Praying like Jesus

Pray and never give up
One day Jesus told his disciples a story to show that they should always pray and never give up. “There was a judge in a certain city,” he said, “who neither feared God nor cared about people. A widow of that city came to him repeatedly, saying, ‘Give me justice in this dispute with my enemy.’ The judge ignored her for a while, but finally he said to himself, ‘I don’t fear God or care about people, 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!’” Then the Lord said, “Learn a lesson from this unjust judge. 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? 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?” (Luke 18:1-8)

The characters

• The judge
• The widow

The lesson: It pays to pester???

• The surprise

  God is not like the Judge
  The LORD passed in front of Moses, calling out, “Yahweh! The LORD! The God of compassion and mercy! I am slow to anger and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness. I lavish unfailing love to a thousand generations. I forgive iniquity, rebellion, and sin. But I do not excuse the guilty…”
  (Exodus 34:6-7)

  You are not like the widow
  See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are…
  (1 John 3:1)

Why we give up

We lose sight of who God is

We haven’t embraced who we are

Why did you give up?

God is:

• Compassionate, gracious, and overflowing with love and faithfulness

  “…The LORD! The God of compassion and mercy! I am slow to anger and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness. I lavish unfailing love to a thousand generations. I forgive iniquity, rebellion, and sin. But I do not excuse the guilty…” (Exodus 34:6-7)

• Faithful

  The faithful love of the LORD never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning. (Lamentations 3:22-23)

• A loving Father

  See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are… (1 John 3:1)

• The strength we need in challenging times

  Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand. (Isaiah 41:10)

You are His loved child
“For I know the plans I have for you,” says the LORD. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” (Jeremiah 29:11)

God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble. (Psalm 46:1)

Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything…Then you will experience God’s peace…His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6-7)

Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. (Ephesians 3:20)

Reflection Question: What are the places you tend to give up on prayer? What character qualities of God do you need to take a hold of from Exodus 34:6-7?