One day Jesus told his disciples a story to show that they should always pray and never give up. “There was a judge in a certain city,” he said, “who neither feared God nor cared about people. A widow of that city came to him repeatedly, saying, ‘Give me justice in this dispute with my enemy.’ The judge ignored her for a while, but finally he said to himself, ‘I don’t fear God or care about people, but this woman is driving me crazy. I’m going to see that she gets justice, because she is wearing me out with her constant requests!’”
Luke 18:1-5 (NLT)
Perseverance
Perseverance is usually considered a noble trait of character. But there can be times when ongoing persistence can produce annoyance - even exasperation. Jesus related a story to His disciples about just such a situation.
There was a Judge, He said, who was uncaring - if not corrupt. A widow had been seeking justice from him, and for some time continually pestered him for a solution to her problem. Eventually her persistence got to him, and he relented and gave her the justice she desired.
Now does this parable teach that we need to pester God before He will take any notice of us? In one way, we do need to be persistent in our prayer to Him, but Jesus went on to say "And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly."
Here is the Almighty God who we are privileged to worship, promising us that He will listen, and promptly provide us with not just what we want, but what He knows is best for us.
So, if you feel that God is ignoring your requests to Him, take courage from this assurance given by Jesus that even though worldly jurisdictions can be slow, uncertain and non-personal, God will always listen and act quickly.
PRAY: Thank you Father for Your personal care for each of us. Help us to understand that even though You are the Ruler of the universe, You still listen to us when we call to You.
Today's contributor: Ian Jackson
