"At All Times They Ought to Pray" (Luke 18:1)
By Jon W. Quinn (Reprinted from The Expository Files:
http://www.geocities.com/w_berkley)
There are five examples of men and women praying in the eighteenth
chapter of Luke. There is the widow (vs. 3); a Pharisee (vs. 10);
a publican (vs. 10); a ruler (18) and a blind beggar (38). All
of these are seen making petitions of Deity, with the exception
of the first, who is a character in a parable which Jesus uses
to teach some lessons about praying to God. The chapter begins
with these words: "Now He was telling them a parable to show
that at all times they ought to pray and not lose heart."
(Luke 18:1).
There is simply no excuse not to pray. It is foolish to belittle
prayer's rightful place in our lives. The Supreme Court of the
United States may still swear in the president by calling upon
him to place his right hand on a Bible, but they have also interpreted
the Constitution to say that it requires that public schools not
sanction religion by allowing a special time for prayer as the
school day begins, or at graduation ceremonies, or at special
times of tragedy. (No, don't ask me how they can consistently
still use the Bible at the swearing in ceremonies or allow a clergyman
to pray at the opening of congress. If someone knows why school
prayer is a breach of the constitution but congressional prayer
is not, please clue me in). But actually, it is not illegal to
pray in school. Supposedly, its legality hinges upon who sponsors
the prayer.
Anyway, it is much more important to see what Jesus said about
prayer than what the Supreme Court has said about it. Every judge
that has ever presided over any human court will one day stand
before the judgment seat of Christ, as will you and I (2 Corinthians
5:10). Jesus said, concerning man, that "at all times they
ought to pray, and not lose heart."
Men and Women Ought to Pray
"...to show that at all times THEY ought to pray and
not lose heart." (Luke 18:1). Man, created in the image of
God, ought to be looking up. The Psalmist asked, "What is
man, that Thou dost take thought of him? And the son of man, that
Thou dost care for him? Yet Thou hast made him a little lower
than the angels, And dost crown him with glory and majesty."
(Psalm 8:3,4).
The creation and fall are recorded in the first three chapters
of Genesis. There we find that man bears the image of God in his
spirit. We are His offspring. We find that as a consequence of
disobedience, men and women become estranged from God, lost in
a fallen world. We also find that God promises to provide a way
back, an undoing of what sin had done.
What was promised back in the third chapter of Genesis is now
an accomplished fact. The way has been provided through Jesus,
the Son of God. God "desires all men to be saved and to come
to the knowledge of truth. For there is one God, and one mediator
also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus." (1 Timothy
2:4,5). Face it, we need help to be faithful disciples, and prayer
provides a part of what we need. If Jesus felt the need to pray,
then certainly we are in need of the same. THEY (we) ought to
pray.
Prayer Should be Constant
"...that AT ALL TIMES they ought to pray and not lose
heart." (Luke 18:1). Life does not stop. There are constant
reasons to pray, and certainly prayer itself is of such a nature
that you can hardly think of something more convenient. You can
pray at any time (i.e. 1:30 AM), dressed in any way (i.e. overalls
and baseball cap), at any place ( i.e. the Bolivian jungle), under
any circumstances (i.e. it is storming and you are lost), for
any length of time (i.e. a few seconds or an hour) and with any
posture (i.e. climbing a tree).
There are so many reasons to pray. Paul told brethren to "pray
without ceasing" (1 Thessalonians 5:17). This means to have
a constant attitude of prayer. We are to pray for wisdom (James
1:5-8), for the giving of thanks (1 Timothy 4:4,5), for making
requests (Philippians 4:6), for forgiveness (Matthew 6:12) and
many other things. A good example of how easy it ought to be
to pray is found when the king asked Nehemiah what was troubling
him. There, in the throne room, surrounded by the court of King
Artaxerxes, Nehemiah records, "Then the king said to me,
'What would you request?' So I prayed to the God of heaven. And
I said to the king, 'If it please the king..." (Nehemiah
2:4,5). It must have been a short prayer since the circumstances
would not have allowed for a longer one. Why shouldn't the busy
days of our lives be filled with similar prayers, short and to
the point, addressing a present need? There will be time, later,
at home and in private, for the longer variety. We ought to pray
AT ALL TIMES.
