Introduction
One of the most difficult things to maintain in our life as a New Covenant believer in the Messiah our Lord Jesus is to be consistent in prayer. Throughout the whole Bible prayer is the one spiritual exercise or discipline that puts the believer into contact with the Triune God. All of us can pray in times of difficulty and we should because the eyes of the LORD are upon us as we read, “The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, and His ears are inclined to their cry,” (Psalm 34:15),
However, there will come times in our life when no matter how long or how fervent we pray over a certain situation confronting us where our prayers continue to go unanswered, that we feel like just giving up, or giving into a sense of anxiety that God seems to be silent at such times and that somehow it feels like He has even abandoned us. What is most difficult is to keep on praying when ‘spiritual feelings’ are absent of even seemingly non-existent, and where nothing it seems has changed in the natural and visible realm.
We do know from the Word of God that if we have unconfessed sin in our lives then God will not answer us while we nurture it. As the psalmist writes; “I cried out to Him with my mouth and praised Him with my tongue. If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the LORD would not have listened. But God has surely heard; He has attended to the sound of my prayer” (Psalm 66:17-19). The Psalmist praised the LORD as if the answer had already been shown and was expressing this by faith. Having said this if we have confessed all known sin and our prayers still go unanswered then what are we to do? The one thing we must not do is just give up! This is what our adversary Satan would like us to do.
We may wake up in the early hours of the morning and anxiety or a sense of fear sweeps over us like a flood. You know some problems we face in life are beyond sharing with our fellow believers or even our closest and dearest brother or sister in Messiah and the only recourse we have is to go to God alone. We may know the Word of God, and we should know it because it is the sword of the Spirit that He uses against our adversary Satan (Ephesians 6: 17). However there are times when it seems even the promises of God seem to be unattainable as we contemplate a difficult and somewhat overwhelming situation deep down on the inside of us we are experiencing and there seems to be no sense of relief in sight.
At such times when Satan attacks us he will tell us that God does not care about our situation or that we are unworthy of having our prayers actually answered. Fear or apprehension is one of his most strategic weapons he uses to get our eyes off of what God has promised to do for us in His Word, and get us to focus on what we are feeling and thinking. We see this spiritual battle throughout scripture and especially in the psalms. At the best of times our feelings are no barometer for our spiritual standing with the LORD.
After all, we are to walk by faith and not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7). The word for “faith” not only relates to what we believe, but also being faithful to what we believe. We also know that God Himself is faithful in everything He is and says and does and knows how much we can take and will never allow us to be tempted, tested or tried beyond what we can bare but with that temptation, test and trial always provide a way of escape that we might be able to bear up under its weight. As we read; “No temptation (test, trial) has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it” (1 Corinthians 10:13). In the parable we are about to look at we see the spiritual power there is in persistent prayer that just refuses to give up until the answer comes! Let’s now look at this parable and why it is so important in relation to our faith in the LORD and in His faithfulness.
(Luke 18:1-8) Exposition:
(Vs.1) “Now He (Jesus) was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart,”
Clearly the Lord Jesus told this parable to illustrate the power there is in persistent prayer that refuses to give up even when the situation is beyond our ability or human strength or will power to deal with. Notice He says “at all times.” There is no time when prayer is not applicable. God’s Word tells us “do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and petition with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all human understanding, will garrison your hearts and your minds in the Messiah Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7).
No matter is too small or trivial for God to handle. Anxiety is always lurking in the deep recesses of our minds if we are honest, and while we may not be aware of it there will come circumstances or situations when it will come to the fore and engage our thinking and affect our emotions and potentially derail or even cripple our trust in the infinite wise and loving providence of the LORD. At such times God’s Word tells us to cast, and to keep on casting all of our anxieties on Him because He cares for us (1 Peter 5:7). Does not the apostle James tell us that “the prayer of a righteous man has great power to prevail” (James 5:15-16). He wrote this in the context of the prayer offered in faith.
Did not David also write; “Cast your burden upon the LORD and He will sustain you; He will never let the righteous be shaken” (Psalm 55:7). As we also read in Psalm 94, “Unless the LORD had given me help, I would soon have dwelt in the silence of death. When I said, “My foot is slipping,” your unfailing love, O LORD, supported me. When anxiety was deep within me, your consolation brought me joy” (Psalm 94:17-19). God consoles us through His Word. No matter how we feel of what things look like in the natural realm we need to keep praying. Notice we also read, “…and not to lose heart.” Here the phrase means, “To be utterly spiritless, to be wearied out with exhaustion.”
