Pastor from Covenant Bible Church delivers a sermon on Luke 18:1-8, defining prayer as a Trinitarian act aligned with Scripture like the Lord's Prayer. He contrasts the unjust judge in the parable of the persistent widow with God, asserting that while a wicked tyrant yields to persistence, the righteous Judge grants justice speedily to His elect based on Christ's imputed righteousness rather than human eloquence. Referencing the Second London Baptist Confession, he urges believers to pray for magistrates and saints without losing heart, trusting that the Son of Man will find enduring faith among them at His return. [Automatically generated summary]
Transcriber: CohereLabs/cohere-transcribe-03-2026, WAV2VEC2_ASR_BASE_960H, sat-12l-sm, script v26.04.01, and large-v3-turbo
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Reading Today's Text00:03:01
If you've been with us over the last few weeks, you know that we finished our sermon series through the book of Joshua, and we delight to preach through these books of the Bible for this is what we believe is good.
The Apostle Paul instructed Timothy to preach the word in season and out of season, and so we follow these marching orders given by the Apostle Paul.
We preach the word on Sundays.
And so we just finished our series through the book of Joshua, and over the last few weeks, we've been hearing some gospel messages.
Joel preached through Jonah.
As well as John 3, most recently.
And this week we will continue to do so with a specific parable from the Gospel of Luke.
So if you have your Bibles or a copy of the notes in front of you, please direct your attention now to today's text.
This is specifically found in Luke chapter 18, verses 1 through 8.
Once more, this is Luke chapter 18, verses 1 through 8.
And as is our tradition here at Covenant Bible Church, would you join me in standing in reverence for the Word of God?
I'll read the text in its entirety, and then when I conclude reading it, I'll say, This is the word of the Lord, and I'll respond that we, or I will ask that we respond by saying, Thanks be to God.
So this is once more Luke chapter 18, verses 1 through 8.
The Bible says this And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart.
He said, In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected man.
And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, Give me justice against my adversary.
For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself, Though I neither fear God nor respect man, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.
And the Lord said, Hear what the unrighteous judge says.
And will not God give justice to his elect who cry to him day and night?
Will he delay long over them?
I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily.
Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?
This is the word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
You may be seated and join me now as I pray once more.
Father, we thank you for this parable which was told by our Lord.
We thank you that he instructed us in so many ways, and we thank you that as I'll speak in this sermon, the intent of the parable was clear from the outset, Lord.
You taught us to pray persistently and not lose heart.
And so we pray that today's message, Lord, and the scriptures that we will study today will be an encouragement to us, O God.
It seems that our Lord sought to encourage us and his disciples with this parable.
Defining Christian Prayer00:12:24
We thank you, O God, that you are good, that you are gracious, that you are praiseworthy, and that you delight to teach us and show us the way in which we ought to go.
We pray, Lord, that as we look to Christ and have our eyes fixed on him, we would grow in deeper love and appreciation for his mercies.
For his kingly rulership over us, Lord, which is good.
And we pray that as we see the truth as it's expressed in Scripture, we pray that we would delight to do all manner of worship of you, Lord.
For you are fitting, this is proper to worship you, Lord.
And we pray that you'd be glorified in our worship today and that the hearts of your people would be edified by this sermon.
We pray these things in Jesus' name.
Amen.
As I mentioned before, prayer is the subject at hand in today's text and today's sermon.
And so I believe a helpful starting point for us as we consider this text is to look at a definition of prayer which is given by a faithful Christian father.
In his book entitled Prayer, John Bunyan gives us this definition, as he writes Prayer is a sincere, sensible, affectionate pouring out of the heart or soul to God.
Through Christ, in the strength and assistance of the Holy Spirit, for such things as God has promised, or according to his word, for the good of the church, with submission to the will, in faith to the will of God.
Now, I like this definition of prayer because it helps to highlight two key aspects of prayer.
The first is that prayer is a Trinitarian act.
We pray to the Father through Christ by the help of the Holy Spirit, who intercedes for us in our weakness.
This is one of the defining characteristics of prayer and any of the means of grace for that matter.
