by Scott Kerr
In times like these, more people turn to prayer than normal. Should we have confidence when we pray? In the first few verses of Luke 18, we read about a persistent widow and an unjust judge. In these verses, we read that the widow was being denied justice by the judge because he didn’t “fear God or care about people.” However, the widow continued coming back and back and back until finally the judge got tired of her bugging him, and so he gave her the justice that she was looking to receive. In verse 1, we are told that Jesus told the parable so that his disciples would continue to pray and not give up. Consequently, some have read the parable to mean they should keep bugging God until they get what they want. Is that what we are to learn? The answer to that is no. We are even told in James 4:3 that sometimes we do not receive because we ask wrongly. So, just being persistent to get our way is not the point. So what is the point? Jesus explains in verses 6-8. “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?” (Luke 18:6-8 ESV). The point is we should keep praying because we can trust that God will give justice to His people. When we pray, we can keep praying because at the appropriate time and in the appropriate way God will answer the prayers of His people. If an unjust judge will finally give justice, we can trust that God will act more quickly to provide justice to His people. So, what Jesus really wants us to do is keep praying with confidence, knowing God will take care of His people.
VC Devotionals 