Let's pray.
[Prayer] Heavenly Father, we thank you that Christ has done it all and that because of Christ we have access to your throne. We pray in this time that you would teach us how to pray and increase the heart desire for prayer. For it's in Jesus' name we ask it. Amen. [End]
Please open your Bibles to Luke chapter 18. Luke chapter 18.
Prayer is one of the greatest sustaining graces that we enjoy in this earthly pilgrimage. The fact that we can go with our needs, our prayers, our petitions, our requests to the very throne of God Almighty, to express to the One who controls every molecule in this universe and has declared His love and affection for us in the sending of His Son that we can bring our needs to His throne. It's one of the greatest graces in this life.
And yet, one of the hardest disciplines to maintain. We've been invited to the very throne of God, and yet arguably there is no spiritual discipline that Christians find harder to be regular in, to be persistent in, to be genuine in, than prayer itself. Martin Luther said, “prayer is the most difficult of all works.” “Prayer is the most difficult of all works.” And that feeling that many of us have felt is intensified when life in this world is hard, and even more so when the world itself is attacking.
In 2008 in India, riots broke out in Odisha. When Christians were killed, thousands of homes were destroyed, nearly 400 churches were burned in attacks fueled by religious hostility. In Pakistan in 2013, there were twin suicide attacks at All Saints Church in Peshawar, killing 127 Christians and injuring hundreds during that Sunday service. In Pakistan in 2023, following rumors and allegations that proved to be unfounded about the Koran being desecrated, mobs broke out and attacked Christian neighborhoods, burning multiple churches, vandalizing homes and forcing Christian families to flee.
In China, just last year, Chinese authorities increased their hostility against Christian underground churches and repeatedly broke out in arrest of unregistered Christian pastors, church leaders, as part of a crackdown restricting religious worship and any expression of it. In January, just a few days ago, in Nigeria, armed groups attacked multiple churches in Kaduna State, seizing worshipers during church services and putting them into captivity. North Korea today, there is systematic, regular persecution.
Christians are classified as being hostile to the state. Many are in prison or in brutal labor camps. Many are executed for practicing their faith. Tens of thousands are believed to be held in captivity simply for the desire to practice their religious belief.
The most recent data from Open Doors Ministry, just come out here, 2026 data, says on average over 13 Christians are killed every day for their faith, totaling about 5,000 Christians annually that we know of that are killed in this world. Roughly 117 Christians are physically or mentally abused, beaten, threatened with death daily, 117 daily. Over 11 Christians are arrested Detained without trial, put in prison daily. More than 10 Christians are kidnapped daily. Roughly 11 to 14 Christian women are raped, sexually harassed, or forced to marry non-Christians daily. Roughly 10 churches or Christian properties are attacked daily. Over 600 Christians are forced to leave their homes or to go into hiding daily.
I understand when we are here, and we should be so thankful that we live in a part of this world where we have religious freedom, where as much as we like to complain about hostility, we are so much protected. We have brothers and sisters around this world whose experience is altogether different. They're on the front line of experiencing daily this type of not just rumors or a coldness, but active persecution. And yet there is also an aspect where we do have some sense of some of these things, even if it is in a smaller scale.
Maybe our children get laughed at school. Your honesty or integrity in the workplace actually becomes a thing of ridicule. Our sexual ethics as Christians, evangelical Christians, very much is demonized by the society we find ourselves living in. And then you add in other very real hardships, cancer, bereavement, financial worries, family discord. And when these types of things are understood, it begins to become easy to understand the sentiment that Scripture itself testifies to. For example, Psalm 13 verse 1, how long, O Lord, will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I take counsel in my soul and have sorrow in my heart all the day? How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?
When life is hard, that already shaky discipline of prayer becomes all the harder, all the more difficult. The practice of prayer becomes something that is under threat. Thankfully, we have a wonderful Savior, and He knows us full well. And so here in Luke 18, in the first eight verses, Jesus speaks to that tension. He speaks to that reality. He speaks to that difficulty. So please stand with me while we read Luke 18 1-8. Luke 18 1.
(Scripture Reading) "And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart. He said, in a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected man. And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, give me justice against my adversary. For a while, he refused. But afterward, he said to himself, “though I neither fear God nor respect man, yet because of this widow, because she keeps bothering me, I will give her justice so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.”