From the outsider perspective, prayer may seem like an innocent or a helpless practice, but it is far from that.
Even the Christian may be unaware of the unseen realities taking place during prayer.
This is truly remarkable.
When we pray, our prayers are carried into God's presence by Christ Himself and are sanctified by the work of the Holy Spirit.
All of this takes place when we pray.
The second aspect that is highlighted in Bunyan's definition is that the content of Christian prayer should always be in accordance with God's will and purposes for His people.
A defining example of this is found in one of our Lord's most notable teachings on prayer.
Which is found in Matthew chapter 6 and in Luke chapter 11.
Many of you know this particular teaching as the Lord's Prayer.
In Matthew 6, Jesus says, Pray then like this Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
This specific teaching was given by Christ in response to the question, Lord, teach us to pray.
By this teaching, we are to understand that whatever words or petitions fill our prayers, they are to be directed first to God's greatness and holiness and to his purposes, both those that are revealed and those that are secret or hidden.
Many of these purposes are revealed to us, namely, in the Bible, and that is why it is appropriate for us to pray the scriptures.
We learn how to pray by praying the Lord's Prayer.
Or the Psalms, which are Holy Spirit inspired prayers, and fill the content of our prayers with the revealed will of God.
God's revealed will also serves as a guide when we are learning to grapple with his hidden will.
Though some of God's purposes may not be clear to us this side of eternity, the Lord grants us faith to pray this petition Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Such petitions align with God's secret will and help us during those times that we may wrestle with the difficulties of tragedy and those times when God's providence may not be sweet but bitter.
Prayer sets us right and reminds us that all of God's promises are yes and amen in Christ.
You see, these two defining characteristics, which were given by Bunyan and I've hopefully expressed, are crucial for us in our understanding of what Christian prayer is.
And this is because many people may insist that they are praying when they are, in fact, not.
You see, in both of these defining aspects of prayer, the common thread which is found is faith.
Faith in Christ must be present if one is to pray.
Many may be driven to cry out to God for countless reasons, but they are not praying if they are not doing so in faith.
To do so is to pray with a reliance on God's grace for his glory.
So we've seen from just from this opening from God's word what Christian prayer is.
But what else can we learn from the Bible about prayer?
At this point, many of you may be familiar with other teachings regarding prayer found in the scriptures.
In Matthew chapter 6, again, Jesus confronted the Pharisees who used the act of prayer to exalt and commend themselves before others for their righteousness.
What they were engaging in was actually hypocrisy and not righteousness at all.
And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites, for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners.
That they may be seen by others.
Truly I say to you, they have received their reward.
But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret.
And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
Another famous teaching on prayer is found in Philippians chapter 4 and is a favorite among many.
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.
And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts.
And your minds in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4, verses 6 and 7.
In this case, in Philippians 4, prayer with thanksgiving is prescribed whenever we may be plagued with worries or fears.
Paul teaches us not to be anxious about anything, but rather to make prayers to God with thanksgiving, with gratefulness.
In 1 Thessalonians 5, we read, Rejoice always, pray without ceasing.
Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
In these teachings alone, we learn that we are to pray with humility, with gratefulness, and at all times and circumstances.
These are particular teachings we find in the scriptures that mark the spirit of Christian prayer and how it is to be employed.
With these in mind, let us consider one more foundational characteristic which is to mark our prayers and is found in this parable.
Which we look at today.
Christian prayer is marked by, among all things, the believer's persistence in it.
Look back at verse one of our text, which reads And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart.
Herein lies the subject of the text.
This parable emphasizes this specific aspect of prayer that believers ought to be diligent and disciplined to pray often and with perseverance.
When believers pray in accordance with God's will and promises as revealed in Scripture, they have assurance that God will act on these promises on behalf of His chosen children.
And this helps us to pray fervently and often, and we don't see a prayer answered right away, because we are reminded that God has given us not only His promises, but prayer as the means by which He bestows His gracious gifts to us.
In addition to this, our Lord instructs us through this parable not only to pray persistently, but to do so with encouragement, to not lose heart, to pray with optimism, if you will.
