Luke 18:1-8

Be Persistent?

            Do you remember being a child and wanting something so bad that you went to great lengths to make sure your parents knew? As a child, there were those toys or games or certain things that felt like you just had to have it or else your life was over. Because of that, we would be hyper-fixated on that one thing all the time. Perhaps we even went so far as to say we were going to raise our own money for it by planting a lemonade stand in the front yard. As a parent though, you almost had to chuckle because of the persistence and dedication your child would show. Assuming money and time would allow, you almost had no choice but to get it because children will ask you about it every five minutes until they got it. Oh, to have the faith like a child again. This is the way we’re supposed to address our Heavenly Father, as Luther explains in the Lord’s Prayer... “as dear children ask their dear father.” Yes, we’ve all grown up learning that just because you want something doesn’t mean you’ll get it. Which is a good life lesson to learn. Yet, this is what stifles our prayer before our Heavenly Father. God tenderly invites us to be that kid again and to “nag” him as often as we need. What’s worse than getting a “no” to your request? Not asking at all! We should be as persistent with our Heavenly Father as we are with our earthly parents.

            In our Gospel lesson, Jesus “tells us a parable to the effect that [we] ought always to pray and not lose heart” Luke 18:1. He reminds us just how important prayer is for us and our faith. But there’s more to prayer than our rambling words. It’s what God does with our prayer and how he answers us that should drive us to keep praying. For let us learn today:

LIFT UP YOUR CARES TO GOD WHO LISTENS AND LOVES YOU!

I.

            I wouldn’t be too surprised if every one of you told me that your prayer life is lacking. If I simply stood up here telling you that you needed to pray more, I’d probably see a lot of troubled faces. Yes, there’s no doubt as Christians that we understand the importance of prayer. We know that we should pray more than we do, BUT we face so many obstacles in life that constantly distract us or make us doubt. For before we fully consider our Lord’s parable, this is one of few times that we’re told the meaning or purpose of the parable in the text. As Luke writes, “[Jesus] told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart,” Luke 18:1. Jesus’ entire point or purpose for telling us this parable is simply to say… pray more often. We ought always to pray! And this is why we feel bad at such a command because we know that we fall woefully short. 

            But maybe, our defective prayer life isn’t because a lack of opportunity, but rather a misunderstanding of prayer and what it’s supposed to do. For consider the parable, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected man. And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary,” Luke 18:2-3. This judge is out only for himself. He’s likely corrupt, self-conceited, and cares nothing for this widow. This widow, however, has been wronged in such a way that the only person able to preserve her life is this judge. So, the widow persists. She pesters the judge every day. She never lets him forget about her plight and his responsibility to her. Hence, this judge finally gives in, “Though I neither fear God nor respect man, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming,” Luke 18:4-5. Indeed, prayer isn’t supposed to be a law, that is, something that we feel obligated to do… and feel bad about when we don’t. Rather, prayer is to be our lifeline, our life raft in a storm. Prayer is for those times when everything has gone wrong… and the only person who can give us justice is God.

II.

            And is God like this unrighteous judge? Of course not! And that’s the entire point. If “prayer” to a judge—that is, the widow’s persistence—can achieve great things, then how much more will prayer to our loving, caring Heavenly Father yield for us? This is meant to be the basis of our prayer. It’s talking to our Heavenly Father and bringing before him our every care and concern. “And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them? I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily,” Luke 18:7-8. We pray to God because we know he’s loving and kind. We know that God is able to help us and cares for all of our woes. For prayer need not be our last resort. It shouldn’t be even our first attempt. Prayer can be our first, second, third, tenth, or even our hundredth plea in times of turmoil and struggle. Don’t fear that your problem or concern is too large or too small. Rather, as I’ve heard it said by other pastors… God is a big boy. He can handle it all. Your anger and frustration, your tears and worries, your hopes and dreams. Give it all to God and know that he will answer you.

            For if I’ve heard any consistent concern about praying… it’s the regular concern about whether prayer does anything at all. Yes, to our human eyes, prayer may seem to do nothing. The widow never saw an answer to her prayers until the judge finally gave in. But prayer is about far more than just getting what we want. For the parable is to teach us to always pray and never lose heart. That is, by praying to God consistently, we’re to open our eyes and pay closer attention to God’s action in our life. We’re to see how God is granting us justice speedily even now. For God’s consistent answer to our prayers is nothing less than Jesus. It’s Jesus who comes to heal us of our illness and diseases. It’s Jesus who comes to wipe away our tears, to be our shoulder to cry on, to be our friend even if all others left. It’s Jesus who forgives us our sins no matter how terribly we’ve messed up or wronged him and others. Yes. By prayer, God seeks to continually show us how he’s addressing our every need by Jesus’ death upon the cross. Our need for community, our need for health, our need for purpose and meaning. It all finds its answer in Christ crucified for you and me. For when we pray, we lift up our lives, needs, wants, and all that we are to be molded to God’s holy will in Christ.

            It’s for this reason that we’re to lift up every care or concern to God, our Heavenly Father. For he tenderly invites us to pray to him as a child talks to his dear father. He invites us to see his love and care for us in Jesus Christ that we may be strengthened unto eternal life! In Jesus’ name! Amen!