And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge says. And 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 earth?”
Let's pray.
[Prayer] Heavenly Father, we thank you that you know us full well, that all parts of Scripture are useful to us, and we know there is very real need for us to understand this section of Scripture and to put these things into practice. We thank you for the sustaining grace of prayer. We ask, Lord, that you would cause us, even through our study, to crave that moment, that opportunity to be before Your throne all the more. So, Lord, we ask that You would increase our desire where it needs to be increased, and You would instruct us through Your Word, and You would help us to understand all that You call us to be more through it during this time of study. For it's in Jesus' name we ask it. Amen. [End]
Have a seat.
Well, I want you to remember the context. Do you know what comes before chapter 18? That's right, chapter 17. And if you remember last week, when we came to the end of chapter 17, there was a very particular situation that was being explained. There was something that the disciples needed to hear. And I want you to notice, first of all, if you turn back one page to chapter 17, notice, first of all, who Jesus is speaking to, verse 22.
And He said to the disciples, He's speaking to those who are following Him. He's not talking to the crowds general. He's not talking to the Pharisees and scribes. He's talking to His committed followers. And in that context here in chapter 17, as Jesus talks to those who are following Him, He talks about a time, a time that is coming. Look at verse 22.
He said to His disciples, “the days are coming when you will desire to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it.” There is a time coming when life will be difficult for His followers. When there will be circumstances in this world that are not in their control, yes, in God's control, but not in their control, and it will be hard. And it will cause them to long, to be filled with a desire, to have a craving for that time in the future when the Son of Man, when Jesus Christ, will be here. And His reign, His kingdom in a physical, real, tangible way will be established here on earth when His justice and His righteous rule will be realized here in this world. And the disciples will have moments in the interim where they crave that time. When they long for His coming, but they do not yet see it, when it doesn't yet happen. In fact, look at verse 23. And they, these false teachers, will say to you, look there or look here. Do not go out or follow them. So strong with that craving be in the hearts of the disciples that there will be opportunists that come in and try and take advantage of that.
Oh, Jesus has come back, but it's in secret over here. Oh, there is new helicopters being purchased in Russia, and that means whatever it means. There will be opportunists that come in and prey on the very real craving that exists in the heart of His disciples, those who follow Him. Now, what Jesus goes on to do in the rest of chapter 17 is He assures His disciples that He will come. And not only will He come, but He will take to Himself His followers.
They will be taken out of this world, taken to Him. Two will be in a bed, one will be taken. The follower will be taken. Two will be out milling corn. One will be taken, the one that is His follower will be taken. And the principle is no man left behind, or woman, no one is left behind. No mistakes are made. His final work will be a perfect work. And all of his children will be built into that. And yet, That's what's coming.
And Jesus is telling this to the disciples here and now that will face persecution. James, the brother of John, will very soon, Acts chapter 12, have his head chopped off. All the rest of the disciples, bar John, will all face their own martyrdom. John himself who will not be killed will be exiled to Patmos. The hostility that they will face is a real and active and aggressive hostility and, in the time, when that comes there will be a longing in their heart, Jesus please hurry up and come.
Come Lord Jesus, come. And in light of that, with that craving in mind, with that awareness that this life will have moments of difficulty and hardship, and there will be an anticipation, a burden for the days that are promised to be realized here and now, Jesus continues in chapter 18. Look at what verse 1 says, and He told them a parable.
Who are the them? Sorry? Oh, that was good. That was very good. His disciples. Remember that audience is so important. We know who He's talking to. He's talking to his followers, filled with that longing, and also notice the conjunction at the beginning, the first word, and. In other words, we're not in a new topic here. We haven't switched. He's still speaking to that longing, that craving, that mindset. He's got something more they need to know if they are going to be able to stand, if they're gonna be sustained in this life. And so to them, those who are gonna have moments where they long for his coming, but don't yet see it, those who will experience suffering in this world, who like Jesus himself, verse 25 of chapter 17, who will experience rejection by this generation, He comes and he speaks to them. And he tells them a very simple point. And this is the point.
When life is hard, keep praying. When life is hard, keep praying. those who are longing for the Lord to come back because of the difficulties of this life, to them He says, verse 1, He told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart. The point He wants them to get from the parable and the application He'll give concerning it all the way through to the end of verse eight, is that you ought to always pray and not lose heart.
