By Every Word

Luke 18 : 1-8
1. Now He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart,
2. saying, “In a certain city there was a judge who did not fear God and did not respect man.
3. There was a widow in that city, and she kept coming to him, saying, ‘Give me legal protection from my opponent.’
4. For a while he was unwilling; but afterward he said to himself, ‘Even though I do not fear God nor respect man,
5. yet because this widow bothers me, I will give her legal protection, otherwise by continually coming she will wear me out.’”
6. And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge said;
7. now, will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry to Him day and night, and will He delay long over them?
8. I tell you that He will bring about justice for them quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?”
NASB

This parable is an answer to those who have asked God something and you don’t seem to get an answer. You think God is just holding out on you; God is blessing and answering everyone else’s prayers but not mine. This can seem to be the case unless we understand prayer. Look at what Paul wrote to the Ephesians…

Ephesians 6 : 18
With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints,
NASB

Two words I want to really focus in on- perseverance and petition. These are key components to effective prayer. Let’s define them…

perseverance

• steady persistence in a course of action, a purpose, a state, etc., especially in spite of difficulties, obstacles, or discouragement.

petition

• a formal written request made to an official person or body (as a court or board)
• a written document signed by a large number of people demanding some form of action from a government or other authority
• a formally drawn request, often bearing the names of a number of those making the request, that is addressed to a person or group of persons in authority or power, soliciting some favor, right, mercy, or other benefit:

I cannot stress the importance of exercising this in our prayer life. You can’t be a lawyer and not know about making a “petition” and you cannot pray effectively without “petitioning”.  Look at the third definition for petition where it states “…soliciting some favor, right, mercy, or other benefit:” If you have ever had a prayer answered it’s because you requested something God had already spoken as being a right or benefit- or because He gave you favor or mercy. A petition is a legal request to a government or authority based on rights or promises- when we pray we’re making a legal request to God based on rights…

Matthew 5 : 7
Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
KJV

or benefit…

Psalm 103 : 2
Bless the LORD, O my soul, And forget none of His benefits;
KJV

Psalm 116 : 12
What shall I render to the LORD For all His benefits toward me?
KJV

Some may read this and at first think to themselves “I don’t have any rights… I’m just at God’s mercy because I am just a lowly servant who’s at His mercy.”
My reply to you would be the same as Job to His worthless friends, “What a help you are to the weak!”, he says sarcastically.

As a citizen you do have rights, why? Because that’s the way God setup His government system. Rights are for citizens and you have to understand your rights in order to have access to them. If God says in His word “blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy” then you have to remind God of that in your prayers. He’s a King so if He says something it becomes law! So we pray…

“Lord, you see adversity coming against me from these individuals at work and the stress and humiliating situations I have found myself in; God I have shown mercy as my reaction to these things- I could have acted completely different in response to these events but I have remembered Your word “if I am merciful, I will obtain mercy“. So Father in Heaven I remind you of Your word and my right as a citizen- because I have shown mercy, mercy shall I obtain.”

Praise God! I’m telling you if you find yourself in need of a prayer like this and you petition God with your request in this manner, you will begin to see favor come upon you from those around you and even from those in positions of authority. God will turn their persecution into shame because you have laid claim to the right of mercy. THIS IS POWERFUL! THIS IS A TRUE PRACTICE OF FAITH!

Faith is the strength of your convictions, in the time of testing, that His word is true. That means no matter how bad things get, you believe His word and that it will prevail. If you can get understanding of this, trials will be something to weather rather than something sent to destroy you. God knows your benefits and rights… He’s the one that created them when He spoke them- He just wants you to believe His word enough, that you will remind Him of His promise and then wait for the answer.

Now back to my first scripture
Luke 18 : 1-8

1. Now He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart,
2. saying, “In a certain city there was a judge who did not fear God and did not respect man.
3. There was a widow in that city, and she kept coming to him, saying, ‘Give me legal protection from my opponent.’
4. For a while he was unwilling; but afterward he said to himself, ‘Even though I do not fear God nor respect man,
5. yet because this widow bothers me, I will give her legal protection, otherwise by continually coming she will wear me out.’”
6. And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge said;
7. now, will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry to Him day and night, and will He delay long over them?
8. I tell you that He will bring about justice for them quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?”
NASB

This is an area where we overlook much of the time. We expect to pray once and see results immediately. It’s OK to pray and expect- in fact the bible encourages this- but when you don’t see results and you know you’re in line with His word in your request- you must continue to petition. Jesus gave us this example about this widow woman. He says to continue and press in on the Lord for your request. If in the parable this evil man gave in because he didn’t want to be wore out by her constant pleas- how much more will God answer your request when you continue to request of Him your petition. IT EVEN SAYS WILL HE DELAY A LONG TIME TO ANSWER HIS ELECT YOU CRY OUT DAY AND NIGHT! WOW!

BUT when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth… That’s another article for another day…

Continue to request and petition day and night unto the Lord- He will answer. Don’t give up! I could go into the Jewish culture of how a child must ask his father three times to get a yes- but I’ll leave you with this to meditate on. But BE WARNED if you request and petition something of God day and night be ready to receive it. If you’re asking for direction, an answer, for God to use you, for your purpose- He’s going to give it you- so don’t ask anything unless you’re ready to use what He gives you.

-For The Kingdom