According to John Piper, in his sermon Always Pray and Do Not Lose Heart, the parable of the persistent widow and the unjust judge is really a conclusion to the discussion about the end times.
As we wait for Christ's return we are faced with two dangers - that the lure of sin will cause us to be like Lot's wife who loved the world, and that the sheer ordinariness of everyday life will blunt our sensitivity to God's kingdom - two different extremes but with the same results - being unable to persevere to the end. Therefore, the question is, how can we endure to the end without losing faith and love?
And the answer is pray, pray, pray and do not lose heart.
Piper has some pretty harsh words to say on the topic....
If you are saying to yourself that daily earnest prayer for more power to live a fruitful life of Christ-likeness is only for spiritual heavyweights, and that you intend to make your way to heaven without such pious excesses, then you are greatly deceived. Somewhere along the way someone has put the deadly, unbiblical teaching into your head that you can be saved even if you don't persevere in prayer. But you can't. First, because without persevering prayer, faith and love become lukewarm, and we saw last week that lukewarm faith does not save. Second, because Jesus commands us in Luke 18:1 always to pray and not to lose heart. Therefore, prayerlessness is disobedience. And if we do not repent and begin to pray as Jesus taught us, we will not be saved. For Hebrews 5:9 says, "He became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him."
Why should we pray and not lose heart?
Because if we don't pray and we do lose heart, our faith will wither and we will not persevere to the Second Coming.
Because God is NOT like the unjust judge, He loves us and will vindicate us who cry out to Him day and night.
And because He has commanded us to.
Always pray. Do not lose heart.
Tomorrow's passage: Luke 18:9-30, Mark 10:1-31, Matthew 19:1-30
No comments:
Post a Comment