He points so clearly to that temptation, that when suffering comes, especially prolonged suffering, when this life is hard, when it feels like our back is against the wall, there will be a temptation to give up on prayer. And the reason that is so concerning is to give up on prayer is a sign of something else. To give up in praying to God is a sign that our heart is wavering in its commitment to God. The individual who stops praying stops praying because he doesn't think God hears them or because God can do anything for them. And it's that temptation that Jesus speaks to, that there will be a temptation to lose confidence that God cares for us, that He is engaged in our present circumstances.
And again, this is one of the wonderful examples of how Scripture is so honest, isn't it? Like, of course you should pray. Of course, you should have unwavering confidence in the God who is perfect. Of course, that God is consistent in His control and His love and His sovereignty and all of these things, which He is.
We shouldn't even need to talk about this. But the problem is, our hearts. And Jesus is so kind to condescend to our felt needs that He speaks to what should be obvious but is a very real struggle that we have. That individuals in this life will have moments where they begin to lose confidence, forget His care, and feel overwhelmed by their present circumstances. And because God doesn't want our heart to wobble, because He doesn't want our confidence to come to Him to wane, He gives us this parable and the application of it. So, please understand what we're saying. God is always on the throne. He has full sovereignty, full control over every aspect of this life. That's the foundation that this is sitting upon. None of that changes.
But what Jesus is speaking to here is how sometimes believers feel. They will go through seasons. that they don't feel His control, where they don't sense His love. And those feelings can cause them to stifle. That losing heart will stop them praying. Please understand, He is in control. Those feelings are not true. They don't change any of the external circumstances. Just because you feel something doesn't speak to the reality of God. Your feelings lie to you. But they're felt. They're experienced.
And that's why Jesus so kindly speaks to it. In the midst of wrong feelings that we will be tempted to feel in this life, he says, don't stop praying and don't lose heart. Prayer is that great barometer of our confidence in God. When you have great confidence in God, you talk to Him a lot. And when our heart becomes attached to the things of this world more than God, or the heart becomes full of fear of the world, you will be slow to pray. It's a very immediate test, isn't it? How are you doing today, Christian? Well, let me ask you, how are you praying? How are you praying? I don't think it's possible to be warm towards God and prayer to be absent from our life. Those two things go hand in hand.
If you don't pray regularly, that's a sign that things are not where they should be. in your relationship with God. If you don't have a sense of needing to come to God, that's a sign that you have too much confidence in yourself. You know, we talk, don't we, about grace alone, faith alone, but if you don't pray, There's no alone in it. There's still far too much of you going on in this story. Those who feel a dependence on God will pray. So, what does your prayer life say about your relationship with God?
So, sometimes non-Christians, maybe some of you who are here, we're so thankful that you have come and you are here in our worship service, but there's a sense where if you are not a Christian, if you haven't yet asked God to forgive you for your sin, and aren't yet trusting in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, you think of prayer as anybody can do at any time. Well, that's not true. Anybody can say words anytime. But do you know the believer, the reason they have confidence God hears them, well, it's reflected in something we say at the end of our prayer. Before we say amen, what do most Christians say? In Jesus' name, amen.
Because it's only through that sacrificial work that Christ has done that the individual has access to God. So, because of Christ, because He bore the wrath that should have been mine, because He was punished in my place, because His righteous life has been credited to my account, now I have access to the throne of God. And so, if you're not a Christian this morning, prayer's not something that you can just dip in and out of as you want. You don't have confidence that God hears you unless you come with that dependence upon Jesus Christ.
We'll see more about that next week. But again, remember the big point of this section. Jesus tells us in verse 1 up front, in the face of repeated difficulties in this life, with the reality that those difficult circumstances won't necessarily go our way, you will find prayer hard. And so, in everything that follows, verses two through eight, we need to bear in mind Jesus has already told us what we're to get from this this morning. You are always to pray and not lose heart. So, the point, when life is hard, keep praying.
Secondly, I want you to notice the illustration. And notice it's a bare minimum illustration. And the big point in the illustration is this, the judge acts, okay? So the bare minimum illustration shows the judge acts. Look at verse 2. He said, in a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected man. And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, give me justice against my adversary. For a while he refused, but afterward 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.
