Years ago, I taught on Luke 18:1-5 (verses below, click here for the audio of the class) about the parable of the persistent widow and developed some thoughts that might be pertinent to you today.
In our world, commerce is based on the idea of a transaction. I give you something (like money), and you give me something in return (like a service or a product). We are immersed in this concept. Give = Get.
The world treats prayer in the same way. Note how it is portrayed in books, television, and film. Worldly prayers (aka the pagan prayer) are a transaction: “I give, I get.” Or through persistence, pleading, begging, bribery, or flattery, we get what we want: “If you will just give me this right now, I will do that for you in the future!”
Every Christian starts their faith journey with this preconceived idea about prayer. We were taught that if you do or say the right thing or, like the persistent widow of the parable ask fervently, our wish will be granted. Because that is the way business works. It is a simple transaction. Quid pro quo.
But with God? It is not.
It is never a transaction.
Read the parable and notice that God is not the judge who relents after being cajoled into shame. It even states that the judge, in this parable, did not fear God nor respect man.
It is a parable of contrast, not comparison. We cannot compare that “transaction” of persistence to our relationship with God. In fact, in 18:1 Luke writes that this parable was told so that the disciples should always pray (“at all times”) and not lose heart. Not a teaching that if we keep haranguing and coaxing, God will eventually relent. Instead, it is the opposite.
Jesus is teaching us that God wants us to always be praying. (Ask, Seek, Knock.) And in contrast to the pagan judge who rolls his eyes and relents, God welcomes our prayers with open arms–anytime, anywhere.
Today God welcomes your prayers. Amidst violence in the street, storms on the coast, tragedy in the home, rampant godlessness at every turn, discourse on ideas becoming ad hominem attacks, and disappointment in the publishing industry and our writing, we need to pray more than ever.
God may not grant us our wishes just because we pray. But he is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us (Eph. 3:20). We have been taught to pray in this way:
You are holy and your will is what we seek (we seek you first).
Give us our daily bread (only you can provide, for you are the source of it all).
Forgive us our sins (only you can wash us clean).
Keep us from temptation (only you can protect us from our selfish desires).
For your Glory.
For your Kingdom (the now and the not yet).
_____
Luke 18:1-5
He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart, 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.’
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’” (NASB).
Thank you Steve.
Excellent reminder of how we should be communicating with God. I take it a step further and in addition to praying constantly, I try to make sure a good portion of my “prayer” is praise and thanksgiving. It is important to me to express my gratitude for those answers I’ve been given…as well as those still to come.
This was a wonderful post needed during turbulent times in a chaotic world. Thank you!
Splendid post, Steve. Many thanks.
Prayer is every word you write,
it’s everything you say
in the darkness of the night
and in the light of day.
Prayer’s in every thing you do,
in every nail you set,
in every joint bonded in glue
just so you don’t forget
that you’re not asking any favours,
any shaming divination.
You are saved by Christ’s blood-labours,
and your situation
is that of a recipient
of grace for the penitent.
This is such a needed word. Thank you for sharing.
My work is a prayer. Every thought, every action, every hour of every day.
Well said.
Thank you, Steve! In a world where so-called Christians basically teach manifesting through prayer, this is such a necessary reminder that faith does not equal getting what we want, and not getting what we want doesn’t mean our faith was inadequate. I wish to share this with so many internet trolls! 😉
Thank you Steve. I never understood that parable, and now I do. For a very long time, my only prayer was one of thanks. Then I began to pray “Lord, stand by me” when I needed it. And sometimes the result is immediate and almost miraculous. And then I pray my thanks over and over.