The Unjust Judge: The Value of Persisting in Prayer | Secretest of the Kingdom of Heaven (Pt. 12) - Walking in His Word

Episode Transcript
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(00:00):
Greetings, friends.

(00:01):
Welcome to Walking in His Word,
the podcast where we embarked on a short,
faith filled journey
through the scriptures
and episodes that are both concise
and impactful.
Each week,
we take an 8 to 10 minute,
purposeful stroll
through the pages of God's Word,
offering insights, wisdom,
and inspiration to enhance our day.
So join us as we explore each topic,

(00:21):
uncovering the treasures
hidden within the scriptures and learning
how they can be applied to our lives.
So let's take this brief
but powerful
journey of walking in His Word together.
If you ever had a prayer answered
after a long period of waiting,
maybe you've prayed for something
for a long period of time
and only given up
when that prayer wasn't answered.

(00:42):
What happened in each case?
How does patience affect
your prayer life?
Maybe there are 1 or 2 things
that you have been praying for.
For a very long time.
I'd encourage you to write them down.
It could be spiritual things
or even natural things.
Today we're going to look at the subject
of persistence in prayer
from the parable of the Unjust Judge
in Luke 18 verses one through eight.

(01:03):
And I want to look, I'm
going to start obviously,
by looking at verse one,
because it gives us
the whole purpose of the parable.
Luke 18 one says,
he spoke a parable unto them.
To this end,
that men ought always to pray
and not faint.
The situation
where we feel like
our prayers are not being answered,
or feel like our prayers
have been going on forever.
Jesus spoke this parable

(01:23):
for us to encourage us
when we've been praying
for a very long time,
maybe for the same thing.
He's telling us that the key
to answered prayer in this situation
is that we must always pray
and not faint or grow weary.
So let's take a deeper
look into these two words.
First, always means all times.
First Thessalonians 517 says,

(01:45):
pray without ceasing.
Second Timothy one three says,
I thank God
who I serve
from my forefathers
with pure conscience,
that without ceasing
I have remembrance of the
in my prayers day and night
always means at all
times, continually
praying and serving him.
Now that we're not faint,
is something a little different?

(02:06):
It means not to fail,
faint or weak of heart.
To lose one's motivation
by continuing a desired pattern
or conduct or activity.
It's losing enthusiasm.
It's becoming discouraged.
That's what the word faint means.
Now it's important to understand
when we're praying
and asking for things
that one of the keys is that we pray
according to the will of the father.

(02:28):
I can pray for a brand new Mercedes
all day long, or a new,
$10 million home all day long.
But if that's not God's will, he's
not going to give me something
that's going to.
It's not according to his will.
And we know that from Scripture as well.
James four three says,
you ask and receive
not because you ask amiss,
that you may consume it
upon your own lusts.

(02:49):
The key is that were led
by the Holy Spirit in prayer,
and it is essential to be in line
and flow with the Holy Spirit,
because he knows the will of the father
and can help us pray accordingly.
Just so you're clear,
there's nothing wrong
with a brand new Mercedes
or a $10 million house.
But if I'm asking for it
to consume my own lust
and to consume my own desire,
then the Lord's

(03:09):
not going to give it to me.
So let's dive into this parable,
and we'll start by looking
at the different characters
in this parable.
The first one is this Judge
Luke 18 verse two says,
there was in a city
a judge, which feared not God,
neither regarded man.
To understand this parable,
we have to understand
how wicked this man really was,
which says he feared not God,

(03:30):
which means he had no concept
that God rules and reigns
in the affairs of men.
And what a terrible thing
to have said about you,
that you don't even acknowledge God
in the in the affairs of men.
That's not the whole story of this judge.
It also says he did not regard men
because he didn't fear
God and paid no attention
to the cause of justice,

(03:51):
and because he respected not man.
He was unmoved
at the complaint of this widow.
He was concerned only with himself,
his own opinions, his own comfort,
and his own income.
Luke 18:6
calls him unjust, which which
in our original Greek
language talks about wrongdoing,
unrighteousness, wickedness, injustice

(04:14):
and what a terrible thing again
to be said about a judge
who is supposed to be responsible
for meeting out just justice.
You were supposed to be concerned
with doing
what is right,
and this judge did not care
because he didn't regard God.
He didn't regard men,
though it's not explicitly stated
in this parable, it's
reasonable to assume

(04:34):
that just judge wouldn't
give the widow justice
because of her inability to pay him.
It seems as though
he might have been motivated
by bribery or or money versus
anything else.
Now, this is a terrible
and dangerous situation
for the judge to be in,
and it's also a terrible situation
for this poor widow.

(04:54):
Deuteronomy 27:19 says, cursed
be he that perverts
the judgment of the stranger,
the fatherless, and the widow.
This judge is literally
bringing a curse upon himself
according to the Old Testament Law,
because he's perverting the judgment
of this widow.
Now let's look at this widow
in Luke 18 verse three.
There was a widow in that city,

(05:14):
and she came unto him, saying,
avenge me of mine adversary.
Exodus 2222 says,
you shall not afflict
any widow or fatherless child.
And actually, in Deuteronomy 24,
there were special
provisions made in Israel for widows
and for fatherless children.
Widows in these times were helpless.