We will see this as we discuss the parable more in depth, but at the outset, we can be reminded that the believer has all the hope he or she needs to pray in faith because his or her prayers are always heard by God and answered in accordance with God's fatherly love for his people.
And so, brothers and sisters, as we consider this text, I hope to give you fuel from the Word of God to be people of prayer and to be those that pray persistently.
If we're being quite honest, prayer is not something that comes easy to us.
It's often a difficult discipline, and this is something for myself included.
At points in my life, it's been far easier for me, at least in my mind, to read Scripture or to discuss theology than it has been for me to humble myself before God in prayer.
And so, therefore, I'm sure many of you may measure your level of productivity, significance, and assurance before God based on your self assessment of how much you've been reading or listening to podcasts or how well you can articulate a theological position.
These are wonderful helps to us and are great gifts from God to us.
But sometimes, especially in the reformed camp, prayer may often take a back seat to these particular means of grace.
We might make a strategic plan to finish the institutes or to learn a new trade, but how often do we carve out time in our busy days to pray?
And with today's parable in mind, do we find ourselves praying for the same things with a consistent hope over weeks, months, years, perhaps?
Surely this is, again, not to cast shade upon the means of Bible reading and careful study of solid material.
Oftentimes, faithful Bible study or podcasts about sourdough making, perhaps by Christians, drive us to prayer.
And therein to greater delight and worship of God.
But this parable seeks to confront us with two primary questions.
One, are you praying?
And two, are you faithfully praying over time?
In expositional preaching, I have found that a helpful way to study the scriptures is to do so with the lens of three basic categories.
And at a surface level, we could say that these are the character and nature of God, God's revealed will and actions.
And the response of obedience that he requires of his people.
As we consider our Lord's teaching on prayer from Luke 18, I think it will be helpful for us to examine the parable in light of these guidelines.
From our text, we see first that God is the just judge.
And what has he done?
He has sovereignly elected and saved a people for his own possession.
It is to these that God grants justice speedily.
What then is required of his elect is persistent.
Faithful prayer in all gratitude and assurance.
Prayer comes from a true, genuine heart.
It is aware of the truth of things, such as the state of sin, the need for grace, or God's holiness, perhaps.
The Persistent Poor Widow00:06:51
Prayer is an opening of the heart to God.
And what do we pray for?
For God's will to be accomplished, for His promises to be wrought into our hearts.
We pray in accordance with His word for the good of His people, in all submissiveness.
Through the gift of faith by which he saves us.
And with these things in mind, let us consider our text.
So we begin in the place that all true and right biblical studies begin with the character and nature of God as revealed to us by his word.
In our Lord's parable, we begin with the example of.
He said, In a certain city, there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected man.
And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, Give me justice against my adversary.
These are the two characters which are presented in this parable the judge and the widow.
And from the outside, we are introduced to both.
The judge is somewhat of a rogue judge, you see, neither respecting God, the true judge, or men, those whom the judge was to represent and advocate for.
In view here were subjects, either the judges or a king in whose court the judge was serving.
Regardless, the judge was tasked with representing and administering right and correct judgments in their favor.
One of these particular subjects is the widow, the other character who is found in this parable.
And she resided within the city and was represented by the judge, likely we know from her appeal to him.
From a surface level, we don't have much information as to what wrong was committed against the widow.
But we can tell that she does seek a righteous ruling on her behalf.
We see this from her plea.
She says, Give me justice against my adversary.
And this would seem to clue us in that some wrong had been done to her by her adversary and enemy.
The fact that she petitions for justice would be evidence to this position.
And the judge, being the upholder of justice, was the one to whom such a petition ought to come.
And yet, being neither a respecter of God nor a respecter of man, we see that the judge had failed to uphold the duties which were given to him by God himself.
Consider for a moment what the Second London Baptist Confession of Faith has to say about the duties of civil magistrates.
In chapter 24, it reads God, the supreme Lord and King of all the world, hath ordained civil magistrates to be under him over the people for his own glory and the public good.