That's a strange parable, isn't it? There are a lot of weird characters in this particular parable. And Jesus, as he so often does, you get a sense sometimes in these stories that our Lord has a wonderful sense of humor. He's a good storyteller, but he also, he loves to use exaggeration and extremes to make his point. And here there's a point being made by a very obvious contrast between an unrighteous and unjust judge and our Heavenly Father. They're not one and the same. There's meant to be a sense of profound contrast and yet a very simple point that links them together. So, think about the people he talks about in this particular parable.
You have the widow. Now, today we have widows as well, but thankfully, especially in the society we find ourselves in, widows are in a very different situation in life than we find here in the ancient world, in the New Testament world. In the world that Jesus existed in, widows were so vulnerable. They needed somebody else to look after them. Do you remember Naomi and Ruth, both widows? When they come back to Bethlehem, if it wasn't for the kindness of Boaz, they would be in such a vulnerable situation. They were meant to be cared for, but they were dependent to survive on the charity of others, the kindness of others.
They were so open to exploitation. And especially whenever you think of the fact that a widow probably had a house or a field or certain things. Now all of a sudden, if another man, not her husband, has to get involved in the affairs, there is a temptation of him to exploit a very vulnerable lady. In fact, we see that all the time, even in Scripture. Turn over to Luke chapter 20. Luke chapter 20, the end of Luke 20. Look at verse 45. Luke chapter 20 and verse 45.
And in the hearing of all the people, Jesus said to his disciples, beware of the scribes. Now pause there. The scribes were those who worked with the Bible all the time. The scribes were the people that you went to with your ethical questions. The scribes were the people who were there to guide people in the expectations of Scripture, what God would want. But Jesus says, verse 46, "'Beware of the scribes who like to walk around in long robes and love greetings in the marketplaces, and the best seats in the synagogue, and the places of honor at feasts.
And then verse 47, who devour widows' houses, and for pretense make long prayers, they will receive the greater condemnation. Why does he say that? Verse 47, who devour widows' houses? Well, I don't think the disciples heard that statement and went, oh, who's he talking about? Jesus adds that statement in as an obvious. Everybody in that society knew widows get exploited. Even the religious leaders, in order to line their own pockets, were exploiting the widows.
Here were individuals who largely, because they were meant to be protected by the religious and by the structures of society itself, they were vulnerable. They were dependent on others, and others were not what they should be. And so, they are powerless. They're open to exploitation. Just as the disciples in the future will find themselves vulnerable, open to exploitation, dependent upon the will of Roman governors, of city officials, of, well, mobs, completely unable to enact and protect themselves. And then in the story, there's also this judge, and he's a strange character. He has really no morals, and that's made clear in the text.
Verse 2, there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected man. Do you remember when Jesus tells us the summary of the law? The Old Testament law is summarized in two points. Love God and love your neighbor as yourself. Well, here's an individual who has no fear of God, and when it comes to his neighbor, anybody else, he has no care towards man.
He's a lawless character, that's the point. He's no morals, no ethics. Here's a terrible individual, and not only is it said once, it's reinforced in verse 4. He said to himself, he knows his heart, though I neither fear God nor respect man. It's not just that he's a bad guy, but he knows he is and he's content in it. It's who he is and it's his identity and he's embraced that identity in total.
And yet, he experiences something at the hand of this widow. an unusual persistence. Verse 3 says, she kept coming to him and saying, and the idea is, this is continual action, again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again. She kept coming.
You get the idea? I don't need to do that again. In fact, verse four, look at verse four. The language is funny. For a while he refused, but afterward 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.
That language, it literally means, give me a black eye. Like, bruise my face. Some translations are trying to be very literal, actually translate it with that idea that she's going to punch me. She's going to get me physically. That's not the idea of the text though, is it? You understand this. It's the, I have no experience of this, the nagging wife. That she goes on and on and on and on and on in such a way that eventually the unrighteous husband just gives in. Like, that persistence. And this guy is so, it's just exhausting. He feels bruised. I can't listen to it one more time. It's wearing him down, you get the idea.
