Welcome to a firm foundation presented by Princeton ministries with Dr. Ken Smith. This is Carol Smith, Ken’s wife. Please enjoy.

Let us pray. Our God and our father, we thank you that we can now come to your word. We pray that as we would study your word, we would seek to understand the parables of our lord. That, Father, as we would study this parable of a persistent widow, that we would learn something about prayer. We would ask that the words of my mouth, the meditations of our hearts, would be acceptable in your sight, for we ask it in Jesus name. Amen. Let me ask you a very practical question. If you have prayed for something once, is that enough? In the 18th chapter of the book of Luke, beginning at verse one, we read.

Then Jesus 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, avenge me of 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 avenger, 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. Nevertheless, when the son of man comes, will he really find faith on the earth?

A parable that tells about a woman who is persistent in prayer, persistent in pursuing her objective. Jesus opens this parable in verse one when he said, men always ought to pray and not lose heart. Now, if we ask ourselves honestly, how many of us are always praying? I don’t know of any Christian who is always praying. St. Catherine’s monastery near Mount Sinai, Egypt. There is now preserved a remains of two monks who had, over 1200 years ago, made a vow between each other. They were young men. They had entered the monastery and they decided that they would devote themselves to perpetual verbal prayer. The way they did it was that one would continually be praying while the other was asleep. They never saw each other. They never spoke to one another. They occupied adjoining cells.

There was a wall separating the two cells with an opening through which could be placed the chain. That chain was connected to both of their wrists. And when one man would begin to pray, he would tug the signal that it’s time for you to rest. And when he would finish his period of prayer, he would tug again, waking the other monk who then was to begin his time of prayer. These two men died at the same time. And today at that monastery, they are visible. They’re skeletons side by side in caskets, but they are still united by that chain. Now, when Jesus said, men always ought to pray, is that the model that he expects us to follow? Are we to constantly be in a verbal attitude where we are constantly praying to the Lord?

Well, Charles Spurgeon, in commenting on this verse, said, our Lord meant by saying, men ought to always pray, that they ought to be always in the spirit of prayer, always ready to pray like the old knights, always in warfare, but not always on their horses with shields and lances in hand, but always wearing these weapons where they could reach them quickly. Jesus says to you and me that we ought to always pray. It means that we should be prepared to pray when there is a birth. We ought to be prepared to pray when there is a death.

We ought to be in an attitude and verbally pray when we’re glad, and even when the sorrows of this world weigh our heart down, that even then we should pray, and always be willing to pray that when you go into a store, you should be thinking and even verbalizing a prayer. And when you find a great bargain, you can be in an attitude of prayer. Now, why is it important that we always be in this stance? It’s because that we are continually in need of guidance from our father that there is no decision that is too small, that he’s not concerned with, that every decision, every thought ought to be saturated and covered with this attitude of prayer so that it can be said of you, if I were to look at you with spiritual eyes, that you are always in prayer.

John Gershner, who was for many years a great professor of theology at Pittsburgh Seminary, a man who truly loves Jesus Christ, it’s said of John Gershner, he would pray over a glass of water. I think as christians that there ought to be nothing for which we are not willing and ready to pray. And when the opportunity comes for us to say, let us pray, let’s pray about this matter as a decision comes before your desk, that you, in an attitude of prayer, would bring it before the Lord, give me wisdom, ask for his discernment, Jesus said, we ought always to pray. Now, there are many important principles about prayer. This message is not intended to talk about all of the parts of prayer. We know in the Lord’s prayer that there is the great example to us of how we ought to pray.

And in the Lord’s prayer we know that we are to pray to God who is our father. And that’s a wonderful principle and truth of scripture. We’re also to pray, making his name to be holy, that all of our prayers ought to always want God’s will to be done rather than our own. We should prayerfully pray for our daily provisions. We should pray forgiveness from God our father. And we should always be praying that we would be delivered from the temptations and the snares of Satan. But having said all of that, there is, I think, a truth that Jesus wants us to understand as another important principle of prayer. How persistent, how persistent are you in prayer?

