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THE THRONE MATTERS TO GOD!
Reading Luke Ch. 18v1-8.
Preached by Ken Humphries, Cookstown Baptist Church N.I.
INTRODUCTION:
Martyn Lloyd-Jones once wrote:
"Prayer is beyond any question the highest activity of the human soul. Man is at his highest when upon his knees he comes face to face with God." (Studies in the Sermon on the Mount).
This from Dr. John MacArthur:
"The essence of prayer is simply talking to God as you would to a beloved friend-without pretence or flippancy. Yet it is in that very attitude toward prayer so many believers have trouble.
Because communion with God is so vital and prayer so effective in the fulfillment of God's plan, the enemy attempts constantly to introduce errors into our understanding of and commitment to prayer. Every generation faces the necessity to reprioritise and purify a corrupted or confused perception of prayer. For many, prayer has been replaced with pragmatic action. Function overrides fellowship with God; busyness crowds out communication. For others, prayer lacks a sense of awe and respect. Their efforts are flippant, disrespectful, and irreverent. Then there are those who believe prayer is designed to make demands and claims on God. They attempt to force him to do what they believe he should do for them. Finally, for some prayer is nothing more than a routine ritual.
You may hold prayer with the utmost respect, yet you find your own practice lacks purpose and vitality, so you don’t spend time with God like you know you should. While there many reasons Christians struggle to pray, I believe there is one overriding factor." End quote.
Dr. MacArthur then quotes Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones. This is powerful!
"It is the highest activity of the human soul, and therefore it is at the same time the ultimate test of a man's true spiritual condition. There is nothing tells the truth about us as Christian people so much as our prayer life…Ultimately, therefore, a man discovers the real condition of his spiritual life when he examines himself in private, when he is alone with God…And have we not all known what it is to find that, somehow, we have less to say to God when we are alone than when we are in the presence of others? It should not be so; but it often is. So that it is when we have left the realm of activities and outward dealings with other people, and are alone with God, that we really know where we stand in a spiritual sense". (Studies in the Sermon on the Mount)
It is a great problem with us as a Christian body of people that we have so little to say to our wonderful God; therefore we spend such little amounts of time with him, or just don’t bother taking time alone with him at all.
My brothers and sisters, the Throne, or prayer matters to God, it should therefore matter to us.
Dr. Vance Havner quotes the missionary Frazer!
"It is one of the most subtle wiles of the foe to get us occupied with superficial and surface concerns. For example, book selling, language study, running mission stations, report writing, correspondence, account keeping, building repairs, buying things, and even reading etc. etc. etc. Although these are all very necessary we can get tied up in trivial matters to the exclusion of seeking the best God has for us. And of course the enemy is delighted to see it so!" End quote.
A young pastor recently inducted into his first church expressed similar sentiments. "I am not a shepherd of the flock; I am a slave to inconsequential details." End quote.
And my brothers and sisters, it is the best God has for us we should be looking for, whatever the cost.
Well pastor, how do we find the best God has for us you reply!
Beloved I believe our text gives a very clear answer to our question
Follow as we read together!
And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;
Saying, There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man:
And there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary.
And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man;
Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.
And the Lord said, hear what the unjust judge saith.
And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them?
I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?
"And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;"
As artists give themselves to their models, and poets to their classical pursuits, so must we addict ourselves to prayer. End quote.
Charles Haddon Spurgeon.
As the dear Saviour instructs his disciples here he is saying, if you would pray with impact and effect you must display a persistence, a perseverance, in prayer. Sadly, many of us who profess the name of Christ as Saviour and Lord don’t get serious about prayer until a problem occurs in our own lives or in the life of a loved one. Then we are inclined to pray intently, specifically, and with a measure of persistence. But the Lord Jesus is instructing his disciples here that that should be our attitude to prayer at all times. The apostle Paul puts it like this in Ephesians 6v18.
"Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;"
The Greek word translated "perseverance" is from "proskartereo", a compound word made up of "kartereo" ("to be steadfast" or "to endure") and an added preposition that intensifies the meaning. The verb means "to be courageously persistent," "to hold fast and not let go." It is used of Moses' faithful endurance when he led the children of Israel out of Egypt (Heb. 11v27).
To be devoted to prayer is to earnestly, courageously, and persistently bring everything, especially the needs of others, before God. Sensitivity to the problems and needs of others, including other believers who are facing trials and hardships, will lead us to pray for them "night and day" as Paul did for Timothy (2 Tim. 1v3). This from Dr. John MacArthur.
The Lord Jesus knew the power of prayer. He knew that we would need power in prayer to live fruitful lives for His Glory. So he gives us the story of this Widow and the Unjust Judge.
