The Parable of the Persistent October 25

Luke 18:1-8

And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;

Saying, There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man:

And there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary.

And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man;

Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.

And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith.

And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them?

I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?

Like an instruction manual for your car, this parable explains how to keep your check engine light off, Pray, and then pray some more and not faint; the word faint means to fail or be weak. Sometimes like now-times, we need to push through the victory with constant prayer.

Notice that the widow never named her adversary or what happened. The enemy is like an unknown adversary in our lives, with different types of principalities and stumbling blocks placed before us. Things happen that block the blessings of God in our lives, and we wonder what happened? Or what did I do wrong? But in the widow’s case, she knew Who and what. She persisted and persevered with the judge by being relentless. I always have this picture of a little old Jewish lady banging on the door in the middle of the night and yelling at an upstairs window demanding her justice.

The next thing I notice is that the judge knew her, he knew the situation and the adversary frankly, he did not care about justice, and she didn’t have the money for a customary bribe; the judge had no incentive to help. Finally, he has had enough, wearied by the perpetual complaint; he decides to act on her behalf, he gave no thought to her adversary after all the adversary wasn’t bothering him.

And shall not God avenge his own elect? The word elect means favorite. As a child of God, you are His favorite. I have heard testimonies of people that have met Jesus, and they said that when He looks into your eyes, he has a specific love that is only for you because you are His elect, His favorite.

Jesus asks, “will I find faith on earth when I return?” Your faith is like a mustard seed in this universe, a needle in a haystack that only God can see. Is Jesus checking to see you have faith? The question is: Will He find faith in you?

He is: Shaphat

Judge

Blessing’s