Jesus Speaks to the Heart of the Disciples

Luke 18:1 in the New Living Translation says, "One day Jesus told His disciples a story to illustrate their need for constant prayer and to show them that they must never give up." Jesus knew what was ahead for the disciples. Jesus understood the path before them was going to be very difficult; and, He was preparing them for the time when He would leave but would send them the Comfortor.

Jesus understood the importance of the disciples knowing how to persist in prayer. Isn't that what prayer is sometimes? Persistence! Pushing your way through what seems to be silence. The illustration that Jesus used was not only to demonstrate to them the importance of constant prayer, but to "show them that they must never give up."

We are prone to quitting, especially when it comes to the spiritual disciplines. Maybe, Jesus understood our nature better then we ourselves do? Another verse says, the "spirit is willing but the flesh is weak."

What I hear in the words of Jesus is, "the way may become difficult, you may pray and feel like your prayers are not being heard, you may feel like you are between a rock and a hard place." And He continues to say, "but keep on praying, keep on believing, and never give up.!"

This is today,

Pastor Gary