Luke 18:1 And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;
Jesus concluded Luke chapter 17 with a discourse on the last days and the fact that He would be coming again. And He likened the last days to the days of Noah; days that would be difficult; days when men’s hearts are failing them for fear. And it is in that context that Jesus launches into a parable about prayer (Luke 18:1-8).
And here is the gist of what Jesus lays out for us in a nutshell. Men in difficult days will either faint under the pressures of life or they will pray. The word faint describes a believer who loses heart and gets so discouraged that he or she wants to quit. That is the goal of the devil.
It has been said that the thermometer of a Church is the prayer life of the congregation.
“The one concern of the devil is to keep Christians from praying. He fears nothing from prayerless studies, prayerless work, and prayer-less religion. He laughs at our toil, mocks at our wisdom, but trembles when we pray”. Samuel Chadwick
Jesus uses the account of the widow to teach what our attitude should be in prayer. But notice, He gave this parable not so much as a parallel, but as a contrast, for our situation is entirely different. First of all, we appear not before an unjust judge, but before a loving Father. When Jesus taught His disciples to pray, “Our Father which art in heaven,” the concept of God as a Father was foreign to the Jews. Paul would go on to address God as “Abba” or “Papa” (Romans 8:15). Thus, far from being our judge, God is our loving Father, our Abba, our Papa. Secondly, we appear before God not as strangers, but as His children. Thirdly, the widow went alone, but we have an Advocate with the Father (1 John 2:1). Jesus stands right beside us. Lastly, to get help the widow went to a court of law. We come to a throne of grace (Hebrews 4:16).
Pray BIG prayers, beloved. The prayer of the upright is His delight.
