Encouragement in prayer
by Pastor Fraser Pearce
Click here to download your printable verse to carry with you today.
And will not God grant justice to his chosen ones who cry to him day and night? (Luke 18:7a)
In this parable, Jesus gives us spiritual food to strengthen us when we feel like giving up on praying. As we listen to what Jesus says, his Spirit fills us and frees us to pray to our Father.
In the parable, Jesus talks about a corrupt judge who doesn’t care about what humans think of him and doesn’t worry about God’s judgement either. A widow, with no money or other allurement to sway the corrupt judge’s decision, appeals to him for justice. Since there’s no advantage in hearing her case, at first, he does nothing. But finally, when he sees that she will keep pestering him, he says, ‘I will grant her justice, so that she may not wear me out by continually coming’.
Jesus tells us to listen to the unjust judge. What he means is this: If even an unjust judge in this world will eventually relent when they are pestered, how much more will the true Judge of all, who is not corrupt but truly just, give us his righteousness as we call on him? God is not an unjust judge; he is the Father of his dearly loved children.
Jesus then says, ‘And yet, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?’ We can think that the problem in prayer is God’s lack of care for us or his reluctance to give us his justice. Jesus says the real problem is our lack of trust in God.
So, listen to what Jesus says; his Spirit will free you to call out to God in trust. Jesus is your justice: in him, you have forgiveness for your sins. You have all your debt cancelled by your Father and have the gift of the Spirit who raises you to new life. It is Jesus who frees you to call on God as Father.
Lord Jesus, thank you for your word to me. Please give me your Spirit so I may listen to you with open ears and a trusting heart and call out to my Father for his healing and life-giving justice. Amen.
Fraser Pearce is pastor at Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Flinders Street, Adelaide. He grew up in Sydney, where he attended St Mark’s Lutheran Church, Epping. He was ordained in 1997 and served at St Paul’s Box Hill, Victoria, and Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Bendigo, Victoria. Fraser has been married to his wife, Margaret, since 1995, and they have four children.
- Click here to read previous devotions.
- We are also posting them on LCA Facebook, making it easy for you to share them with family and friends.
- Sign up to receive Daily Devotion in your inbox every morning. If you’re already doing that, please encourage others to sign up. Click here for the link.