And in particular, are there areas of your life that you persistently, constantly, without end, bring over and over and over again to the Lord, or have you taken this principle? I prayed about it once, and I don’t pray about it anymore. I prayed about it once for six months, but I don’t pray about it anymore. Have you fallen into a slumber and believe that God is going to have his way? So why should I continue to pray? Is there a father who has a son or a daughter who’s not a Christian? And you’re that son or daughter? Do you persistently pray for your father? Do you have a son or a daughter who is away from the Lord? Do you pray persistently, without end, day after day? It would seem hour after hour for that son or daughter.

Is there something in your life as a Christian that you can say, I persistently bring this before the father? If there is not, then I would ask you to wake up. Because for every one of us, there are people that we must persistently be in prayer. There are sins in our own lives that we must persistently present before the father and ask him to help us? And you say, but I’ve done it. I did it for six months. I’ve done it for a year. I did it for two years. It was ten years ago and nothing happened. Then I would say to you, become persistent once again in that prayer. What kind of prayers require a persistence? Well, George Mueller was a man who believed in prayer. He prayed for 60 years that two friends of his would be converted.

One of them was converted at the last time that George Mueller publicly preached. The other one gave his life to Jesus Christ. One year after George Mueller died. Mueller prayed every day for 60 years for those two men. He says there are three principles for topics that are worthy of persistent prayer. The first is this the Lord’s work? Is this something that the Lord instructs us? Does the Lord desire that men and women would come to a saving faith in his son Jesus Christ. Yes. Then you meet the first criterion. The second is this the Lord’s way? Will the Lord work through this vehicle of prayer? Yes. The third is this the Lord’s time? And so often that is the area where frustration falls in upon the Christian.

We say, we’ve done this for so long, Lord, when are you going to answer this prayer? And we become weary. And so if it’s the Lord’s work, if it’s the Lord’s way, then we are asked to pray for the Lord’s time. Now, Jesus wants us to understand that persistence in prayer is appropriate. It is appropriate because he tells us about a judge who lived in a certain city. Now, this judge did not fear God, and he had no regard for man. If ever there was a heartless judge, it is this one. Now, into this same city comes a widow. She came to him saying, avenge me of my adversary. I need justice. Now, we have no details on what the problem was for this widow.

And after a while, through her persistence, the judge says that the widow troubled me, and I’ll avenge her, lest by her continual coming, she weary me. Now, I have thought about this widow this week and her persistence and what it would have been like to be that judge. Can you imagine? There you are, sitting in your courtroom, and into the room comes this widow. You’ve never seen her before. You don’t know what her case is. And suddenly she bursts out, avenge me of my adversary. You look at her, you say, we’ll have order in this courtroom, please. If there’s one more outburst, I’ll have to remove you. Avenge me. Avenge me of my adversary. Bailiff, would you remove that woman? And out she goes. And out in the courtyard, he can hear her still yelling, avenge me. Avenge me of my adversary.

And then as the day goes by, he forgets all about her, goes out for lunch, and there she is on the steps, and she catches him by the sleeve and she says, avenge me. Avenge me of my adversary. Lady, leave me alone. I don’t understand the situation. Leave me alone. He comes back to work. He hears her out in the lobby again. The day is over. And he thinks to himself, I’ll be shrewd. I will not go out the front door. I’ll go out the back door. And as he quietly goes out the back door, she suddenly bursts, and she says, avenge me of my adversary. And he quickly makes his way home, thinking that he’s gone fast enough that she’ll not be able to follow him. And as he locks the door behind him and he tells his wife, what a day.

This woman, she’s constantly been following me. You wouldn’t believe it. All she keeps yelling is, avenge me, my adversary. I don’t understand the situation. I don’t know what she’s talking about. But what a woman who’s there, avenge me of my adversary. And through the night, she cries up, give me justice. Avenge me of this adversary. And he wakes early in the morning and quietly at dusk, slips away. And as he enters his car, she stands and she says, avenge me. Avenge me of my adversary. And it was without ending. She was always there. Her persistence worked in such a way that this man, who had no regard for man nor love for God, said, all right, I’ll see that justice is met.