And to this end, hath armed them with the power of the sword for defense and encouragement of them that do good and for the punishment of evildoers.
By both human standards as well as God's, we can easily assert the judge in this parable is unjust.
He had been ordained by God and had assumed his role on the bench to do a particular duty.
This judge, by duty of his office and appointment, my God, was to rule for the public good.
Rendering righteous judgments for the defense and encouragement of them that do good and for the punishment of evildoers.
Yet we read the judge neither feared God nor respected man.
He was a judge who was motivated by his own self interest, his own advancement, his own glory.
The judge in our Lord's parable is simply put a wicked tyrant.
Moreover, the fact that it is a widow seeking justice in the judge's court seems to make the situation even more hopeless by human standards.
The widow had no husband, male relative, or lawyer to advocate her case.
There was no mention of any adult children who were able to assist her in her defense.
Being a poor widow, she had no means to bribe the judge, even.
She insists only on obtaining justice.
She staked her claim in the matter on what was fair and right.
She advocated for due process and a fair penalty for her adversary in the situation.
And knowing the character of the unjust judge as revealed in the parable, we can only assume that the widow's chances of obtaining this justice were slim to none due to the judge's impartiality.
But listen to our Lord's words as we read them in verse 6.
And the Lord says, Hear what the unrighteous judge says.
And what does he say?
According to verses 4 and 5, For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself, Though I neither fear God nor respect man, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.
You see, the unrighteous judge is ultimately moved to do his job out of mere annoyance.
We learn that the widow asks repeatedly, continually coming to the judge's court to plead for the justice due her.
The widow is patient.
And persistent, and ultimately beats the judge at the long game.
She wears him down before he can shut her down.
Interestingly enough, her continual coming does not produce a radical heart change in the judge.
He does not begin to fear God or become a respecter of man due to her continual coming, but is moved to fulfill his obligation as a civil magistrate by her continual and constant bothering, he says.
The mere inconvenience of the poor widow's appearance was all it took for the unrighteous judge to grant justice.
And the Lord uses this parable to commend her persistence.
As is so often done in the scriptures, Jesus makes the argument from the lesser to the greater.
If even an unjust judge will do justice to a poor widow, how much more will God?
And if even an unjust judge will grant justice due to that poor widow's persistence, how much more will God?
This is reason for great hope in us, for the Lord's judgments are just.
What grounds do we have to approach God for deliverance?
Because we are His elect.
God Grants Justice Speedily00:03:50
Although we have not earned God's goodwill or favor through anything we have done, He grants it to us graciously through His Son Jesus Christ.
Is He bothered by our continual coming?
He is not.
In fact, the text later says clearly that He will give justice to them speedily.
And so at this point, I want to present you with a few more scriptures which remind us of the gracious character of God, especially as it regards the practice of prayer.
Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers.
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.
James 1 16 and 17.
Ask, and it will be given to you.
Seek, and you will find.
Knock, and it will be opened to you.
For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and the one who knocks it will be opened.
Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone?
Or if he asks for fish, will give him a serpent?
If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who Who asked him?
Matthew 7 7 through 11.
You see, these words ground us and root us in the truth that God not only hears our prayers, but delights to answer them.
When we pray, we are not praying to an unrighteous tyrant, but the Father of lights, who bestows every good and every perfect gift.
And if even earthly fathers provide good gifts to their children when asked, how much more shall we expect from the King of kings, the Lord of the cosmos, who wields all means and possesses all power at his disposal?
These scriptures, in conjunction with today's parable, are meant to encourage us to pray with boldness and humility and to pray often.
What boldness the widow possessed to approach a tyrant for justice and to do so repeatedly.
So forget not that we pray not to a tyrant, but to the Lord, the one whom Jesus taught to address us as our Father.
He is perfectly righteous, unmatched in his holiness and greatness, and yet has promised to act on behalf of his people, his children.
His grace alone is what motivates us to continually pray.
There are times when we may not receive immediate deliverance or be granted a good thing we desire and have been praying for, and this is not due to a deficiency in our prayers or in God's character.