And so, the picture's really funny that you have this really powerless, vulnerable lady, and you have a wicked judge with no morals, and yet, verse five, I will give her justice by her continual coming. So, she's been wronged, she has this adversary, whatever he's done, I'm assuming it's a man because of the world that she's living in. She has this adversary. and she's not able to defend herself, and all she can do is go continually to the unjust judge. What a terrible one to be able to go to. If only she had somebody with a bit of moral sensibility, but she doesn't. But she goes to the unjust judge, and she goes continually, and she gets what she needs. Because if you go enough times, you'll get it.
In Ireland, they have socialized medicine. And the thing I hate about socialized medicine is it only works if you're pushy. So, people who need treatment don't get treatment because they try to call up once and they're put at the bottom of a list. But the people who get treatment are the ones who call up again and again and again and again and again. And eventually, the person at the other end of the phone gets so fed up, they bump you up the queue.
And that honestly is how it works. Like, it was weird, as a pastor, you would go and you'd visit people who needed help, and your advice, your practical advice, was gotta keep calling. You've gotta be pushy. And you said that because you know how it works. It doesn't work outside of that. Well, this woman knew how it worked. She was pushy, and she got help verse six.
And the Lord said, hear what the unrighteous judge says. Like, if an unrighteous judge who has no care for others, if even he will hand out justice through the persistent request of a widow with no power and no influence, here's the idea, how much more will God not hear and respond to the persistent requests of His children? Again, remember the point in verse 1. He told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart. Look, if the most unjust situation in the world still operates by a response to persistence, friends, we go to a generous God. Will he not answer? Will he not respond? Of course he will. He loves not the widow. He does love the widow. But the ones who come to him are his children. And so, the point, when life is hard, keep praying. The illustration, the judge acts. And now the truth, I want you to notice thirdly the truth.
Why should you keep praying? Why should you keep praying? Well, first of all, Jesus tells us, because God will answer. Sounds very simple, but it's important. You need to remember as you'll face hardship in this life and long for the coming of the Lord, you feel lost and helpless. You need to remember He will answer those prayers. Look at verse 6 again.
The Lord said, "'Hear what the unrighteous judge says, and will not God give justice to his elect who cry to him day and night? You see the rhetorical question there? The point is clear. Look, if the unrighteous judge does this, how much more will God not give justice to his elect, to those he's chosen, to those he's set his affection upon, to those he has moved heaven and earth in order to bring into his family to secure. Will he not give justice to those who cry to him day and night? He knows. His disposition towards us has been clear from the very foundations of the world. All of history, he has been unfolding this great salvific plan to secure the elect to himself.
Friend, when you pray, He hears. He cares. He will respond. That's the point. He will respond. So why should you keep praying? Because he answers, that's the very simple point. He does hear. It may feel like nobody hears, but he does. That's what Jesus is saying. You are going to be tempted to stop praying, to lose heart, but remember, he hears. He answers. He's engaged. Why should you keep praying? Because he keeps listening. That's the point. And not only that, but why should you keep praying day and night? Because he's patient. Because he's patient.
Now, there is a confusing part here. The last part of verse 7 says in front of me, it's translated, will he delay long over them? The language there, it's hard to get a sense of because of the context. It's joined to the last statement, it starts with a conjunction, but the main word that is there is patience. And though a lot of the Bible versions don't get that word reflected in it. Delay, they're trying to get to the sense of what's going on here. And I think they're reading too immediately into it, and that's why they end up with the translation sounding the way it does. The idea that, you know, He will act now, that He will act fast.
But that's not the context. That's not what He said in chapter 17. In fact, it's not what he's going to say in the next verse. He's going to talk about when the Son of Man comes. Well, friends, that isn't today. The verse is not saying, look, if you pray, He'll do it right away. Lord, take away that enemy and He does it right away. That's not the promise in the text. The promise in the text is the adversary he will deal with in that time.
Justice will not be shortchanged. It will come. That's what he's saying at the beginning of verse 7, and will not God give justice to His elect who cry on Him day and night? Look, friends, He will. Those who have murdered. Our brothers and sisters in Nigeria, North Korea, and other parts of the world, He will hand out justice. That's what verse 7 is saying. He will do what is right. Don't think they are going to get away with it. Either they will be met with eternal judgment. Or grace will be shown, and Christ will have borne judgment on their behalf. But either way, justice is not shortchanged.
And then He's saying, as you pray, as you seek not to lose heart, also know He's patient with you, with those requests. I think the picture that we're meant to get here, the sense of what we're meant to get here is that you can't pray too much because He's so patient. He loves your prayers. He loves to hear from you.
