Men Ought Always to Pray – Luke 18
“And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;” — Luke 18:1
I’m ashamed to admit that most of my life I have viewed prayer as a duty instead of an opportunity. I think my view has been more like religious people who think that God will be impressed with me if I pray and upset with me if I don’t.
What if I and what if you started seeing prayer as an opportunity? We have the wonderful privilege to talk to One who not only has the power to do anything but also greatly loves us.
In Luke 18, Jesus gives a parable for the purpose of encouraging us to always pray and not faith. The parable is about an unjust judge who eventually relents to a persist widow’s pleas. Jesus uses this parable because our heavenly Father is on the other extreme end of things.
Unlike the judge in the parable, God is fair and He cares. And we are His chosen children. So if the widow would plead with the uncaring, unjust judge, then how much more should we plead with our heavenly Father.
Why don’t we talk to our Father about things that are going on in our lives? Why do we faint and feel like giving up rather than cry out God? God wants to help us. He delights in hearing our prayers. He wants to come to our rescue. And He is honoured when we have the faith to trust Him and to call out to Him.