The Parables of Jesus
There are a thousand things that can happen to tempt you to lose heart, to grow weary, to become discouraged, frustrated and overwhelmed. Having just spoken to the disciples about the coming of His kingdom … but not right away … Jesus told them a parable to encourage them to pray and not lose heart. Jesus was telling them that prayer would help them to resist the temptation to lose heart! When people talk about the “power of prayer” they often mean that prayer has the power to help you get what you want from God, as though you can “twist God’s arm” until He gives in, like a spoiled child with a parent. But in the parable of the persistent widow Jesus is talking about the real power of prayer … the power to strengthen those who are children of God through faith in Jesus Christ to endure, to persevere in their faith no matter what! Such power is needed if you are to live by faith in this world, trusting the sovereign God who is now, “‘Abba,’ Father” to His chosen children. Jesus tells His followers that they will face trials and suffering and persecution, BUT His Father will be with them and will hear their prayers. Sometimes He will respond by intervening and bringing about an immediate “answer” that may even be miraculous! At other times it may seem that He is silent, yet He provides strength and wisdom that could only come from His Spirit who is at work within His children. There is not a prayer from God’s children that goes unheard. There is not a prayer from God’s children that goes unanswered. God will always “give justice to His elect” … He will always “make it right” in the end. The strength to persevere is found in praying and trusting in our Father in heaven, knowing that His kingdom WILL come and His will WILL be done, on earth, as it is in heaven! “If God is for us, who can be against us?”