Persistence: Proof of Faith
“… ‘Yet because this widow bothers me, I will
give her legal protection, otherwise by continually coming she will wear me
out.’… However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?” – Luke 18:5 & 8
One
of the sure signs that a person has faith in God in the first place, is that
they come to God (Heb. 11:6). In other words, one comes to God because he
believes God exists. An atheist does not come to God, because he has
predetermined that there is no God.
Our
Lord tells this parable about the widow who continuously sought justice from a
corrupt and unjust metropolitan judge, until she got it. One of the sure signs
that a person has faith in God to do something for them in answer to prayer is
that they pray till it comes to pass.
Praying
for something to come to pass shows you and I have faith to begin with. But
let’s say a prayer is not answered for a while. What then? Will we be filled
with utter despair and stop praying? Or worse yet, will we take matters in our
own hands? On the other hand, will we, because we still believe God can answer,
push the matter to Him in prayer till He answers? Jesus says that the latter
option is what proves a person has faith. And faith is what Jesus desires from
us. Faith is what He is looking for. That’s why He asks the question that
closes out this parable, “When the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the
earth?” Jesus here refers to the days when He will come to earth for the second
time, which is yet future from our day. Will peoples’ faith regress as the time
of His coming approaches, or will faith in God to answer pray still exist? That
is a pertinent question to ask even today. Have we grown cold in faith? Are we
dejected by delayed answers? Have we become accustomed to taking matters into
our own hands or looking to alternate means by which to solve the issue at
hand?
The
injunction from this parable is not only to pray, but to have faith when we
pray. And how shall faith be made operative, how shall faith continue? The
answer is persistent prayer. In persistent prayer we prove that we have faith
in God to answer, and so we keep coming back to ask. For if we stopped having
faith we would have stopped coming to ask Him for help. But because we have
faith, we continue to pray expectantly, till the answer comes. God rewards this
kind of persistent faith with miraculous answers to prayer.
What
is something that you are praying for? Don’t stop till He answers. Have you
stopped praying because you are dejected by His seeming unresponsiveness? I
encourage you to begin praying again. In fact, not I, but the Lord Himself, in
the verse that necessitates the telling of this parable says, “…that at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart…”
(Luke 18:1). Friend, don’t lose heart. Unlike the unjust judge in the parable,
God does not grow weary of our continuous asking. Yes, we are required to trust
Him and not worry. However, to give up praying all together communicates lack
of faith. Are you losing heart? Cheer up, stay persistent, and pray till He
answers. Now lest you think this is some magic formula to get any prayer
answered, please understand this. Woven into the very fabric of continually
coming to God in prayer, is the act of fellowship, and a growing relationship
with Him. And that is what God desires, not merely answering prayer. The answer
He will give, but the heart He desires. When God has one’s heart fully, there
is no request He will withhold, no matter how long it takes in coming.
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