But nevertheless, may we be driven back to prayer.
And be reminded of God's perfect patience and grace as we pray with persistent hope.
In his book, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels, By dint of sheer importunity, which is a fancy word for saying persistence.
If importunity obtains so much from a wicked man, how much more will it obtain for the children of God from the righteous judge, their father in heaven?
Truth Accomplished in Christ00:04:02
So, having this considered the character of God as the righteous judge, let us now consider the truth of what God has accomplished for us in Christ.
The most obvious answer for the Christian is salvation.
He has saved us through his sovereign, unconditional election.
Let us look back at our text and see it there.
Hear what our Lord says in verses 7 and 8.
And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night?
Will he delay long over them?
I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily.
As we have said before, God grants justice to those who cry to him day and night.
And according to the text, who are those who cry to him day and night?
They are the elect.
Therefore, the ultimate subject and recipient of God's justice, Christ says, is those who were predestined graciously before the foundations of the world to believe in him.
Consider for a moment the truths of the gospel God is holy and just.
He is the creator of the heavens and the earth, and perfect and righteous in all that he is and does.
All men are sinners by nature and by choice and stand righteously condemned under the weight of God's just wrath.
God's perfect holiness stands in opposition to all sin and unrighteousness.
And because sin is not just something that we do, but the fallen condition of all men's hearts before God, we stand condemned against God.
But consider God's gracious gift.
He sent Jesus Christ, the perfect.
Eternal, divine Son, who took on flesh and lived the life that you and I were required to live and died the death that we deserved to die.
He died as our substitute in the place of wicked sinners and was then raised to life and is now seated at God's right hand.
He triumphed over death and sin and now grants grace in the gift of faith to his children.
And so, the mark of a true child of God as repentance of sin, as we have done.
And faith towards God.
The Gospel of John says, But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
John 1, verses 12 and 13.
And in Colossians 1, he has delivered up.
So, what has the Lord done?
The Lord has saved those who have faith in his Son.
He chose us in him before the foundations of the world that we should be holy and blameless before him.
The Lord perfectly exercises his sovereign election to justify Christians by the righteousness of God and seal them with the promised Holy Spirit.
As our sanctifier and head, Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her that he might sanctify her.
Having cleansed her by the washing of the water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.
Salvation belongs to the Lord.
In our text, his elect refers to those who are justified by his grace and are kept in his special care.
God Owns His Elect00:06:16
So if you are a Christian, God takes ownership of you.
You are his elect, the text says.
And one of the greatest benefits of your election is God's merciful promise to grant justice to you speedily.
Will he delay long over them?
I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily.
Verses 7 and 8 say This is one great gift that God gives to us as his children among many.
God's promise is here that he will not delay long over us and will grant justice to us speedily, is something to rejoice in.
To delight in.
If even earthly fathers will not give their children stones when they ask for bread, or serpents when they ask for fish, how much more will God give good gifts to us, his beloved and chosen children?
So, the point of this is that first of all, pray.
You have no fear in approaching God in prayer, for he will never give you an evil gift.
God, as our benevolent Father, has already given us all that is needful for us in this life.
And every opportunity that we possess.
Think for a moment about everything good in your life your wife, your husband, your kids, your job, the very breath in your lungs.
Has not all of this been given to you by God Himself?
Like a loving Father, God delights to give us good gifts in life, and especially so when we come to Him asking for these things in prayer.
Secondly, when our prayers are not answered in the timeframe or in the manner in which we had expected, This parable and the underlying promise is helpful to ward off the inherent temptation that we may face to doubt the Lord or to become slack in our prayers.
God has promised that He will grant justice to His elect speedily, that He will not.
And optimism in our prayers.
J.C. Rowell, writing again in his book, Thoughts for Men, Thoughts for Young Men this time, he writes Prayer is the life breath of a man's soul.
Without it, we may have a name to live and be counted Christians, but we are dead in the sight of God.
The feeling that we must cry to God for mercy and peace is a mark of grace, and the habit of spreading before Him our soul's wants is an evidence that we have the spirit of adoption.