You can't wear Him out. Every home, there seems to be, like in a mum and dad, one who just can't cope with that weird stage the children go through where they just say the same thing over and over and over and over and over again. Normally it's dad, his patience is just too short, and he just can't cope. And normally mom, sometimes dad, normally mom, just has this ability just to let it all wash over. To hear, to give the pat on the shoulder as it's needed, and to do it again tomorrow, and again the next day, and again the next day, and just to be so consistent. Well, here's the idea in this text.
He's so patient. He's so consistent. You can't exhaust him with your prayers. He has patience towards you. You can't pray too much. You can't wear him out. He is so patient towards the persistent requests of His children. In fact, not only that, He's endeared to the persistent requests of His children. That's why this is given, that you ought always to pray and not lose heart. That's what He's inviting, and that's what He's requesting.
And I will see later in verse 8 why God sees it as such an important thing, but the point is you can't exhaust God. He's inviting you to pray day and night, to pray often, to pray all the time, to not stop. And so, the very obvious application is you can't pray too much to God. Keep praying. Keep praying. It doesn't become redundant.
Yes, He is infinite in His wisdom. He knows all. Why would you even pray to begin with? Because He invites it. He requests it. He doesn't need your prayers, but for the sake of the relationship, He has provided the gift of prayer that we can express our heart to Him. To the point, when life is hard, keep praying. The illustration, the judge acts in the illustration and the truth. Keep praying because he will answer, because he is patient, and lastly, because he longs for that expression of faith. Because he longs for that expression of faith. Look at verse eight. I tell you, why? Why would He want me to pray all the time? I tell you, He will give justice to them speedily.
Now, speedily there isn't necessarily speaking about quickness. It's not a chronological statement necessarily. I think maybe it would be easier for us to get it if it was translated suddenly. The idea is that when it comes, it comes fast. The idea is, if you remember back in chapter 17, he gives the example of the days of Noah, and judgment took time, but when it came, it came fast. The days of Lot, Sodom and Gomorrah, there was time given, but when the judgment came, it came fast, suddenly. And I think that's the idea here in verse 8. I tell you, He will give justice to them suddenly. When it comes, it's coming fast. It's coming speedily then. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, that links it all together. We're talking about the second coming. This is what He's got in mind, that day when justice will be met.
Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth? Will He find faith on the earth? What is faith? Sorry, what is faith? It's confidence, isn't it? Confidence in God. And again, remember the context. All of this is linked to the reality that you ought always to pray and not lose heart. If you begin to wane in your confidence in God, when your heart starts to wobble, it'll express itself in a lack of prayer.
And so, what he's saying is when Jesus comes again, will he find a confidence of praise? Will you be so overwhelmed by the difficulties of this life that the mouth stays shut? Will you be so busy running away from your enemies that your knees never get to hit the ground? Will you be so busy calling out all the injustices around you that you never actually call out to God?
Martin Lloyd-Jones He acknowledged the perplexity of prayer by calling it the supreme expression of our faith in God. I think that's the idea that is being revealed here in verse eight. Prayer is the supreme expression of your faith in God. So when that day comes, and our Lord calls us to be by His side and snatches us out of this world, will He find you praying? Will He find you expressing, because that's where we do it in prayer, expressing our faith in Him?
If not, why? Why do you not pray? It probably says less about your discipline, and this first one makes clear more about your heart. You ought always to pray and not lose heart. Let's ask that the Lord would help us to examine our own hearts now. and to ensure that we have confidence in Him.
Let's pray.
[Prayer] Heavenly Father, we are so thankful for the candid way Your Word speaks to our own weakness and frailty. Lord, You know how slow we are to pray. And we ask that You would forgive us for those times when we are overwhelmed by the things of this world and forget that the King of the universe, the one who is sovereign, the one who so loved the world that he sent his one and only Son, that in those moments where we are tempted to look only in the events of the here and now, we ask that you would cause our hearts to steady and cause our faith to grow that we would call upon the name of the Lord and know the joy of that listening ear, that awareness of your ongoing shepherding care of us, and your insistence that in the end, you will do what is right and ensure the good of your children. Lord, give us greater confidence. Help us to grow in the discipline of prayer. For it's in the name of Jesus Christ we ask it. Amen. [End]