Does that mean that if you continually pray and persistently want something, that the Lord is going to give it to your way? In two Samuel, chapter twelve, the prophet Nathan comes to David. David, who had sinned with Bathsheba. And through that illicit union, a child is born. And the prophet Nathan tells David, this child is going to die. And that’s from the Lord. The child becomes very ill, and David becomes troubled. And he begins to pray. And he pleads to the Lord. He fasts. He prays all night. He persistently makes his prayer and his request known to the Lord. It goes on for seven days. If ever there was a persistent prayer, it is the prayer of David. And after seven days, the child died. Now, there are some who would say, well, his prayer didn’t work, did it? Why did he do it?

What difference did it make? Well, David says, the scriptures tell us that David got up as soon as he learned that the child died. He washed, he changed his clothes, and he went and worshiped the Lord. The servants, who knew how dismayed he was over those seven days, were frightened. And they said to him, you fasted and wept for the child while he was alive. But when the child died, you arose and ate. And David said, while the child was still alive, I fasted and wept. For I said, who can tell whether the Lord will be gracious to me that the child might live? You mean to say that sometimes we pray persistently and the answer is no? That’s right. Then why do we pray? Because the Lord has given prayer as our way of communication with him.

And whether the answer is yes or no is not the issue. The issue is christians pray. They talk to their heavenly Father. And sometimes, like that persistent widow, we pray and pray, and we ask for what we think is best. And God says, no. I’ve noticed that when that is the case, one of two things happens. Either the person who has been persistently praying goes into a great depression because I prayed so hard and so persistently and look at what happened. It didn’t go the way I planned. Take David as an example. When he got word that it didn’t go his way, what did he do? He got up, he washed, he changed his clothes, he worshipped, and he went back to life as normal.

In two kings, chapter 20, the prophet Isaiah came to Hezekiah and he said to him, set your house in order, Hezekiah, for you are going to die and you’re not going to live. Hezekiah began to pray. He wept. He prayed fervently. We’re told that the Lord, through Isaiah said, go back to Hezekiah and tell him, I’ve heard your prayer, I’ve seen your tears. I will heal you and I will give you 15 more years of life. You mean to say that sometimes when we pray that God answers, yes, that’s right. And Hezekiah is a man who prayed earnestly and the Lord gave him those 15 years. But what if the Lord had not? Was it a wasted prayer? No, because prayer is the way that we talk with our heavenly Father and we learn his will for our life.

But the parable of the persistent widow is to teach us it is all right. It is appropriate to persistently pray for something that as a Christian, I must not think to myself. I prayed about that once and now I haven’t released it to the Lord. There are some things in our life that require persistent prayer. And when the Lord would put persistence in your heart, that you would persistently pray. Winston Churchill attended as a young boy harrow school, and having lived through World War II, led England to victory. And now as an old man, he was asked to give the final speech at Harrow. And there before him were all of these young boys. They called upon that great lion of England whose voice roared and gave direction to England during very troubled years of war.

But on this evening, Winston Churchill looked on that room full of boys and he said, at first, never give up. And he sat down. Jesus Christ says, do you remember that, Father, that family member who’s not a Christian? Never, never give up. You pray and do you struggle with a sin and you’d like to see victory? And Jesus Christ says, never give up. Pray persistently like this widow. Let us pray. Our God and our Father, we need your help to pray. Help us to be persistent in our prayers to you to the end that Christ Jesus would receive honor and glory, for we ask it in his name. Amen.

Thank you for listening to a firm foundation presented by Princeton ministries. This programming is supported by you, the listener. You may go to our website, princetonministries.org, or send your donation to Princeton Ministries Post Office box 2171, Princeton, New Jersey 8543. That’s Princeton Ministries post office box 2171, Princeton, New Jersey 8543. The Lord bless you and Dr. Smith looks forward to hearing from you. We would like to thank Rone’s web development company for making this webcast possible. You can find their link at the bottom of our website, princetonministries.