25th. February. 2021. Daily Devotion.
Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. 2 He said: ‘In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought. 3 And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, “Grant me justice against my adversary.”
4 ‘For some time he refused. But finally, he said to himself, “Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think, 5 yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come and attack me!”’
6 And the Lord said, ‘Listen to what the unjust judge says. 7 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? 8 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?’ Luke 18:1-8
A Prayer After Reading Scripture
May the word I have read, Lord, be planted deeply in my mind and heart. Help me not to walk away and forget it, but to meditate on it and obey it and so build my life on the rock of your truth. Amen.
The widow in this parable has been called many things: troublesome, annoying, irritating, irksome, pesky. Yet Jesus applauds her for being persistent. Her relentless pursuit of justice eventually convinces the judge to help her, even though he doesn’t really care about her.
Of course, Jesus isn’t suggesting that God is like the judge in this story, or that we will have to be irritating to get God’s attention. In fact, as Jesus points out, God is the opposite of the uncaring, unfair judge.
Persistence in prayer, though, raises an important question about prayer itself. God reigns over the cosmos and pays attention to every detail, including even the hairs on our head (Matthew 10:30). So why would we need to pray at all? God knows all our needs, and his purposes and plans are set. Can we really, then, change God’s mind for a different outcome?
There is no easy answer to this question, but we can affirm several things the Bible teaches. Yes, God reigns, and we can take great comfort in that. What’s more, God can use our prayers as a means to his ends. As James 5:16 says, “The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.”
Our prayers bring us into fellowship with God and align us with his will, and they play a role in bringing God’s righteous and just kingdom on earth. So, let’s be persistent in prayer, trusting and believing that God hears and answers. ~ K. Selles.
For Guidance
Mighty Lord, there are marvellous things that I do not know, nor can I comprehend: things that happen in my life, and things that happen in my friends’ lives, and things that happen in the world. I pray to be thankful when I hear of all of them, to appreciate everything that comes across my path. So often life hurts, and I get angry or upset; I do not understand, yet you ask me to be thankful for everything, and have faith.
I thank you now, Lord, for all those occasions when I have forgotten or have been so caught up in emotions that I could not. Help me to be thankful, I pray, when the rains come on the just and the unjust, that you care so much about me, that the rains come to chasten, to build character and godliness in me. And help me to live as a mirror of your Son, so that I might reach others. Amen.
Prayer about the outbreak
Keep us, good Lord, under the shadow of your mercy in this time of uncertainty and distress. Sustain and support the anxious and fearful and lift up all who are brought low; that we may rejoice in your comfort knowing that nothing can separate us from your love in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.