(05:35):
They were probably not very popular.
They were looked at,
unfortunately, as a
as a burden on society.
So they were often social outcasts.
And she's going to this judge
saying, avenge me,
which she's saying, Grant me justice.
She's coming to him
probably as her last resort.
He is literally
the only person that can help her,

(05:55):
and she knows it,
and that's why she keeps coming down.
Verses four through five of Luke 18,
it says that this judge
would not hear her for a while,
but afterward
he said within himself,
though I fear not God,
nor regard man, yet
because this widow troubles me,
I will avenge her last.
By her continual coming, she weary me.

(06:15):
It's very interesting
that this judge
recognized his own wickedness,
but yet he still gave in
just to get her off his back again.
I looked up these words
because I
thought they were so interesting.
Weary in this context is
that has the
implication of hitting under the eye.
You're getting a
a black eye from continual punching.
So she wasn't actually

(06:36):
threatening physical harm on him.
But she was.
But this judge was so fed up
with hearing from this widow,
he was speaking in hyperbole
here, or exaggerating the fact that she's
badgering me literally
badgering me wherever I go.
The figurative meaning
is to bring someone
into submission by constant
annoyance, to wear them down
or to browbeat them.
So I have a feeling

(06:56):
she followed him everywhere.
He wasn't just in the court,
but everywhere he went.
Imagine him out
to dinner with his wife
or walking through the street
and there she is saying, give me justice,
give me justice everywhere he goes.
Now, this may have been just a parable,
but everyone listening to
Jesus probably knew
exactly what he was talking about.
Or they were probably
nodding their heads.

(07:17):
Thinking of a judge like this.
Judge or a widow like this widow.
So what is the widow telling us?
We're talking about persistence in prayer
as the key to seeing God,
to seeing answers.
and it should be given you.
Seek and you will find knocking.
It will should be opened

(07:37):
for everyone that asks, receives,
he that seeks, finds, and him
that knocks shall be opened.
Now this is not saying here
you ask and ask
and ask like you're changing God's mind,
but you are praying
and asking for God
to bring about his will.
Now let's go back to the parable
for a moment.
Look at Luke 18:6-8
and the Lord said, hear

(07:58):
what the unjust judge says,
and shall not God avenge his own elect,
which cried day and night unto him?
though He bear long with them.
I tell you that
he will avenge them speedily.
Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes,
shall he find faith in the earth?
And as with many of the parables,
Jesus is speaking with contrast.
He's teaching us through contrast.
He's got their attention,

(08:19):
and now he gives them
the moral of the story,
which is
if an unjust judge
will hate a persistent widow,
how much more will adjust
God heed his chosen people?
And I want to look at just a couple
small things here in these
in Luke 16 verse six through eight,
it says those who
which cry day and night, verse
seven specifically it says,
though he bear long with them,

(08:40):
the very next verse it says, I tell you,
he will avenge them speedily.
This seems like a contradiction,
though he bear long with them
that he will avenge them speedily.
And this again is going back
to that
thought of persistence
and praying something in
to pass,
and God's
timing and providence in matters
he's bearing long with them.
God wants to answer,

(09:01):
and God will answer
as soon as he possibly can.
But sometimes
most times,
we have to wait for the right timing
and pray into existence
what God's will is.
But when the right time comes,
moves quickly.
When the time is right.
But until that time is right,
we continue to pray.
So God says, will he find faith?

(09:23):
Verse eight.
Nevertheless, when he comes,
will he find faith in the earth?
We have to be those
who are full of faith.
We must have expectations
and promises from God, and we seek him
with our whole heart
until we see those things come to pass.
In conclusion,
remember the words of the unjust judge
and consider the contrast in this parable
the good God versus the unjust judge.

(09:45):
Will God avenge?
Let's also look at the contrast
between this
importunate or this persistent widow
versus us as Christians.
The widow
who is weak in the eyes of the world
but won a mighty victory
based on her persistence.
Most of us are not weaker
or face longer odds than the widow.
In this situation.

(10:06):
But how much more
can we expect
God to intervene on our own behalf?
And there are times
that we will become discouraged.
There are times
when we will feel like
this is going to take forever.
That will never stop praying.
But I want to encourage you today.
Don't ever stop
praying and seeking the Lord.
And I'll close with the final verse.
First Corinthians 1558.

(10:28):
My beloved brethren, be steadfast,
unmovable,
always abounding in the work of the Lord.
For as much as you know
that your labor
is not in vain in the Lord.
So as we close out
this message,
be steadfast, be unmovable,
and remember this persistent widow.
And if that judge
who is so wicked can bless that widow,

(10:50):
how much more will God
bless us as we continue
to pray and persistent prayer?
God bless you.
Thank you so much for joining us
on this enlightening journey
through the parables
of Jesus and the Walking
in His Word podcast.
We hope you found inspiration, wisdom,
and a deeper connection
to the teachings of our Savior.
If these stories have touched your heart
and stirred your soul, please

(11:10):
be sure to subscribe to our podcast.
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(11:31):
We're at Walking
in His Word podcast on Facebook,
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as we navigate the parables.
Remember, these timeless stories
offered guidance and grace
even in the midst of life's challenges.
Keep walking in His Word,
and may his light shine upon your path
until our next parables.
May your journey be blessed.

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The Unjust Judge: The Value of Persisting in Prayer | Secretest of the Kingdom of Heaven (Pt. 12)

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.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}The Unjust Judge: The Value of Persisting in Prayer | Secretest of the Kingdom of Heaven (Pt. 12)