Luke Chapter 18: Verse 1 (NIV-UK)
Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.
Jesus was always focussed on His calling. But He knew His disciples well and He knew what lay ahead, not only for Him, but for them too. They were not always as focussed as Him. Soon He would no longer be travelling with them in the way that He had for the last three years. He’s already taught them how they should pray (Luke 11:1-13) but they needed to learn how to be persistent in prayer, and always pray.
Jesus knows us well and He knows what lies in store for us. We need to follow His teaching just as much as the disciples. Sometimes we might be so caught up in the circumstances we are in that we forget to pray. Not a wise move. Sometimes we do pray expectantly but give up praying if we don’t get an immediate answer, or perhaps we do get an answer but its not the one we were hoping for. That’s still not a reason to give up praying. We teach our children in Junior Church that prayer is talking to God. If we give up praying, we have in effect stopped talking to God. We are living in a world where, certainly in the West, we don’t always like to talk about how we are feeling. Yet we are told not to bottle things up, and that it’s good to talk. Who better to talk to than God? He never goes in the huff with us, and He is ready to listen at any time. I’ve heard it say that we need to pray hard when it’s harder to pray. That’s when we need to learn persistence. Prayer is a great way to keep our focus on keeping on the road that God wants us to travel.
Dear Lord,
I know that the key to growing in my relationship with You is to pray. But part of prayer, as well as telling You how I feel, is waiting and listening to what You want me to hear, even if its not what I hoped to hear. Help me to be persistent and to pray even when I don’t feel like it. I ask in Jesus’ Name. Amen.