Prayer is the Right Thing to Do
"...that at all times they OUGHT to pray and not lose
heart." (Luke 18:1). The reason men and women ought to
pray is because we need to be in fellowship with the very source
of our being. When we lose that, we tend to become like the other
creatures of this world; creatures of instinct incapable of making
moral decisions (2 Peter 2:12-14). This tragedy is being seen
in our streets today.
Those who are disciples of Christ ought to pray because Jesus
did. We need the same things Jesus needed (and more) and received
when He prayed. But also, those who are not disciples need to
begin to search for God. Jesus promised, "seek and you shall
find." The Holy Spirit tells us that the unbeliever is without
excuse, because the invisible things of God are evident through
the things He has made. They should have sought out the true and
living God instead of substituting gods of their own to worship
(Romans 1:18-23). Paul pointed out that God is not far away from
each one of us, and that if we seek we can find Him (Acts 17:27,28).
With Cornelius, his successful search began with prayer. So have
many others. We OUGHT to pray.
Prayer Defined
"...that at all times they ought to PRAY and not lose
heart." (Luke 18:1). Prayer unto God consists of making
requests, offering thanksgiving as well as the giving of praise.
Prayer from the heart benefits the one who is praying and should
not be thought of as a favor we are doing for God. We pray because
we need Him, not because He needs us!
There are several principles we must follow for our prayers to
be what they ought to be: First, our prayers must be in Jesus'
name (Colossians 3:17) which simply means offered to God through
Him because He is the only mediator (1 Timothy 2:5). We must pray
in faith without doubting (James 1:6,7) and our prayers must be
according to His will (1 John 5:14; James 4:13-15). We must be
earnest in our prayers, and we must be seeking to live righteously
ourselves (JAMES 5:16). We must pray that the Father's will be
done in all things, even if it means answering our requests with
a "no" (Matthew 26:39; 2 Corinthians 12:7-10). If we
are to expect God to forgive us when we pray, then we must be
willing to forgive others (Matthew 6:14). Two good examples of
prayer: Jesus' model prayer (Matthew 6:9-13) and the disciples'
prayer after Peter and John's release (Acts 4:24-30). We ought
to PRAY at all times.
Prayer and Strength
"...that at all times they ought to pray and NOT LOSE
HEART." (Luke 18:1). This phrase means not to faint or to
grow despondent. To "lose heart" is the opposite of
to endure or to remain steadfast. The parable which accompanies
this admonition suggests that persistence in prayer pays off.
The point: regardless of circumstances, do not ever stop praying.
If things are going well, we might become self-satisfied and not
pray as we ought. If things appear hopeless, we might give up.
Jesus admonishes us to always keep on praying, through good times
and bad. There is moral, emotional and spiritual strength to be
found in prayer. As Jesus found courage through prayer in the
garden as He faced His crucifixion, let us follow His example
as well as His teaching: "...that at all times they ought
to pray and not to lose heart."
Not Good Enough to Go to Church? By Carlos Aquilar
(Reprinted from the Oroville Church of Christ website: http://www.churchofchristoroville.com)
Have you thought you would feel like a hypocrite if you attended church? The true Christian is quick to tell you he/she is not "perfect." The true Christian does not have a "holier than thou" attitude. True Christians know that they are saved by the grace of God. They realize that the Bible says, "If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us" (1 John 1:9). Furthermore, the true Christian knows that they can (and do) fall short of the glory of God's grace. Therefore, they must rely on God's forgiveness and His Word that brings comfort and encouragement. The Bible teaches that God hates sin, but loves the sinner. Come learn more about God's saving grace through faith. Come worship with us.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT (Selected from The Beacon)
"Hate is like acid. It can damage the vessel in which it is stored as well as destroy the object on which it is poured."
"Temper is what gets most of us into trouble. Pride is what keeps us there."
"Hot words never resulted in cool judgment."
"When a man is wrong and won't admit it, he always becomes angry."
MONTHLY BIBLE READING: Lessons the Disciples Learned - Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
GOSPEL MEETING: Our winter meeting will be held during the week of February 15-20, 2004. Sunday night through Friday night. Services will be held at 6:00 PM on Sunday and 7:30 PM each weekday evening. It will once again be our pleasure to have Robert Harkrider as our guest speaker each evening.
QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS
BIBLE INSIGHT is published for the members of, and visitors to,
the Church of Christ at Beverly Shores, Leesburg, Florida, USA.
Carey Dillinger is the editor. He can be reached at the church
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