"And He spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint."
Luke 18:1-8
Part 1
Today: Keep on Praying!
“And He spake a parable unto them.”
Jesus, the gifted and wise Teacher, often used parables to teach heavenly principles to His followers. For example, to illustrate the principle of persistent prayer, He taught them the Parable of the Unjust Judge (Luke 18:2-8). Why did Jesus teach this parable (verse 1)?
“To this end.”
Here’s the point of Jesus’ parable, this is where He is going with His teaching, “to this end.” He is going to teach us why it is necessary to pray in this way.[1] Here is what God is looking for as we pray to Him –
“That men ought always to pray.”
Jesus teaches that the everyday Christian life is filled with prayer. The ancient word words that Jesus used, as translated “prayer,” means just that, “to offer prayers, to pray,” and “always” means, “at all times, always, ever”[2] (Thayer). Jesus’ words make it plain, and we are never to stop praying.
“Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man” (Luke 21:36).
In the end times, we are to be “watching!” Literally, believers are “to be sleepless,” to “keep awake, … to be circumspect,” to stay “attentive, ready” ever ready for what may come[3] (see Thayer). And with our “watching,” we are to be praying. This is not just a casual, haphazard prayer, but we are “to ask,” to “beg” God. We believers, “…pray, make supplications,”[4] for others and ourselves.
As far as God is concerned, it is always the right time for His children to pray. “Anytime” is an excellent time to pray! There is no wrong time to go to our Heavenly Father in prayer.
“Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints; And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel” (Ephesians 6:18).
Our prayers for “all saints” are to be timely. When we learn of a need, we are praying for that person and their necessity.
A child of God should never lose heart when they pray. So tomorrow, we will discuss why God does not want us to “faint” and give up when we pray.
Quote: “Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness: thou hast enlarged me when I was in distress; have mercy upon me and hear my prayer” (Psalm 4:1b).
[1] Robertson tells us that the Greek phrase means “with a view to the being necessary.” A.T. Robertson, Word Pictures in the New Testament, the electronic version in eSword. Luke 18:1.
[2] J.H. Thayer, Thayer’s Greek Definitions, the electronic version in eSword.
[3] J.H. Thayer, ibid.
[4] Ibid.