Hello Storehouse Fam!
Trust you’ve had a great week so far. Hope you’ve enjoyed the last few days of feasting on our Lord in the Word, in fellowship, and prayer. In this season of fasting, it is helpful to take a moment to review our thoughts and perspectives on prayer.
If you walk long enough with the Lord, you will inevitably come to a season when it feels like some things we ask for in prayer don’t come — or they don’t come as soon as we would like, or perhaps they don’t come at all.
What are we to make of this?
Should we give up? Lose heart? Throw a tantrum? Try harder? Devise new strategies?
No.
Jesus tells us that:
“Men ought always to pray, and not to faint.”
Luke 18:1
He urges us to be persistent in prayer.
At first glance, this could easily be mistaken for effort — for doing more. The logic might be that the more we “badger” God, the more likely we are to get what we want from Him.
But this would be a misunderstanding.
Do we really need to pester the One who says He knows what we need even before we ask?
The Parable of the Unjust Judge
In the parable in Luke 18, Jesus deliberately uses the imagery of a very terrible judge to communicate His message.
“There was a judge in a certain city,” he said, “who neither feared God nor cared about people.”
Luke 18:2
In the story, a widow repeatedly comes to him asking for justice.
“A widow of that city came to him repeatedly, saying, ‘Give me justice in this dispute with my enemy.’”
Luke 18:3
The widow represents someone socially and economically disadvantaged. To be a widow was (and often still is) to be vulnerable to exploitation and injustice. She was essentially dependent on this mean judge to help her.
Eventually, her persistence led the judge to act.
But he did not help her because he cared.
Not because he was compassionate.
Not because he had any concern for her well-being.
Instead, he acted simply because her persistence wore him down.
Jesus then draws the lesson:
“Learn a lesson from this unjust judge. Even he rendered a just decision in the end. So don’t you think God will surely give justice to his chosen people who cry out to him day and night?”
Luke 18:6–7
Persistence Is Rooted in God’s Goodness
So again the question arises:
Is Jesus teaching us that we must harass God before He answers our prayers?
Certainly not.
The contrast in this parable is meant to reshape our hearts and our attitudes toward God in prayer.
God is good.
God is love.
He is the complete opposite of the unjust judge.
This teaching was meant to encourage His listeners.
The basis of our persistence in prayer is not our effort or our ability to push harder.
It is the goodness of God.
Our Father Gives Good Gifts
Elsewhere, Jesus uses a similar contrast when teaching about prayer:
“So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him.”
Matthew 7:11
Here the contrast is between imperfect human parents and God — the perfect Father in whom there is no darkness or shadow.
He is the Father of lights.
The One who loves us so deeply that He delights in His children.
God’s Plan for Our Lives
The reason we can continue to come to God in prayer is because:
- He loves us.
- He desires what is best for us.
- He has good plans for our lives.
Scripture reminds us that we are God’s workmanship:
“We have become his poetry, a re-created people that will fulfill the destiny he has given each of us, for we are joined to Jesus, the Anointed One. Even before we were born, God planned in advance our destiny and the good works we would do to fulfill it.”
Ephesians 2:10
When you think about this, shouldn’t it renew your desire to come before Him again and again?
Prayer Is Not a Cosmic Vending Machine
In His wisdom as our Father, God has not designed prayer as a magic wand that gives us everything we want.
Thankfully, the God of the universe has not limited Himself to being a cosmic vending machine with buttons we push to receive our desires on demand.
Instead, prayer is an invitation into a continuous conversation with God.
We are called to trust:
- His goodness
- His wisdom
- His power
- His timing
We Are Always Welcome
Interestingly, even the unjust judge never barred the widow from presenting her case.
This reminds us of something powerful — we are always welcome before God.
“So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.”
Hebrews 4:16
Let this encourage us to remain steadfast in prayer.
Because in the end, we receive the greatest gift of all:
We receive God Himself.
“Find your delight and true pleasure in Yahweh, and he will give you what you desire the most.”
Psalm 37:4