Image: "Tools of the Trade", 2020, Severna Park, Md
Luke 18:6–8 Then the Lord said, “Hear what the unjust judge said. 7 And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them? 8 I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?”
Luke 18:13–14 And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner!’ 14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
Luke 18:25–27 For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” 26 And those who heard it said, “Who then can be saved?”
27 But He said, “The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.”
Luke 18:39 Then those who went before warned him that he should be quiet; but he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”
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There is a "loose" theme that brings some unity to this chapter: Desperate Prayers. It was the widow's desperate banging on the unjust judge's door that convinced him, though unjust, to help her. It was the desperate plea for mercy from the tax collector that Jesus said was heard. Blind Bartimaeus earnestly petitioned Jesus to heal him and, though admonished to be quiet, "cried out all the more," (vs. 39) and Jesus commended his faith. The "rich young ruler" was not "desperate" in his petition and went away sorrowful. The parents who brought their infant children to Him were rebuked by the disciples but Jesus, in effect, said that they must be allowed, for "of such is the kingdom of God." (vs. 16) So the faith of the parents was that they persisted in bringing their children.
The latter two examples, admittedly, do not fit the theme as clearly as the others but I think they are not inconsistent with it either.
The idea of "persistent prayer" reflects a practice that was deeply ingrained in church history though not so often a part of the modern discipleship. The Puritans, in particular, thought about "struggling" in prayer and likened it to Jacob wrestling with God. They never once thought that this somehow "changed God's mind" about something but rather viewed it as participating in God's providential rule in creation. In other words, when God purposes to do something (such as bringing Jacob back to his brother Esau's land), He first works on Jacob to bring him to a sense of "desperate" prayer. Jacob's life, his family, and all his possessions were on the line. If God didn't soften Esau's anger then all of God's promises to Jacob and Jacob's covenant status would be forfeit. Jacob "clung to God" and he "prevailed" (Gen. 32:28). Thus Jacob was affirmed in his status, his name was changed to "Israel", and, the rest, as they say, is history.
The clear parables above explicitly teach us that this kind of "desperate prayer" is more part of the ordinary Christian experience than otherwise. Like the desperate widow, there are times when we need to "bang on the doors of heaven." I have learned that sometimes God requires us to pray for particular things that we know are important in His Kingdom, like "create in me a clean heart" or "teach me to love", until such time as we become desperate for them. We start out kind of wishing God would do something... He appears to delay or ignore our petitions... and a certain anxiety sets in. As this situation develops we begin to realize just how important our desire is to us. It becomes a focus of our lives. Prayers are more passionate and more frequent... and then... we get what we asked. It is also my experience that we get far more out of the ordeal than just the end result. We are changed, we are humbled, and, we become grateful.
So, "desperate prayers" are something that we should not fear nor ignore. We should guard against a problem like that of the rich young ruler. He was so comfortable that he didn't really feel desperate, even though he had doubts about inheriting eternal life. If he had been desperate for assurance then he would not have clung to his worldly goods. "Desperate prayers" are the domain and the possession of a people who are keenly aware of the frailty of life and their total dependence on God. They are like little infants who have no strength in themselves but depend wholly and lovingly on God's goodwill.
The joy of such "desperation" is that we know God will never let us down.
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