TURN PRESSURE INTO PRAYER
Opening Prayer
“O God, you are my God, and I long for you” (Psalm 63:1, GNB).
Read Luke 18:1–8
For additional translations of the passage, use this link to Bible Gateway.
The Parable of the Persistent Widow
18 Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. 2 He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought. 3 And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’
4 “For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think, 5 yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come and attack me!’”
6 And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. 7 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? 8 I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”
New International Version (NIV)
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
Relish the security of being God’s child. Does your heart long for him?Wouldn’t it be great if Jesus and his kingdom were fully here? Right now. No suffering, injustice or violence. Don’t we “long to see … the days of the Son of Man” (17:22), when evil will be overthrown and justice restored?
Like a poor widow woman (3), with no power or influence to change her circumstances, we can feel ourselves the victim of faceless systems, and of unjust decisions made by the powerful élites of our day. Jesus would later warn his followers of their particularly vulnerable status in the eyes of the world (Luke 21:17). Vulnerable? Yes. Powerless? No.
Jesus urges his vulnerable followers to pursue justice through the powerful means of prayer (1). Pray passionately, stubbornly, faithfully (3–5). For, if even a bad judge listens to cries for justice, how much more will a good, just God do so for his people (6, 7). The question is, will Jesus find people ready to suffer for him, faithfully crying out to him for justice (8b)? Does he find you in that position?
Apply
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Closing prayer
God, I am so thankful for my freedom to worship You. Today I pray for those who are suffering for their faith in Christ…
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