Begin with 2 minutes of stillness and silence before God.
Today’s scripture reading is told in the form of a parable. It is important to remember that a parable is simply a story told to illustrate a deeper spiritual truth. The judge and the widow are characters used to tell a story about God and His people (us).
In this parable, the judge is the complete opposite of everything God is. Scripture describes the judge as refusing to hear the widow, reluctant to see true justice, and “bothered” by the widow. I’m so glad to know that God hears me when I pray, He is just, and He is never bothered by my requests. In fact, God wants me to bring my requests to Him.
The widow is supposed to be a picture of God’s people. I said “supposed to be” because I think we sometimes miss the message of persistence here. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve prayed for something maybe 2-3 times and then given up. Verse 1 says that I should always pray and not lose heart. We live in an instant gratification culture. If I don’t receive an answer immediately, I lose interest or become distracted by something else. Luke 18 is reminding me that I have to pray persistently – not because God wants to hear me beg, but because He wants to change my heart. Then when the time is right (His time, not mine), He will quickly answer my request.
I don’t know about you, but this has been really convicting for me. I love to put a human time limit on my prayers. It may even be one reason I love the idea of “just” 21 Days of Prayer. There’s a clear beginning and end that I can see and control. God is reminding me that I will have to pray and ask for things with persistence, even past the point that I think I should’ve already been given an answer.
Take 2 minutes to reflect in silence.
Reflection:
- Can you think of a prayer request that you’ve given up on? Can you truly say that you were persistent in your requests to God?
- Who or what do you know you need to be praying persistently for in this season?
- Prayer: Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for being a God who hears my every prayer. Forgive me for giving up on certain prayers or believing that my circumstances were too big, too messy, or too far gone. You are both good and powerful, which means I can trust You with whatever I lay at Your feet. Help me to remember that I can pray bold prayers. I love You. I trust You. In Jesus' name, amen.
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Family Devo: Luke 18:1-8
By: Carrie Hobson
When partnering with your family to know, love, and follow Jesus, we strive to create and share content filtered by the Head-Heart-Hands model.
Head: the knowledge of God and His Word | Heart: the personal connection from scripture | Hands: a missional mindset
Head
How does the scripture instruct us to pray?
Heart
Do you sometimes lose heart when you pray for something? How does this scripture bring comfort to your heart in those times?
Hands
How has God answered prayers in your life? Has He always answered them how you wanted? If not, can you see where His plan was better?
Prayer: God, thank You that we can come to You in prayer. Thank You for reminding us to pray and never lose heart because You always hear our prayers. We love You!