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Luke 18: 1-8 (NIV)
Then Jesus told his disciples a parable
to show them that they should always pray and not give up. . . . And the Lord
said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God bring about justice
for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? I tell you, he will see
that they get justice, and quickly. . .”
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| Trust means we are relying upon Him to do for us what we cannot do for ourselves. |
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I have always thought of this parable as The Nagging Widow.
Read the whole passage and see what I mean. It sounds to me like Jesus is
advocating nagging as a spiritual discipline. I do not nag! I have even been
known to speculate about the necessity of persistent prayer. If I tell God what
I want or think I need, why do I have to keep reminding him? Is he going to
forget?
Clearly, I have missed the point of this story!
If you are with me on this, then let’s confirm the purpose
of prayer. God wants to hear from us because he wants a relationship with us.
We should pray in order to embrace and nurture that relationship – not just to
get stuff. Through this parable, Jesus helps us to understand something about
God, not about the Nagging Widow. She returned to the judge repeatedly because
she knew he was the only one who could
help her. If she was ever going to get justice, she had to get it from him.
“Listen to the unjust judge,” Jesus says. If the widow could (finally) get
justice from him, then why don’t we trust God to provide justice for his chosen
ones? He is our source of help. Is the widow’s persistence even a factor in the
point of the parable? One writer has observed (helpfully): “Hounding
God doesn’t earn an answered prayer
any more than faith or righteous living does. But persistence demonstrates our
enduring trust.”*
How often and how frequently should you remind God that you
are waiting for an answer? I believe that is a matter that is strictly between
you and him. But I firmly believe that the more you pray, the better you pray.
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| There is no way to learn to pray except by praying.* |
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