How often have we felt this way? At such times praying in the Holy Spirit will enable us and empower us supernaturally to express our innermost thought and feelings to the LORD that will bypass the intellect as the Holy Spirit releases His prayer language from deep down on the inside of our regenerated spirit man (See Praying in the Holy Spirit). So the Lord Jesus in this verse tells us two things we can do, to pray at all times, and to not lose heart. Added to this when we pray about everything we also need to petition the LORD. Specific requests require specific answers. Even when praying in the Holy Spirit we must also know what we desire from the LORD even though we cannot find adequate words. In this parable we see that specific persistent prayer with a petition will get results if we do not give up! And then we read…
(Vs.2-5) …saying, “In a certain city there was a judge who did not fear God and did not respect man. There was a widow in that city, and she kept coming to him, saying, ‘Give me legal protection from my opponent.”
Now in text we are told in this parable that in a certain city there was a judge who was not a godly judge at all as he did not fear God nor did he respect man. He was a judge not open to the cry of those in need of judicial aid and action. In fact he was quite intolerant and immersed in his own legal matters. The last thing he wanted was some woman pleading at the door of his court room for legal action against her adversary. She was not only being overwhelmed by her adversary but also knowing that the judge had the legal power to deliver her from the power of the adversary and drive him away and out of her affairs. And then we read…
(Vs.4-5) “For a while he was unwilling; but afterward he said to himself, ‘Even though I do not fear God nor respect man, yet because this widow bothers me, I will give her legal protection, otherwise by continually coming she will wear me out.’”
The fact that she appealed to his legal responsibilities as a judge made him turn his attention to her plight. She was a widow with no human help and greatly troubled and oppressed by her adversary but kept up her persistence for her case to be heard. She knew that the judge had the power to deliver her from her adversary.
Metaphorically speaking, and from the deeper spiritual meaning of the text, the woman could represent a believer who is sorely oppressed on every side by spiritual attacks and circumstances that threatened to overwhelm them. The adversary metaphorically speaking could represent Satan. All of us as New Covenant born again blood redeemed believers will pass through times of adversity, oppression and taunts and accusations from the evil one, the accuser of the brethren.
We are not told what the specific issue was with this woman, however, she was utterly spiritless and wearied out with exhaustion, however, she was persistent knowing that the judge had the legal clout to act according to His legal responsibilities as a judge and handle her case. The judge of course was not a godly judge, however, the Lord Jesus was making the point that even if a godless judge responded to this woman’s persistence how much more would the true and righteous judge of the universe respond to one of His own blood purchased children, who by persistence with their petition, came before Him seeking to be free from the attack of the adversary Satan.
Just as the woman appealed to the legal law that the judge was bound by law to honour, so as God’s children we have the right and privilege to not only appeal to His law and promises which He has given in His Word, but also to appeal to His character as the righteous and just judge and one whose heart and ears are always open to the prayers and petitions of those whom He has declared to be righteous in His sight through faith in the Messiah His Only Son (Romans 3:22—24), our great high priest through whom we can come into the very throne room of God Himself and find our deliverance from Satan’s attacks.
As we read in the Book of Hebrews; “Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:14-16). One thing for sure the LORD is never weary with the petitions of His blood purchased, blood redeemed children who avail themselves of His intercessory priesthood on their behalf. Day or night His ears are ever open to the prayers of the righteous ones who approach Him by faith and rewards them (Hebrews 11:6). And then we read what the Lord Jesus said…
(Vs.6-8) “And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge said; now, will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry to Him day and night, and will He delay long over them? “I tell you that He will bring about justice for them quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?”
The point that the Messiah our Lord Jesus made was if an ungodly judge was bound by legal law to honour the petition of one who appealed to the law which he was bound to uphold as a judge, how much more would the righteous judge, being His father in Heaven, would honour His law, and that He would not only be attentive to their cry and petition, but answer them when they came before Him with His promises in His Word sealed by the blood of His Son and unbreakable. Notice several things. By “His justice” He will drive Satan out! The word “justice” implies, “a revenging, a vengeance, a punishment or the meting out of justice as would be meted out in a court of law.”
Notice who are the recipients of God’s justice when under spiritual attack? They are His “elect” saints. The word applies to His saints, all those who down through the ages have been walking with Him by faith and have been constantly looking to Him in all matters pertaining to their daily living in the kingdom of God and have been seeking to serve Him. The word “elect” means “those who are picked out and chosen to inherit salvation according to God’s foreknowledge of all things. It also implies the choicest and best of its kind or class.” This is how God things of us as His children, not having our own righteousness but having availed ourselves of that righteousness from God that has been bestowed upon us through exercising a saving faith in the Messiah our Lord Jesus.
