Week 2, Day 5

Today’s Reading:  Luke 19-20

Some thoughts from yesterday’s reading…

Luke chapter 18 has a couple of parables that are focused on prayer.  Prayer, I believe, is often an overlooked blessing.  God has made it possible for us to talk to Him, no matter what circumstances we might have in our lives.  These parables are designed to help believers know how they “always ought to pray and not lose heart.”

The first parable speaks of a widow who came to a judge asking for justice from her adversary.  The judge did not “fear God nor regard man,” and yet he was willing to listen to this widow because of her persistence.  She was willing to come back to him time and again until he was willing to do what she asked just so that she would not continually pester him.  The application, as made by Jesus, was that God will bring about justice for His elect who cry out to Him day and night.  He does not require the constant “pestering” that the judge required, but was willing to do for His children what they ask of Him.

The second parable is one that most of us are very familiar with.  It is the prayer of the Pharisee and the tax collector.  The Pharisee was boisterous, and boastful in his prayer–”I thank God that I am not like other people…”  But, the tax collector on the other hand, drew no attention to himself.  He stood a great distance away, and would not even lift up his eyes to heaven.  he asked God to be merciful to him, identifying himself as a sinner.  Of course, the second man was accepted by God–he was able to go up to his house justified.

These two parables give us two very important aspects of prayer.  First, God wants us to ask Him for what we need.  He doensn’t need for us to ask–He knows even before we ask.  However, He still wants us to ask!  Consider the example at the end of chapter 18.  A blind man was crying out to Jesus, asking for Him to have mercy on him.  When he gained an audience with Jesus, we do not see Jesus just automatically heal him.  First, Jesus asked the man what he wanted.  Jesus wanted the man to ask!  Do you think Jesus knew what was wrong with the man, and even what he wanted by coming to Him?

Let’s make sure to learn from these parables.  Make application to your own prayer life.  Be persistent in your prayers.  Be humble in your prayers, and in life in general.  We can enjoy the great blessing of prayer and show our reliance on our Father in Heaven!

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