Sermon Tone Analysis

Persistent Prayer

In regard to our prayers, probably every one of us has considered giving up on seeing some of our prayers answered.

Probably more than just a few of us actually have given up and stopped praying, maybe not altogether, but at least quit praying for certain things.

We quit praying because of discouragement and doubt.

We quit praying because deep down we sometimes wonder if prayer really makes a difference.

So how do we keep going when we feel like giving up?

In this text Jesus give us five wonderful reasons never to give up.

1. Don’t Give Up There Is Too Much At Stake

Dr. Luke does not leave us guessing as to the point that Jesus intends to make.

“Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart.”

The phrase “ought to pray” is really not quite strong enough.

Prayer is not something that we are just permitted to do if we please.

The word should be translated “must”, “they must always pray.”

Furthermore Jesus says that men always must pray and not lose heart.

Don’t get so discouraged that they you quit praying.

The meaning seems clear, the choice is ours, “If we don’t pray we will lose heart.”

Who among us has not felt like since our prayers are not being effective, we might as well just quit?

But perhaps the question that we should consider is, “What happens when we give up?”

“George Mueller, the founder of a great Christian orphanage work in England in the 1800’s, was a powerful man of prayer.

He knew the importance of keeping at prayer even when the answer seemed delayed.

When he was young he began praying that two of his friends might be saved.

He prayed for them for more than sixty years.

One of the men was converted shortly before his death at what was probably the last service Mueller held.

The other was saved within a year of his death.”

What do you think would have happened had Mueller given up.

There are two characters in this parable and we are introduced to the first one in verse two, “There was in a certain city a judge who did not fear God nor regard man.”

The first character that we are introduced to is the Judge, and he certainly is a sweet guy.

We are told up front that this judge does not care about God or about men.

He is moved neither by fear of God nor by compassion for his fellowman.

Today we would say, “He could not have cared less.”

To understand this story we need to understand its New Testament setting, in his book Be Courageous, Warren Wiersbe describes it this way, “The courtroom was not a fine building but a tent that was moved from place to place as the judge covered his circuit.

The judge, not the law, set the agenda; and he sat regally in the tent, surrounded by his assistants.

Anybody could watch the proceeding from outside, but only those who were approved and accepted could have their cases tried.

This usually meant bribing one of the assistants so that he could call the judges attention to the case.

This is still true in much of the third world countries today.”

Don’t Give Up There Is Too Much At Stake and…

2. Don’t Give Up When Circumstances Seem to Be Against You (v.3)

The next character, introduced in verse three, is a widow.

VERSE 3.

As a widow she had several factors stacked against her.

First of all as a widow, she had little standing before the law.

In the society of that day a woman did not go to court.

The widows, are a segment of society that was often oppressed and taken advantage of legally (, ).

Secondly, because she is a widow she did not have a husband to stand with her in the court.

Finally, since widow and poor was almost synonymous, she had no means to pay a bribe even if she wanted too.

We are not told the circumstances of her adversary or how he was oppressing her.

But we are told that his oppression was unjust.

As hopeless as her situation must have seemed, she was persistent.

The language of verse three (present tense verb) indicated that every day she begged him for help.

You see her only option was to keep asking the judge to help her; she had no other alternative.

By the same token, I do not think that we will ever really pray and especially keep on praying until we come to the place of complete desperation and have no other plan or recourse!

Don’t Give Up When Circumstances Seem to Be Against You And ….

3. Don’t Give Up the Answer May Be Just Around the Corner.

(vv.

4-5)

According to VERSE 4-5 the judge finally became weary of her constant petitions.

Although the Judge keeps refusing, she keeps coming.

Today we might translate the Judge’s statement as “she is wearing me out.“

The judge is finally moved to help her not out of sense of justice or compassion but one of self-preservation.

A page from John Wesley’s Diary reads as follows: “Sunday morning, May 5, preached in St. Ann’s, was asked not to come back anymore.

Sunday p.m., May 5, preached at St. John’s, deacons said, "Get out and stay out."

Sunday a.m., May 12, preached at St. Jude’s, can’t go back there either.

Sunday p.m., May 12, preached at St. George’s, kicked out again.

Sunday a.m., May 19, preached at St. somebody else’s, deacons called special meeting and said I couldn’t return.

Sunday p.m., May 19, preached on the street, kicked off the street.

Sunday a.m., May 26, preached in meadow, chased out of meadow as a bull was turned loose during the services.

Sunday a.m., June 2, preached out at the edge of town, kicked off the highway.

Sunday p.m., June 2, afternoon service, preached in a pasture, 10,000 people came to hear me.”

Don’t Give Up the Answer May Be Just Around the Corner And …

4. Don’t Give Up God is Working Out the Answer (vv.

7-8a)

Don’ t make the mistake of equating delay with denial.

In VERS 7, Jesus makes the application for us.

But we need to understand that Jesus is not comparing God to an unjust judge.

Rather he is making a point by contrast.

Unless we see that Jesus is pointing out contrasts, we will get the idea that God must be argued or bribed into answering our prayers.

But if a poor widow can get an uncaring judge to answer her request by perseverance, then how much more should we expect that the Righteous judge (God) who does care will answer the request of his children’s persistent request.

All down through the centuries believers have struggled with the seeming silence of God to their prayers in VERSE 8.

Here Jesus says that God answers all pleas of justice and does so quickly.

So how are we to reconcile this promise with the fact that some prayers do not seem to be answered quickly, if at all.

The moment that God hears our request, if it is in his will, he begins to work out the answer.

We may not see it now but one day the answer will come.

Don’t Give Up God is Working Out the Answer And

5. Don’t Give Up Jesus Always Keeps His Promises (v.

8b)

Jesus concludes with a question in the last part of verse eight, “Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?"

Why does Jesus want us to be persistent in prayer?

Because prayer demonstrates faith.

That is really what he is after.

Without faith, prayer becomes little more than a ritual that we perform and then stand in wonder “Does it really work?”

Then when our prayer is answered we are amazed.

In the book of Acts, chapter twelve Peter has been imprisoned for his preaching and in verse five we are told, “but constant prayer was made offered to God for him by the church.”

I have no doubt that they were sincere, but when Peter is miraculously set free by an angel the gathered group of believers were “astonished” to see him knocking at the door (v.

16).

So much so that he had to convince them before they would let him in.

But notice that Jesus does not say “if the Son of Man Comes” he says “When the Son of Man Comes” Jesus is saying something like this, “You can count on the fact I will return just as I have said I would and when I do will bring the justice that I have promised.

Therefore don’t concern yourself about whether I will fulfill my promises, but rather whether you will be found faithful when I return.”

What we need to concern ourselves in not the Lord’s faithfulness, but rather our own!

Jesus’ encouragement to his disciples to pray and not give up is still relevant to us today.

We can be like Ted Turner and either turn from a life of faith because unanswered prayer or be can be like the widow persisted in asking for what she needed.

For unlike the widow who had to plead for justice we as followers of Jesus are God’s children who have his ear at all times.

Unlike the widow who had no one to plead her case, Jesus’ followers have an advocate in heaven.