Sermon Text: Luke 18: 1Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.
Sermon Title: Pray Through
Introduction: Have you ever gotten to a point in your prayer life that you were tired and ready to give up? You hadn’t heard from God. You may have become so discouraged you stopped praying. You say, “what’s the point, either God isn’t listening, he said no or I can’t make out what God is saying”? Evidently the disciples must have had similar feelings that prompted Jesus to tell them a parable that specifically deals with the issue of Praying Through until you get an answer. Let me quote Jesus in verse one, “that they should always pray and not give up.” Given the sense of not hearing from God or getting tired of praying this is a good text to understand and apply. In this parable we see a widow woman doing some things that not only requires our attention but also demands our application. Of the many things she did we want to focus our attention on at least three of them: she made a Plea, she broke Protocol and she was Persistent.
Point 1: Plea vs. 3 And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’ A plea is a prayer to the court to correct a wrong or give you what believes belongs to you.
What scriptures have you brought to the Lord and said based on this or that God I pray you grant me…
(1) List one scripture for your plea to God. Book? Chapter? Verse?
(2) Write your legal brief…God I pray according to your word…
(3) Take it to the JUST JUDGE!
Point 2: Protocol vs. 5 yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually wear me out with her coming!’
Numbers 11: 33, 34 tells us before they could finish eating God struck with a plague.
Just make sure what you want is the right thing. For the widow it was.
(1) What are you posturing for?
(2) What protocols are you breaking to hear from God?
(3) Check the motive of your prayer(s)? Circle one. Good? Not really? Not sure?
Point 3: Persistence vs. 5 yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually wear me out with her coming!’
James 5: 13 said if anyone is in trouble pray. James also said 1: 2 – 8 paraphrased…trials work your patience and patience increase your faith and unwavering faith will produce answers to prayer
Do three things to pray persistently;
(1) You must pray until you get thru
(2) You must pray until God is through
(3) You cannot stop when you are through
Conclusion: vs. 6, 7 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?
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