Luke - Hold fast

Luke 18:1-8, "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 parable is extremely near and dear to my heart. I must learn to pray and not lose heart. Because sometimes this world simply beats you up and it is very easy to not pray and completely lose heart.

During this time of waiting I find myself balancing on a fence. On one side there is complete trust and fervent prayer, on the other side is unbelief, fear and hindered prayers. I find myself swaying back and forth on any given day.

There are times when I sit down to pray and the words won't come out. The cries in my heart just can't be expressed. Some are too deep, some are too shallow, and some just seem like a broken record. Honestly, how many times can you ask God to provide for you before you feel like a totally idiot wimp something? Because in my mind the more I ask the more it seems I don't trust.

But then Jesus tells his disciples to be like the persistent widow, with God. To ask and not stop asking until you receive justice. Yeah, but my need for financial provision is not a matter of justice. I know of many other things that need my prayers for justice {justice for widows, justice for orphans, justice for those sold into slavery, justice for the poor, justice for the single mom, justice for...}.

Jesus ends the parable with His ever present double edged sword. He says, "And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry out 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 the earth?" Jesus promises that God will quickly answer the cries of His people when they continually cry out to Him. But God's timing is not our timing. Quickly for God might be a long wait for us.

So when the wait seems long and it seems God is delaying what will the answer to His question be? Will the Son of Man find faith on the earth in your heart? Will your faith hold when the wait seems long?

I believe, Lord help my unbelief.
~Nicole