Always Pray and Never Give Up

 Write From My Heart / October 5, 2020 / Always Pray and Never Give Up

            Of the four gospels, I enjoy reading Luke perhaps more in some ways. I know that historically speaking Luke was not a Jew but he was a Gentile. This is often reflected in his writings. For example, while Matthew uses the Jewish term Rabbi when describing Jesus, Luke chooses to use Master which is a term the Gentiles would be most likely to use. He also used many other Greek words instead of their Hebrew equivalents and I think this was to make sure his writings could be easily understood by the Gentiles.

Luke was known as a physician, and his writings often include details revealing the side of human physicality, nature, and emotion. His passion for the care of others is reflected in Luke’s writings in other ways. According to history, a Jewish man would begin his day with prayer including thanksgiving to God that he was not born as a gentile, nor as a slave, nor as a woman. Now I am not sure if that tradition holds true today, but I do believe it might be one of the factors influencing Luke’s writings because much of his writings reflect the needs of the poor, downtrodden, and women. In the Jewish/Palestinian world, women were held in low esteem. By contrast, Luke tells the account of Christ’s birth from Mary’s perspective. He gives great detail about interactions with women including Mary and Martha. And in today’s passage, although many might dispute my opinion, I see the judge as the antagonist while the protagonist is a poor, destitute widow.

Luke 18:1-8 (NIV)  Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared about men. And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’ For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care about men, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually wear me out with her coming!’

            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? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”

            The first concern I would like to address is that Luke is not comparing God to the unjust judge; rather, he is contrasting God from that type of person. God does not have to be worn down by our prayers until he finally gives in. We don’t even know what will happen in our lives a few hours from now, let alone a few days, weeks, months, or years. But God understands all things and only he can determine what is best. A parent may have to repeatedly deny a child’s persistent request because they know it is not in the best long-term interest of the child. That’s pretty tough for children to understand. Sometimes what we are asking for isn’t what we would actually want if we knew the future. God knows and he understands our concerns.

With regard to this parable, Luke is trying to emphasize what he also wrote in a previous parable—the parable of the friend at midnight (Luke 11:5-13). Luke’s point is this: if an unjust judge can eventually do what is in the best interest of a poor, defenseless widow, how much more will God care for his own?

For this reason, we are never to become discouraged in our prayers. We are to remain faithful in our prayers even when—especially when—we wonder whether God is listening. I assure you, God always listens to our prayers, but he alone knows what is best for our lives. Perhaps this is why Jesus concludes the parable with the question, “However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?” The question for us becomes will he find you and I quitting and giving up because we mistakenly think our prayers go unanswered, or will he find us faithful in prayer until the day of his return? Perhaps the most important part of every prayer we offer should be to follow the example of Christ in his prayer to his Father: “yet not my will, but yours be done,” (Luke 22:42).  

Always pray and never give up!

Your Heaven Father is only ever a prayer away.