never, ever give up!"
