Luke 18.1 thru 8. Sermon Outline.Bill Hybels

God’s Attitude Toward Prayer
by Bill Hybels
Text: Luke 18:1-8
Topic: How God feels when we pray to him
Big Idea: We are children of God, who always have access to him in prayer.
Keywords: Blessings; Children of God; God, goodness of; God, love of; God, righteousness of; Hope; Judgment, divine; Parables of Christ; Prayer; Prayer, persistence in



A persistent widow seeks justice.

• At the time of Christ, widows were social outcasts.
• This widow sought protection from a “villain.”
• The judge had no fear of God or respect for people.
• The judge refuses the widow’s request for justice.
• Undaunted, the widow pesters the judge until he grants her request.
• Many people think the moral of the story is “it pays to pester.”
• Many Christians think we are like the widows and God is like the judge.

We are not like powerless widows.

• Jesus explains the meaning of the story.
• We have hope because we are heirs of Christ.
• Illustration: Following his father’s example, Hybels gives his kids permission to call anytime on a private line.
• We can talk to our Father any time.
• Unlike the judge in the story, God is willing to bless us.

God wants to hear our prayers.

• God is interested in our prayers because he is interested in us.
• God is able to answer our prayers.
• God invites us to pray to him.