The Christian, God's elect, is marked by this fervent desire to pray, to converse with God.
And as you make progress in the Christian life, may this refresh you that even the most feeble prayers are reminders of your election, of your adoption.
And as this bolsters you in faith and in hope, may we be a people who are marked by humble, hopeful prayers.
And so, in light of God's sovereign grace, let us consider what this parable is.
Requires of us in Christian obedience.
As we remind ourselves each and every Sunday, God's people are marked by a grateful desire to walk in God's commandments because of his unconditional election.
The imperative present in today's parable motivates us to one specific sort of Christian obedience.
And this is found again in verse 1.
And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart.
In light of God's character as the perfectly just and righteous judge who grants justice speedily, the elect ought to be marked by a spirit of persistent prayer with all gratitude and assurance.
As fuel for us in this endeavor, let us consider a few more scriptures which are given for our encouragement and speak of the believer's privileges in prayer.
These have granted me assurance in my prayers, and I pray that they do to you as well.
But I call to God, and the Lord will save me.
Evening and morning and at noon, I utter my complaint and moan, and he hears my voice.
Psalm 55, verses 16 and 17.
I cried aloud to the Lord, and he answered me from his holy hill.
Psalm 3, verse 4.
The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord, but the prayer of the upright is acceptable to him.
Proverbs 15, verse 8.
And the eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous and his ears toward their cry.
Psalm 34, verse 15.
When our feelings and our circumstances may tell us otherwise, we must be driven to trust the testimony which is given to us in God's word.
These promises in Scripture are given to those who are God's elect children.
They remind us that whenever and wherever we might find ourselves humbled in prayer, in those quiet, solitary moments, Or when praying with your family or a close Christian friend, or when praying corporately with God's people in church or in the town square, God hears those cries with perfect attention and answers them from his holy hill.
If you ever find yourself tempted by your own sin or supposed unworthiness, remind yourself that Jesus bore these sins in his body on the cross.
Christ bore our condemnation there, and for it, his cries to God were not heard in that dreadful hour.
And about the ninth hour, Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lemma sabachthani.
Faith Filled Prayers00:09:32
We might be motivated to pray.
Who are the Lord's eyes and ears toward?
The righteous.
And whose prayer is acceptable to God?
The uprights.
You see, your prayers are not heard because you pray eloquently or because you have somehow mustered up enough faith to garner the attention of Almighty God.
You and I are heard because we have the imputed righteousness of God in Christ.
And moreover, we should be encouraged that the very act of prayer and our persistence in it. Is not ultimately left to us.
It is a gracious work of God's Spirit in the hearts of His people.
And the Holy Spirit will see to it that our prayers are sanctified and held up in importunity.
Reading from John Bunyan once more in his book on prayer, he writes As the heart must be lifted up by the Spirit if it pray aright, so also it must be held up by the Spirit when it is up, if it is to continue to pray aright.
And so, what kind of things ought we to be making persistent prayers for?
The parable before us today would remind us that seeking justice in the civil matter is certainly something Christians ought to be praying for.
Our parable brings to mind texts such as those found in 1 Timothy 2.
First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life.
Godly and dignified in every way.
We are to pray for our civil leaders that they may rule righteously.
The reason given in this text for these types of prayers to be made is so that Christians may lead peaceful and godly lives.
And this would require such leaders to rule and enact legislation which esteems goodness, virtue, and Christian morality.
We are also to pray for fellow Christians everywhere.
The Apostle Paul writes to this end in his epistle to the Ephesians praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication.
To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints.
We are also to pray persistently for diligence in the war against the flesh, that God would continually bring about his work of sanctification in us by mortifying the sin that still remains.
We are to pray for our children.
To make supplications for God's blessing in our work, for the salvation of our unbelieving family members, and for God to grant us courage to be found faithful in the day and the age and the time in which we live.
At times, it is even permissible and right to pray for the just destruction of the ungodly.
These are just a few examples that we find in the scriptures.
Through this parable, our Lord reminds us that because of our place in his kingdom, We are to strive in our prayers for such things with a persistent optimism, keeping our eyes on Christ Himself.
