Luke 18:1-8
The Parable of the Persistent Widow
1 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 about men. 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 about men, 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!' "
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 11:9-13
Ask God
9 "So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.
11 "Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? 12 Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 13 If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!"
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
Pray Without Ceasing
16 Rejoice always, 17 pray continually, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
Jesus believed in prayer...He was often in prayer...This should not surprise us...Prayer is our soul and our heart talking to God's heart...Prayer is the most intimate conversation we have...And this intimate conversation is with our Father in heaven...Prayer is our connection to our Father and His Son...Jesus taught His Twelve Disciples how to pray and prayer became a part of their lifestyle...He teaches both them and us that we should always pray and never give up in our prayers...St. Paul tells us to pray continually, or to pray continually...And I believe Jesus actually did this, He was constantly praying and He never ceased in His praying to His Father...
When I pray, sometimes my prayers are trivial and are of lesser import than those of Jesus...Jesus' prayers were important, eloquent, and sincere...When He prayed He knew what He wanted...He was perfect in prayer...They were the best of prayer...
God created us...He made us to worship Him...When we pray to Him, we are acknowledging this...When we start or say in some of our prays Father, or my Father in heaven, we are also acknowledging that He is in control...And although we may not realize this (while we are praying), it is an incomplete person, a sinner asking or confessing to the Complete One who has the answer and One who needs no confession...Since God is over all things when we pray, and knows all things when we pray we are not changing His mind...If our pray is good for us and the world and it is His will, then the prayer will get granted...We do not know what is good for this world, in the sense that we do not know how our prayer affects everyone and everything...We also do not know God's will...God is not in time or confined by time...God is in eternity...God knows how every cause impacts the effect...God knows everything that has happened in and will happen in our lives...For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future...Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you...You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart (Jeremiah 29:11-13)...When we pray, God listens to our prayers...
So although our prays will not be perfect, we are connected to God in our prayers...Through God's grace we are given His attention (the attention of Him and His Son, the two most important entities on earth and heaven)...God is our Father and we are His sons and daughters...He wants us to pray...“If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish? Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”...
So first we must ask...That is all ask and it will be given...If we ask and still do not understand, look around and seek, then pray again...If we still do not see, then we should knock...Jesus teaches us to pray and be persistent in our prayers...Keep praying...If we ask for bread, He is not going to give us a stone...
In prayer we have access to the most outstanding Man who ever walked the earth...When I think of intelligent and wise men in the Bible, I think of Solomon, Elijah, Paul, and of course Jesus...The wisest of these is the Son of God, because He came from above...Jesus teaches us how to pray, about prayer, and to be persistent in prayer...When we need something and looking for help, should we not first seek the wisest of all Men?...Shouldn't we leave our choice with Him, isn't that why we are praying?...Shouldn't we not ask (for help and help in our decisions) the Man that graced the earth with the Truth, when we are in trouble?...He never fails...
Our prayers keep us connected to the Father and to the Son...Jesus is named Immanuel which means God with us (Matthew 1:23)...We are connected with God through Immanuel...When Jesus ascended to heaven God sent the Holy Spirit... Jesus tells us we are better off with Him leaving and the Holy Spirit coming...It is for your good that I AM going away...Unless I go away, the Holy Spirit will not come to you...Unless I go away the Holy Spirit will not come to you, but if I go away, I will send the Holy Spirit to you (John 16:7)...It is God's plan for Jesus to leave the earth and send the Holy Spirit to us...The Holy Spirit is a gift from God...This gift is so much better than any good gift we have ever received...The Holy Spirit that God gives us keeps us connected...We must listen for this connection...We need this connection...