“Men always ought to pray and not lose heart” (Luke 18:1)
In Luke 18 we read:
Luke 18:1-8
"Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart, saying: There was in a certain city a judge who did not fear God nor regard man. Now there was a widow in that city; and she came to him, saying, "Get justice for me from my adversary." And he would not for a while; but afterward he said within himself, "Though I do not fear God nor regard man, yet because this widow troubles me I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me." Then the Lord said, "Hear what the unjust judge said. And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them? I tell you that He will avenge them speedily."
The reason the Lord spoke this parable was "THAT MEN ALWAYS OUGHT TO PRAY AND NOT LOSE HEART". Some of us may have probably a request that has not been answered yet and because of this we may feel tired and discouraged - we may have lost heart. The widow’s request was not an evil one. In contrast, it was good and just. Like her, some of us may have good and just requests for which we have not received an answer. What does the Word of God tell us to do? To continue going to God with these requests. To not lose heart, to not be discouraged but to keep going to Him in prayer. I don’t say that all requests we are praying for will be fulfilled – they have to be in agreement with His will - nor do I say that somebody should go to God with requests for which He has already answered negatively. However, for requests that you know from God’s Word that are in general agreement with His will, you should not lose heart but continue praying for these. As the Lord said in Matthew 7:7-11:
Matthew 7:7-11
"Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. "For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. "Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? "Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? "If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!"
The Lord will GIVE GOOD THINGS TO THOSE WHO ASK HIM. It will be opened to those who knock. It will be found by those who seek. It will be given to those who request.
All the above show an open door to go to God with boldness and confidence and present to Him our requests. Some of us may have knocked the door, two and three times or more, yet this is still closed. Because of this we may feel frustration and may be a hidden bitterness. "If God really loved me then why….". We cannot say we love God fully if we hide things from Him – our pain for example. When Job was tried, he was not happy but hurt. And what he did was not to conceal his sadness and questions but to express them openly. "Oh, that I knew where I might find Him, that I might come to His seat! I would present my case before Him, and fill my mouth with arguments. I would know the words which He would answer me, and understand what He would say to me." (Job 23:3-5). Job was very open to God and though his three friends were trying to persuade him that it was his mistake that caused all this, at the end the Lord said "my servant Job has spoken of me what is right" (Job 42:7). In II Corinthians 5:18 God tells us that we have been reconciled to Him. If we have been reconciled to God, if God is our friend, can we have things hidden in our heart and not open it fully to Him? "There is no fear in love but perfect love casts out fear" (I John 4:18), says the Word. We don’t fully love God if we are still fearful to speak to Him openly. Yes, He is God the Creator. Yes, He is the Almighty God. But He is also God your Father. He is the God that so much lovedYOU, not because you were very good and made many good works but while you were dead in sins and trespasses (Ephesians 2:1-10).GOD LOVES YOU my friend. The door that you stopped knocking, you should stand up and knock it again with boldness. To get an example of the boldness with which you should knock, let’s go to Luke 11, to the words of the Lord that precede the "ask and it shall be given to you" call:
Luke 11:5-9
"And He said to them, Which of you shall have a friend, and go to him at midnight and say to him, Friend, lend me three loaves; for a friend of mine has come to me on his journey, and I have nothing to set before him; and he will answer from within and say, Do not trouble me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give to you? I say to you, though he will not rise and give to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will rise and give him as many as he needs. So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened."
The Lord uses two extreme examples – the widow and the friend - to tell us, we should insist and not lose heart knocking the door. The widow knew the judge cared for nothing. She knew he "didn’t fear God nor regard men". And yet, SHE DIDN’T LOSE HEART. Every morning she was getting up and went there with her petition. For her this judge was the only one that could provide a solution. The Lord gives us this as an example that we should follow: to go to THE RIGHTEOUS JUDGE without losing heart, and He will for sure judge our requests.
In the other example we see somebody knocking the door of his friend, not at the afternoon but at midnight. He didn’t have many options. He would either knock the door of his friend or he would say "it cannot be done". And he knocked it. He didn’t say "it cannot be done". He didn’t say "I will not knock because it is midnight". Instead he tried. He knocked. And then follows the call of the Lord: "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. "For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened."
Open your heart to the Lord fully, hiding nothing. HE LOVES YOU and tremendously desires to have an open relationship with you - like the relationship you would have with your best friend. Don’t therefore stand there with hesitance but knock His door and do it boldly.