LUKE 18:1-8 PERSISTENCE IN PRAYER

PERSISTENCE IN PRAYER

Luke 18:1-8

Luke 18:1 And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;

Susie: The New Testament writers, under the influence of the Holy Spirit, confirmed this teaching many times. Here are two examples:

1 Thessalonians 5:17 Pray without ceasing.

Ephesians 6:18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints . . .

Susan: Praying without ceasing is to be in intimate communication with our Father at all times. We are interacting with Him continuously—praising God, confessing our sin, thanking the Lord, and bringing our needs and the needs of others to Him (intercessory prayer).

Susie: Prayer is also listening to God by being still and contemplating His word, the Bible. Are we to be always physically on our knees?

Susan: No. Besides, I don’t have any knees. LOL. What is important is that our hearts being prepared for and motivated to prayer at any time.

Susie: We are told not to faint or in some translations “to lose heart”. The point Jesus makes with the following parable is that we are not to pray once and then give up thinking God will not answer. We are to continue lifting the request to Him until we have peace about that situation, until He has either granted our request, made it clear His answer is “no”, or given us peace that He will grant our request in the future.

Susan: When we pray, we need to thank God for the answer being on the way. We hold on to God as our steadfast anchor until we see the reality of the answer to our request. I thank God that I am one day closer to walking than I was yesterday. I may not walk until I am with Him in glory; but I am confident that whether He heals me here or when I get to Heaven, He WILL heal me. I do not give up on Him or cease to serve Him because my prayer seems unanswered at the moment. He has healed me in the most important way because I have trusted Him and have peace.

Philippians 4:6-7 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Luke 18:2 Saying, There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man:

Susan: There was a dumb judge—I call him “dumb” because the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom (Psalm 111:10, Proverbs 9, 10)—who did not know God, nor did he esteem humanity. Therefore, he had no concern for others.

Luke 18:3 And there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary.

Susie: A widow who lived in the same city came before the judge seeking justice because someone had wronged her. We are not told in what way she was wronged, just that she considered someone her adversary. Some translations call him an oppressor or a man who is trying to ruin her.

Susan: We do not know whether the man was trying to ruin her financially or assassinate her character. She is having to plead with the judge alone because she no longer has a husband to advocate for her, and it may be supposed that she has no son to come to her aid, either.

Luke 18:4-5 And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man; Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.

Susan: At first the calloused judge completely ignored her pleas.

Susie: However, she persisted in pleading her cause, coming back day after day. In fact, the Complete Jewish Bible calls her a “nudnik” which didn’t sound like a very nice name, so we looked it up. It means that she was an annoying pest, similar to a relative who is constantly asking to borrow money.  

Luke 18:5 (CJB) but because this widow is such a nudnik, I will see to it that she gets justice — otherwise, she’ll keep coming and pestering me till she wears me out!’”

Full definition of the Yiddish word nudnik can be found here: https://www.thejc.com/judaism/jewish-words/nudnik-1.7671

Susan: The nuance of the phrase “weary me” was as if she were continually giving the judge a black eye, incessantly pounding him with her persistence.

MacArthur Study Bible note:

18:5 18:5 weary me. Lit. “hit under the eye.” What the judge would not do out of compassion for the widow or reverence for God, he would do out of sheer frustration with her incessant pleading.

Susie: The judge admits to himself that he is not finding in her favor out of a sense of justice or even pity but because she is driving him nuts! I think she gave him a migraine.

Susan: The judge had no compassion for the woman, but the woman obviously would never leave him alone. She was determined to persevere until she received justice and was released from whatever hold her adversary had on her.

Luke 18:6 And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith.

Susie: In modern words, Jesus told them to pay attention to the point of the parable. It was her persistence that caused the judge to find in her favor even though he was a thorough evil man with no thought for God or man.

Luke 18:7-8 And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them? I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?

Susan: Therefore, how much more will God who is a just and fair judge and our loving Father avenge those who trust and cling to Him? We cling to Him to provide everything that is good and right and just.

Susie: Even though God may seem to allow evil to prevail for a time, we can rest assured that judgement will fall swiftly on those who oppose us at God’s appointed time. Meanwhile, we are, as we said above, to persist in prayer.

Susan: We are not to seek revenge ourselves but trust the Lord to care for us (Romans 12:19). God knows the entire picture while we see only our point of view. He knows the thoughts and intentions of the heart and is the only who can truly judge based on what is true and right.

Susie: Sometimes, this side of glory, it seems that God waits a long time to bring justice to His people. Israel was in Egypt for 400 years and in Babylon for 70. However, eventually they were delivered.

Susan: Our father does answer our prayers, but the timing of those answers is totally up to Him. Waiting is not our best attribute even as believers. However, we are to not lose heart as we persist in prayer.

Susie: Will Jesus find persistent faith when He returns? The implied answer is negative. As persecution and trials increase, many will wane in faith. However, we are blessed if we remain steadfast in faith and persistent in prayer.

Susan: We must remember that even the Apostle Peter, when fear gripped him immediately after Jesus’s arrest, denied even knowing Him. However, the Lord knows our hearts even better than we do ourselves. There is restoration for those who repent and continue to trust in Him.

Ponder this and apply it: The injustice that immediately came to mind as we studied this passage was the murder of the unborn. Are we persisting in prayer that God would avenge them? Are there other injustices, particularly the persecution of the church worldwide, for which we need to persist in prayer?