We “are justified freely by His unmerited, unearned favour through the redemption that is in the Messiah Jesus” (Romans 3:24). We have the legal right and privilege to come into the very throne room of the Triune God Himself, the perfect judge, and have Him dispense revenge against Satan and his cronies from Hades who have been our adversaries. Persistence in prayer by faith and not by feelings will galvanise the LORD into action on behalf of you and I as His elect saints when we by faith cry out to Him, “day and night.” The woman was persistent and undoubtedly kept coming back to plead her cause with e judge day and night continuously. She just would not give up!
Epilogue
Sometimes God seems to delay His promises yet His timing is always perfect in all matters relating to our daily lives as His blood redeemed saints. When we are in a time of adversity by Satan the adversary, we must always run to the LORD for refuge and for his deliverance and hold before Him the petitions we require as they are written in His Word, the Bible. As it is also written; “The name of the LORD is a strong tower; The righteous runs into it and is safe.” (Proverbs 18:10).
All power has been placed in the name of Jesus and by the power of that name every being in heaven, on earth and under the earth must bow to that name whether man, or principality, or demon, and also Satan Himself our adversary. As we read in God’s Word, “Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name above all names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus the anointed Messiah is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:9-11).
When we evoke the name of Jesus by faith there will be a spiritual power shift released into the unseen fallen spiritual world the dwelling place of Satan and his entities that will shake them to the very core of their being, especially when we utilise the promises of God’s Word as we bring our petitions before Him in times when our adversary is beating us down with trials, tests, oppressing circumstances and with anxiety and temptations.
Persistence that the widow exercised in this parable will win the day! She kept coming. There was no instant ‘fix’ for her against the oppression of her adversary and this is also true in spiritual matters. Sometimes we need to wait upon the LORD and we see this in scripture, especially in the psalms, but this does not means we should cease in persistently coming before the LORD with our cry day and night to be delivered from the adversary oppressing us and presenting before the LORD our petitions based on His unchanging promises. Will He not avenge us as we cry to Him day and night? He will answer us speedily! He will never be too early or to late but always on time!
There is a spiritual outlaw in the unseen spiritual realm who is working 24/7 to derail our trust in the LORD. Adversity comes to all of us in various ways. It may be adversity in our finances, in our personal relationships, seeking to cope with bodily sickness, satanic oppression and demonic attacks, family conflicts of one sort or another, difficulties in the place of employment or on college campuses. It may be wrestling with anxious thoughts, apprehension, unchanged circumstances, fighting against depression and un answered prayers, or persecution, however, like that widow let us keep on keeping on, never give up, keep bringing our requests and petitions to the LORD and praise Him for the answers to come as if we have already received them (Mark 11:22-24)
We are to use His Word because His Word is His will, and when we pray according to His will, He always hears us and grants us the petitions we have requested or desired from Him (1 John 5:14-15). There is a time for petitioning but also a time for praise in anticipation of the answer already given even though there is no outward evidence or sign in the natural visible world that anything has changed. Praise by faith will slap the devil’s mouth shut and drive him out of our affairs (Psalm 8:2; 9:1-3).
In closing, we also read these words from the text; “However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?” The Lord Jesus is coming back and will reward everyone according to their deeds (Romans 2:6). Having said this, the key factor in our service for the LORD is have we been living by faith and also by faithfulness? When the Lord Jesus comes back He will be looking for that kind of faith the woman in the parable exercised towards that unjust judge. The word for “faith” in both the Hebrew of the Old Testament and in the Greek of the New Testament not only implies “believing”, but also “faithfulness” to what we believe. It is acting according to what we believe. If we continue believing in the promises of God and seeking with the help of the Holy Spirit to live by them, then we will be living in line with His will.
When Satan attacks us, and he will, we have the right and privilege to cry out to the LORD day and night if necessary, to avenge us against our adversary Satan, or when one of his principalities or demons is afflicting us, especially late at night or in the early hours of the dawn when Satan often launches an attack. When our prayers and petitions are also fused together with praise and thankfulness for anticipated relief, God will avenge us quickly and without delay or by putting us off.
As it is written; “When the enemy comes in, like a flood The Spirit of the Lord will lift up a (battle) standard against him” (Isaiah 59:19b). This parable the Messiah our Lord Jesus taught was to encourage us and to show “that at all times we ought to pray and not to lose heart!!!
