And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart. (Luke 18:1 ESV)
Perhaps you know this parable that Jesus told. If not, let me give you the one sentence summary. There was a woman who kept asking a wicked judge for justice and the judge gave the woman justice because of her persistence. Moral of the story is simple: keep trying even if you don’t succeed at first. What a great lesson this is for all of us who have given up. And I’m not talking about those of us who have given up after failing the first time, I’m talking about those of us who have given up after a prolonged period of trying and failing. How disheartened have you been after the 100th time you’ve asked and tried for something and came up short? How many of those requests have you abandoned as hopeless? Some examples, a life partner, a child, a new job, etc. Perhaps, there hasn’t been a single thing you’ve asked for that persistently yet, or maybe you’re one of those people that gives up after a few times of trying; regardless, that feeling of hopelessness overcomes us and we’re thrown into disheartened mess. This is exactly why Jesus tells his audience this parable– because as long as there is somebody trying and persisting, there is hope. That hope stems from the fact that God is always listening. This isn’t where it ends either. God not only listens, He is better than a wicked judge at giving justice! As a result, we NEED to pray and not lose heart… ever. When you cry out to God day and night in prayer, and I don’t mean the prayer of a madman, but in the earnestness of a child, there is nothing that can stop that prayer from being fulfilled by God in His justice. Don’t lose heart for prayers that have not been answered yet, keep on praying because God is listening and He will provide swift justice.
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