Persistent in Prayer

Rebecca Sheridan
Sunday, October 16, 2022
Luke 18:1-8

    Since college, I have been a regular supporter and member of Bread for the World, a Christian international advocacy organization working to fight global hunger.  The world produces enough food to feed everyone on the planet; the problem is distribution, and I simply believe that no one should go hungry.  I was pretty discouraged to get a letter in the mail from Bread for the World, as I do around this time every year asking for money, but also stating that the global hunger crisis is getting worse, not better.  I shouldn’t be surprised; with inflation rates, war, and unstable economies around the world, why would hunger rates be improving?  I still believe that hunger is a problem with a solution.  It’s just after twenty years of being a part of Bread for the World, I would hope things would be better, not worse.  Working and praying for justice around the world with causes close to our hearts can be discouraging at times when we don’t see the positive results we’re looking for.
    Jesus tells us another parable today, and conveniently for us, he starts by explaining what it’s about!  We “need to pray always and not lose heart,” Jesus tells us.  Or as the New International Version reads, we “need to pray always, and not give up.”  Then Jesus goes on to tell this story about a widow who doesn’t give up; who is persistent in the face of an unjust, corrupt judge until he gets worn out and gives in to her pleas.  Jesus lifts up the value of persistence, of stick-to-it-ness in prayer.  But as I just shared, sometimes it is tempting to be discouraged and to lose heart.  Our desire to have a world that is just and fair for all people is often thwarted.  The daily news certainly doesn’t often give us much hope that things are getting better.  We know well that evil is still at work in the world.  Do our prayers for the world and for people affected by various and sundry tragedies actually matter?  Do our actions really make a difference?  Jesus is directly addressing these concerns about our prayer life today, because the disciples had similar concerns.  If Jesus is the Messiah, why aren’t they already experiencing heaven on Earth?  Where do we see signs of the kingdom of God here on Earth, even though we have pain and suffering still around us?
    I’m sure you have encountered prayer-skeptics in your personal life.  There are people who argue that sending “thoughts and prayers” to people who are experiencing great tragedies are not enough: a mass shooting, war in Ukraine, natural disasters.  We need to act.  Justice and goodness requires more than wishful thinking.  Prayers don’t “work.” In the gospel for today, Jesus challenges us to really think about what prayer is as a conversation with God, as strengthening our relationship with God so that we are constantly aware of God’s presence and response.  
God is not Santa Claus or a magic genie who grants us three wishes but three wishes only.  God is not an unjust judge, either. God doesn’t simply “give in” to our persistent requests because we wear God down. This is a concept I am very familiar with as a parent with young children who truly know how to be annoyingly persistent in asking for things that would not be good for them.  God is concerned about justice, about making things right in contrast to the unjust judge in the parable.  God neither gives in to us nor gives up on us!  Jesus urges us to keep faith in God’s justice and not give up on God or lose heart when resolutions to the injustices we see in the world are slow in coming.  A consistent, regular prayer life (as Jesus asks us to pray always), balances our need for God to DO SOMETHING with acknowledging that God’s timeline is not our own, and God’s justice is not just our personal idea about what is right.
    At the same time, all of you, people of faith, are witnesses to the power of prayer.  I would guess that each one of you has a powerful story to tell about how prayer actually IS effective.  God can and does answer prayer.  These examples that we share can encourage us not to lose heart when God answers our prayer in a way different from what we were hoping for or expecting, or when God’s answer seems very slow in coming.  Author H. Jackson Brown once said, “In the confrontation between the stream and the rock, the stream always wins, not through strength but by perseverance.”  Persevering in prayer; being persistent in prayer, is not trying to wear God down by asking the same thing every day with our eyes and ears shut to what God might be trying to say to us, but by committing to prayer each day, which includes listening to God, and allowing God to change us.  Like a steady stream, God shapes and molds us to be more like Christ.  In fact, here’s a thought:  what if Jesus’ story about the persistent widow is not so much about us being persistent in prayer, but about God being persistent with us to shape and mold US into the people God wants us to be, so that we are moved to work for God’s justice and love for all people?!  We might be tempted to give up on God, but we can be sure that God never gives up on us.  God will continue to pursue a dynamic, living relationship with us through prayer.
    I had surprise visitors this week in the church office.  A young Ukrainian couple came by to donate baby clothes for our clothing pantry.  They wanted to know more about the church, school, and the New Life food pantry we support.  They arrived here in July as refugees.  I could have talked to them for hours about what they have experienced; unimaginable from where things were in January of this year before the war to now.  And yet, they also told me about the hope they have for their country, as well as the amazing kindness they have received in being in the United States – “It’s just like the movies!” they said, “in a good way.”  They wanted to give back what they can and help by donating food and clothes.  I do not consider their appearance in my office merely a coincidence.  Certainly, this experience is both a sign that God answers prayer, but that more prayers and work is left to be done!  
    Jesus tells us this parable today to teach us about our need to pray always and to not lose heart, but also to tell us about God’s greatest answer to our prayers:  Christ himself, the Son of Man, crucified and risen for us.  In our creeds we say that he will come to judge the living and the dead.  In contrast to the corrupt and unjust judges of Jesus’ day and throughout the ages, Jesus is a judge we can trust to make things right.  Jesus restores our relationship with others and with God when no one and nothing else can.  Jesus promises to listen to our prayers and respond.  Keep the faith, be persistent in prayer, Christ is coming soon.  Amen.