You are not a persistent widow!
What This Teaching Is About
Brad Fiddler teaches from Luke 18 on persistent prayer, arguing that believers are not trying to wear down a reluctant God like the widow before the unrighteous judge. He encourages viewers praying for Canada and government to remember they are beloved, chosen, and invited to pray without losing heart.
Transcript
Hello again. Thanks for tuning in. I want to share with you a couple thoughts this morning on prayer and persisting in prayer. We've been we've been talking about that for a few weeks now. Looking at some of the some of the things to be encouraged by as we pray. Looking at some of the ways God is answering prayers and moving in Canada, in and around government, different areas like that. Things we don't often see in the headlines, but ways we're seeing that God is moving. And all of that we've been sharing to encourage you to keep praying, to not give up, to not lose heart, but to keep praying because God is moving and doing stuff. Also want to share this morning from Luke 18. This is a
parable that Jesus told which Luke kind of gives us an introduction to this parable in verse 1. And he says it's a parable to the effect that we ought to always pray and not lose heart. So Luke's saying, "Here's a parable Jesus gave us to encourage us to pray and not lose heart. Okay?" So that's what we're talking about. Let's let's look at it. So here's what the parable says. Verse 2. In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected man. So you could think of this this is a corrupt judge. This is a judge that's that's bribed, that's bought off, that doesn't really care much about justice or about doing right. He's just just filling a role. And uh
And Jesus goes on and says there was a widow in that city who kept coming to this judge and saying, "Give me justice against my adversary." For a while this judge refused, but afterwards he said to himself, "Though I neither fear God nor respect man, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming." Okay? And so often we hear this parable and go, "Okay. So we need to It's almost like this picture of we need to keep banging on the door of heaven until we finally catch God's ear or annoy him enough that he'll actually feel like he has to do something. And in that picture, it's like if you're banging on
a door, the door's closed to you. Right? And it's this picture of it's it's picturing God like this unrighteous judge and picturing ourselves like this widow. But that's not where where the story ends. Jesus goes on and says, "Pay attention to what the unrighteous judge says, okay? So, consider that." But then he says, "Will not God give justice to his elect who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them? I tell you he will give justice to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?" And here's the thing I want you to catch this morning is that >> [snorts] >> Jesus is not saying, "So, God's an unrighteous judge, you're a persistent
widow, that's how you get things done." What he's if an un- if a persistent widow can overwhelm and overcome an unrighteous judge, how much more can you as the elect of God, how much more do you move the heart of God who is your father in heaven, the good father in heaven? He's saying you are not a persistent widow and God is not an unrighteous judge. You are the elect of God. You're already chosen. You're beloved. You've been given the spirit of adoption. You've been brought into his family. He's given you everything that pertains to life and godliness. He's seated you with Christ in heavenly places. You already have his favor. Do you see the difference there? And so,
what I want to encourage you with, and this is how Jesus said, "Here's how you pray and not lose heart," is to remember that you're not a persistent widow trying to overcome an unrighteous judge. You're the elect of God. You're beloved, you're chosen, and you can pray from that posture. And yeah, sometimes now we we can read into that and go, "Okay, so that means if I'm loved, if I'm if I'm if he loves me so much, then the first time I ask for something, I'll get it right away." It's not about that. The point is this, he's saying, "Remember who you are before God, and remember who God is as you as you stay in the place of prayer." God will avenge his elect who cry out to
him day and night. He doesn't say who cry out to him once, who cry out to him day and night, who who continue and persist in prayer. And so the whole point here is just remember who you are, and remember who God is, and remember that you're not a persistent widow, he's not an unrighteous judge. I'll finish with this, it's a quote from uh it's attributed to Martin Luther, where he said, "Prayer is not overcoming God's reluctance, like a persistent widow overcoming an unrighteous judge, but prayer is laying hold of God's willingness." And that's I think that's the heart of this parable here is recognizing God is willing and desiring to answer. We are the elect, we are the beloved, we are
betrothed to him, we are we are the ones his delight and favor rest on. Right? Remember that in the place of prayer. And that's how we pray and not lose heart. And so as we, you know, at time of recording this, we're getting closer to the end of summer, gearing up for the fall and all the all the things that seem to start up again um once once school gets back in and so on. Uh but just remember that in the place of prayer, don't lose heart. You're the elect, you're the beloved, you're the betrothed, you're chosen, you already have his favor. You can rest in the place of prayer, you don't have to take the posture of a persistent widow. So, be encouraged. Pray and don't lose heart. I'm Brad
Fiddler, National House of Prayer. See you next time.
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