UNDERSTANDING THE PARABLE OF THE WIDOW.
1. (1) The purpose of the parable: that we might not lose heart in prayer.
Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart,
a. That men always ought to pray: Man is created with a spiritual instinct (Ecclesiastes 3:11), so prayer often comes naturally. Yet obstacles come in the way of effective and constant prayer, so Jesus knew we needed to be both taught and encouraged always… to pray.
i. Jesus did not mean that we should always have our knees bent and eyes closed in prayer; but we must always be in what is sometimes called the spirit of prayer. Paul mentioned this idea in 1 Thessalonians 5:17 when he wrote, pray without ceasing. It’s hard to measure how much good such constant prayer would do, and how much bad it would keep us from.
b. And not lose heart: Often we fail in praying because we lose heart. We become discouraged, and then no longer pray as we should.
i. It is easy to lose heart in prayer because prayer is hard work that we too often approach lightly. In Colossians 4:12, Paul praised a man named Epaphras because he was always laboring fervently… in prayers. Paul knew that prayer was hard work that required fervent labor. Morrison tried to explain why prayer was difficult, because three parts of the human being are engaged in prayer: “There is the understanding, by which we work intelligently; there is the heart, but which we labour willingly, there is the will by which we labour doggedly.” (Morrison)
ii. It is easy to lose heart in prayer because the Devil hates prayer. If prayer were powerless, it would be easy.
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iii. It is easy to lose heart in prayer because we are not always convinced of the reality of the power of prayer. Too often, prayer becomes a last resort instead of a first resource.
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iv. Remember that Jesus lived a prayerful life, and He ever lives to pray for His people (Hebrews 7:25). We must therefore not lose heart in prayer.
The woman of Canaan kept praying though she was first denied.
Jacob refused to let go even when his leg was crippled.
Rachel said to Jacob, “Give me children, or else I die!
PLEASE PRAY WITH ME: Holy Father, infinite are your ways and your wisdom. You speak to us in our every situation of our lives. Lord, you know what we are going through and our hardships. We thank you, Lord, that you have provided us with answers that we would have not known, otherwise. Blessed are you for your sacrifice for a sinful world. We praise you and lift your Holy name, Yeshua messiah, my Lord. AMEN.
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GOD BLESS YOU
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