- Luke 18:1-8 ESV

And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart. 2 He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected man. 3 And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’ 4 For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear God nor respect man, 5 yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.’” 6 And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge says. 7 And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them? 8 I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”

Sometimes prayer can be a struggle. It is okay to admit that. It may be simple enough to pray over a meal, or when you just need a bit more patience because that one coworker who loves to talk has spotted you and is heading to your desk. There are also the times when you have been truly blessed or have felt God do something miraculous for you. In those times the joy and wonder well up from you in such a way that to ceasepraying in gratitude would be the only difficulty. No, the times when praying is difficult are the times that are truly difficult.

There exists such a chasm between “Lord, please give me wisdom and strength as I go through today…” and “God, please, I don’t know what to do…” or “Jesus, I need you because I’m not strong enough for this…”. In this world we will face times like this. Though we have faith and trust in God, we still must carry these difficulties with us. Even as we lift them up to God, they still weigh on us. To feel that weight as we cry out to the Lord repeatedly for a blessing can be difficult, draining, and painful.

Before I lose anyone with such a dire subject, the most important thing to know in all of this is that we have hope! I used the ESV translation above because I like the phrase “…and not lose heart” because it can be disheartening. But does that mean that it is fruitless? Of course not! As Jesus says if the judge (who seems like a rather execrable fellow) will give justice to the widow just due to sheer annoyance, how can we not expect more and greater things from Him who loves us? We have all wanted something and badgered friends and family over it. How can we be any less diligent in our deepest appeals to God? Our faith and trust in Jesus is shown through our persistence in coming to him in prayer.

When thinking about this, I can’t help but consider the parallels to the beginning of Scripture. Genesis tells us the story of Jacob wrestling with God. Wrestling itself is an extremely demanding activity, let alone doing so for an entire night as Jacob does. An entire night of grueling physical strain. (Unimaginably difficult and draining.) Still, he would not give up, so his hip was wrenched out of its socket. (Painful.) Despite all of this, he persisted in pursuit of a blessing. He was blessed, and so we shall be as well. He was also forever changed, and we may be also.

So yes, sometimes prayer is hard. Sometimes it may be the hardest thing we do. It is always worth it.

Prayer:

God, I pray for everyone currently praying through challenges. Not just that you would give them the answers or the blessings they seek Lord, but that they would remain strong in their faith and persistence in seeking you. That they would know in the worst times, when things seem impossible, that there is nothing you can't do. I pray that they will trust you with all of their hearts, and remember that you have already laid out your plans for us. That they are good. It is for us to remain tenacious in seeking you, and we will be given everything we need. Amen.