Verses that keep me going - Luke 18:1

The 18th chapter of Luke starts off with an interesting verse: 

Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.  Luke 18:1

It's interesting because you'd think that if certain people would not give up praying it would Jesus' disciples who have lived with him and seen the amazing miracles he did, many which were the answers to requests of people.

Jesus knew that most, if not all, people will experience times when they are tempted to give up praying, especially when their prayers seem to go unanswered.

(This post is about persevering in prayer, not how to pray. If you're interested in how to improve your prayer life, I would highly recommend the book Prevailing Prayer by D.L. Moody in which he uses the prayers found in the Bible to teach how to improve your prayers.)

[Jesus] said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought. 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 what people think, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come and attack me!’ ” 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?” Luke 18:2–8

The main point of this parable is that God is not like the unjust judge. He cares about us and will see that we get justice. Most of us wonder what the word "quickly" means. We know from experience that most of our prayers are not answered quickly. 

We wrestle with the difference between our understanding of time and God's. Jesus said he was coming back "soon," and it's been over 2000 years. 2 Peter 3:8 says that "With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day." The word "quickly" can also be translated "suddenly," which would be a fitting description of what will happen at the rapture. 

There's a promise in Psalm 34:

The righteous person may have many troubles, but the LORD delivers him from them all (Psalm 34:19–20)

That can only be true if we allow the time frame to extend to Christ's return. The verse that follows right after the above verse is a prophecy about Jesus' crucifixion:

²⁰ he protects all his bones, not one of them will be broken.

It's true that Jesus' bones were not broken during his death on the cross. And it's true that he was delivered from his many troubles. Even though he was delivered from his troubles, he still went through those troubles.

We also go through many troubles, but because we have been made righteous through faith in Christ, we will also be delivered from all our troubles when Jesus comes again. 

Jesus gave the above parable because he knows persevering in prayer is not easy. 

I tried wrestling in high school and found it was not easy. I spent most of my time in pain and counting ceiling tiles. So, I practiced and practiced and practiced and became a fairly good basketball player. I was glad that joining the wrestling team was an option, not a requirement. 

Prayer is not an option for Christ followers. It's been described as spiritual breathing. Many verses in the Bible command that prayer be an integral part of our lives. 

Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.
Colossians 4:2 

 

Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.
Romans 12:12 

 

Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

1 Thessalonians 5:16–18

 Another benefit of prayer is that it will help keep you from sinning.

Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Mark 14:38

 The Lord is coming soon so we don't want to caught unprepared. Prayer will help us stay focused. 

The end of all things is near. Therefore be alert and of sober mind so that you may pray. 1 Peter 4:7

We know that all our prayers that are part of God's will, will be answered when he returns, so we need to keep trusting him for his timing.

...being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. Philippians 1:6