The Persistent Widow

Sermon Notes

[Luke 18:1-5] One day Jesus told his disciples a story to show that they should always pray and never give up. [2] "There was a judge in a certain city," he said, "who neither feared God nor cared about people. [3] A widow of that city came to him repeatedly, saying, 'Give me justice in this dispute with my enemy.' [4] The judge ignored her for a while, but finally he said to himself, 'I don't fear God or care about people, [5] but this woman is driving me crazy. I'm going to see that she gets justice, because she is wearing me out with her constant requests!'"

You can’t WEAR God out with your prayers, but He wants you to TRY.

Jesus is telling us to pray PERSISTENTLY and CONSISTENTLY.

[Luke 18:6-8] Then the Lord said, "Learn a lesson from this unjust judge. [7] Even he rendered a just decision in the end. So don't you think God will surely give justice to his chosen people who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? [8] I tell you, he will grant justice to them quickly! But when the Son of Man returns, how many will he find on the earth who have faith?"

[Hebrews 4:16] “So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.” 

It says we WILL receive his mercy and grace when we need it.

[Hebrews 11:6] And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.

You can CONVERSE with the God of the UNIVERSE. 

Prayer is not about what we can GET from God, but about the RELATIONSHIP we are building with God.

PERSISTENT PRAYER strengthens our relationship with God as much as it MOVES the hand of God.

[1 John 5:14-15] And we are confident that he hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases him. [15] And since we know he hears us when we make our requests, we also know that he will give us what we ask for.

[Psalms 55:17] Morning, noon, and night I cry out in my distress, and the LORD hears my voice.