Sunday March 1, 2009 | Greg Boyd
Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought. And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’ “For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come and attack me!’” And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”
When we pray, we’re using our say-so to partner with God to bring about his will on earth as it is in heaven. But it is not magic. Prayer is a labor of love. We are pushing for God’s will to be accomplished, against all that resists his will being accomplished.
Last week Seth talked about how we are to persistently pray for justice and trust that in the end, God will give it. The point of Seth’s sermon was that even an unjust judge will respond to a woman’s request for justice if she’s persistent enough. How much more just and loving is God? Yet, sometimes it seems like God is like the unjust judge.
Greg shared a story about how his small group has been practicing imaginative prayer lately, during a recent time of prayer one of his group members opened up and shared how she felt angry at God for some unanswered prayers. God is ok with us being angry and being honest with him about this. God promises that he will deliver in response to our prayers and that we should pray and not give up. But, then why so often is there no answer. Greg shared why he believed this happens.
When we pray, we’re using our say-so to partner with God to bring about his will on earth as it is in heaven. But it is not magic. Prayer is a labor of love. We are pushing for God’s will to be accomplished, against all that resists his will being accomplished.
Prayer also is spiritual warfare. We don’t pray in a vacuum but in a context of human and angelic wills against the forces of evil.
Faith is always necessary during prayer. Faith is the substance of things hoped for and the conviction of things not seen. We need to envision justice when we are falsely accused. We need envision healing when we are sick. Whether you see the answer or not to your prayer, you have helped bring the Kingdom into this world. We are moving the Kingdom forward and bringing God’s will on earth as it is in heaven. We may not see our cries answered but we must keep pushing to let God’s will be done on earth as it is in heaven. We can practically apply this by doing the following:
1. Don’t blame God. He uses all evil but doesn’t cause evil.
2. Don’t blame yourself or others. Your faith and persistence is a variable but it is not magic. Other things come into play as well.
3. Keep on pushing. It can be discouraging, which is why it takes such faith. Continue to pray with persistence as long as you and your community feel you are suppose to pray. If there is a time when you feel you’re released from the burden, back off. It may or may not come back at a different time.