Monday, October 14, 2013

Prayers of Hope Luke 18:1-8?

Jesus taught his friends to pray through example and parable.
One prayer parable stands out: the story of a praying widow who needed an unjust judge to hear her case (Luke 18:1-3). Jesus wove a great story. A tenacious woman kept coming back to an unjust judge. She needed justice and wouldn't stop asking for it. The judge didn't care and ignored her time and again. And she kept coming back for justice. Finally, because she had not given up, the judge relented and heard her case (Luke 18:4-5). A hurting widow who wouldn't stop fighting for justice--Jesus presents her as our model for prayer and faithfulness (Luke 18.6-8).

Jesus understands a hurting person's need: Much like a desperate widow, praying people have only one place to turn. The living God is the final judge and in all cases is the only one who matters. After every other avenue has been exhausted there's hope for those who pray for justice. This woman was asking for the right thing to happen. She wasn't asking for evil to be done to her opponent. She was seeking justice. Likewise in our prayer we must only seek God's will. We must only seek what is just in the sight of God.
We as people choose many avenues as try on our own to make thing right ranging from medicine to law, counseling to silence. And after everything else has been exhausted prayer is the hope that remains. Some might wonder why we don't pray first in all situations. Jesus says we should call to God day and night Luke 18:6-7. There's something about human nature that comes out here. We don't always turn to God first; but there's a promise here too that God is faithful ready to hear our cries for His will to be done. There is a promise that God is searching to find those who are full of faith seeking for His will to be done.
What do you think?
Thanks for reading, John

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