Why Do We Pray?
Luke 18:1-18
The parable
of the Persistent Widow or even the Parable of the Unjust Judge. Another interesting parable by Jesus!
Remember to keep in mind that
parables have one main point and in this case it is persistence
in prayer. This parable has one
important point: Pray without giving
up. It helps you to grow in your
faith.
We ask many times questions
that bother us in prayer life.
How long should we pray for
something?
Should we continue praying
for something that is not answered?
Can I
change God’s mind?
God is sovereign; He knows
everything and He will answer prayer according to His will. Why should we therefore ask?
We will try to answer some of
those tough questions.
Life’s circumstances give us
BURDENS to pray for. Lately in our church life, Daniel’s sudden
sickness and Salpi’s sudden coma in
Circumstances affect our
prayers. Sometimes we stop praying for
these issues; sometimes we are reminded again and we
start praying more. Each of us takes
these issues differently. Whenever we
see answers, we are encouraged and we continue praying. Other times we do not see our prayers answered
and we give up. Then we start asking, “How
long I should pray for something? Should
I be like this widow who went to the judge and begged,
and did not give up? Does God like that?
Does God need to be
awakened? Do I need to do
something to capture His attention to my plea?” Sometimes I feel like
the widow who feels the “judge” is not giving her enough attention.
I often do not see the big picture in my prayer life. I pray for the
immediate needs. I don’t
know how God intends to answer my prayer. He is God and I
am not. I don’t
know how God answers our prayers, but he does not always do it according our wishes.
This should not stop us from
praying. Therefore, what can we learn
from this parable?
1. Praying is a two-way communication.
What a wonderful opportunity
is prayer! I
can open my heart to my Maker, to my Father. It is like talking to my
parents. It is the same intimate level
as with my parents, my spouse, or my dearest friend. God is not sitting there somewhere like a
judge scanning my life and doing what police does to
the guilty party. No, He is my Father, my daddy, (hayrigs
e) who listens and cares. I know
that I cannot change Him, but God loves His creatures to speak with Him.
In your talk to Him, you can open your
heart to HIM.
2. Praying confirms total
dependence
“I keep asking that the God
of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom
and revelation, so that you may know him better.” (Ephesians 1:17)
When we pray, we become
closer to Him. By coming closer to God,
we can know Him better. This was Paul’s
request for the
We often think, “Why should
we pray more and more if God knows everything? Let Him answer us when we ask just once or
even not ask at all.”
Remember, prayer is
communication with God. It is a relationship,
a love relationship with God. When we
pray, we do not INFORM. God knows; He
does not need our information. We pray
to express our total dependence on Him in every circumstance. As we pray persistently, we are further
seeking His Spirit of wisdom.
To be continued in English.
1.