And so, therefore, Covenant Bible Church, we pray and are reminded by our Lord to be persistent in it and to not lose heart, because God Himself is the just judge, acting righteously and administering justice swiftly to us and to His saints.
I hope and pray that you are more assured today that your prayers are heard by the Lord and you are encouraged.
To continue more and more in this precious grace.
As we close, I want to consider our Lord's final statement, which is found in the parable, and it's found at the end of verse 8.
This phrase is written, Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?
This phrase may seem to be out of place at the end of the parable, but I want to encourage you with its meaning.
Interestingly, this parable, which is found at the beginning of Luke chapter 18, comes directly after a teaching that our Lord provides to.
His contemporaries on the coming of the kingdom of God, which is found previously in Luke 17 at the end of that chapter.
In that teaching, he likened the days which were to come with the days of Noah and the days of Lot, times in which it seemed as if unrighteousness were abounding.
But yet, God's gracious outworking of his covenant promise to Adam and Eve was unfolding even in those days.
Similarly, when we see evil in our day, what kind of attitude should we?
Possess.
Should a Christian react with griping or with despair?
These words from our Lord in Luke 18 would seem to suggest the contrary.
When faced with unrighteousness, tyranny, or a reminder of the curse of living in a fallen world, we should be reminded of this parable and be a people who respond with diligent, faith filled prayers.
In the same way that the widow did not allow her circumstances to detract from her unwavering quest.
For justice, we the people of God should be striving to be those who pray that all of Christ's enemies will be put under his feet once and for all.
One psalm I have found encouraging in this is Psalm 37, which reads Do not fret because of those who are evil or be envious of those who do wrong.
For like the grass, they will soon wither.
Like green plants, they will soon die away.
Trust in the Lord and do good.
Dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.
Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.
The believer's attitude, you see, is not one of fretting or envying the wicked and his present prosperity.
In fact, our Lord told this parable so that we might pray all the more and not lose heart.
The believer is confident in the end of all things and knows that today's faithful obedience will beget a blessing in future generations.
We will reap a harvest if we do not give up.
Once more, reading from J.C. Ryle, he says, Have we faith ourselves?
If we have, let us bless God for it.
It is a great thing to believe all the Bible.
It is a matter for daily thankfulness if we feel our sins and really trust in Jesus.
We may be weak, frail, erring, shortcoming sinners, but do we believe?
That is the grand question.
If we believe, we shall be saved.
But he that believeth not shall not see life.
And shall die in his sins.
Will Christ find faith on earth when he returns?
For those in Christ, the answer will be yes.
Our belief in Christ, our trusting of his promises, and our persistent prayer were purchased at Calvary.
Christ will find faith in those whom he granted it to.
On the other hand, many will be found to be faithless at Christ's return.
Those who are not saved by grace.
Through faith in Christ, will be condemned under God's just wrath.
But take heart today, Christian.
If you are counted righteous through faith in Christ this morning, Christ will find faith in you.
And that is reason to pray persistently.
Let's pray.
Father, we thank you for your word, which again is such a guide unto us, Lord, such an imperative that we would pray and pray often would be so crushing, Lord, if we were not reminded of the grace that comes for us in Christ.
I myself, and I know that many others, we are marked by often that spirit of unworthiness or feeling that our prayers are feeble or not enough, Lord, or that we become discouraged or slack in our prayers.
And yet, all the more, Christ encourages us to pray persistently and to take heart in the matter.
This is because you are sovereign and good, and you have saved us according to Christ's righteousness.
And so, as we remember this parable, would we remember that Christ has saved us?
We are those who are classified as his elect.
And because you have purchased us and given us faith that we have been saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, may we delight to respond with obedience to you, Lord.
And would this parable direct us, O God, to grateful, persistent, humble, and joyful prayers, Lord?
Would we do this today?
Would we do this tomorrow?
And would we do this over time?
Let us be marked by those who pray, O God.
We love you, we treasure you, we need you, and we pray all of these things for your glory and our good.