Notice, how she keeps coming again and again with her petition, she is not easily going to give up with her request. Obviously she has an enemy who is trying to get away from her what is rightfully hers. "Grant me justice against my adversary," she said. But this was a hot-headed, hardhearted man she was dealing with. He had no fear of God and cared nothing about men. Those who came before him came in fear and trembling unless they were able to offer some bribe.
But this widow came, and kept coming and would not stop coming until her petition was heard; she would not easily give up. I believe beloved that is how God would have us come. Remember Isaiah 62v6-7.
"I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, which shall never hold their peace day nor night: ye that make mention of the LORD, keep not silence, and give him no rest, till he establish, and till he make Jerusalem a praise in the earth."
Now that’s the kind of persistence our God appreciates.
In Isaiah 62 God's will is to make his people a praise to his glory. Indeed this is always God's will for his people at any time.
It certainly was His desire for Israel. Isaiah 62v1.
"For Zion's sake I will not keep silent, for Jerusalem's sake I will not remain quiet, till her righteousness shines out like the dawn, her salvation like a blazing torch."
It is evident for all of to see that God's desire for Jerusalem and all Israel was that they should show forth His glory through their daily living.
This is also God's will for the church today. Ephesians 1v12.
"That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted Christ."
It is still God's desire for the church today to be a praise to His glory. That is His will for us. That is His will for the church. He desires that we glorify Him through the church. So the people of God in the Old Testament were called to pray to that end. We today would be wise to do the same.
When we do so, we are praying according to the will of God. God desires that His church be a glorious church. He desires that through our good works we might glorify Him. He desires for the church to bear fruit, much fruit, fruit that remains, in order that He might be glorified. He desires to see people saved, delivered, and filled with His Spirit.
The key to prayer is praying according to the will of God. For prayer to be effective, it must be the kind of prayer that first seeks to discover the will of God. Then we must commit ourselves to pray according to that will. That kind of praying will be effective praying.
What is God’s will for your life? What is God’s will for this church? Are you taking the time to discover that will? Are you taking the time to pray according to what God desires for His church?
And are you persistent in that prayer? Isa. 62v7. It is God, who, reminds us through his servant Isaiah, we are to give Him no rest until he make us a praise in the earth. Ladies and gentlemen, that will take persistent prayer.
"As it is the business of tailors to make clothes and of cobblers to mend shoes, so it is the business of Christians to pray." Martin Luther.
"Avenge me of my adversary."
She had a very clear and precise request in mind! She knew what she wanted and very clearly presented her petition to the judge. She would make sure the judge knew exactly what her request was.
The Apostle Paul presses us to "devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it" Col. 4v2. He even went as far as warning the Ephesians in 6v18 to "be on the alert with all perseverance and petition" as they prayed. Why? Well not only is there the command to stay awake physically, but believers should be alert to what they must be praying about. We sometimes pray such vague, general prayers that are difficult for God to answer because they do not really ask for anything specific. That's why precise prayer is so important!
While its true, general praying can be appropriate in certain instances, it is through His answers to precise prayers that we see God put his love and power on public display. The promise the Lord Jesus made was very precise in
John 14v13-14.
"Whatever you ask in my name, that will I do, that the father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it."
Peter learned that glorious truth from his own failure to stay awake in the past when he penned 1 Peter 4v7.
"Be of sound judgement and sober spirit for the purpose of prayer."
Believers who have cultivated the habit of prayer do so because of their specific, precise concerns and desires of heart. It's when you are alert and wide awake to the problems and needs of other believers you can pray about them with meaning and sincerity of heart. But when you do, then you can be on the look out for the answer God sends, rejoicing when it comes, which in turn must lead to praise and thanksgiving.
An intercessor means one who is in such vital contact with God and with his fellowmen that he is like a live wire closing the gap between the saving power of God and the sinful men who have been cut off from that power. Hannah Hurnard.
It is without doubt, in our reading of God's Wonderful Word that we discover the real preciseness of prayer.
Prayer releases God's power Acts 1v14.
Prayer reveals God's secrets Daniel 2v14.
Prayer replenishes God's church Acts 4v32.
Prayer repels God's adversary James 4v7.
Prayer reclaims God's ground Zechariah 3v1-7.
Prayer renews God's people Job 42v10.
Specific, or precise prayer can revolutionise your own prayer life. When we start praying specifically and precisely, God begins to encourage us with specific, precise answers to our prayers which in turn gets us excited about the wonderful power of prayer and strengthens our faith in God. It’s then we begin to believe with a full heart and that cursed unbelief gets left far behind.
It’s then, others become infected and enthused by what is happening in our lives and find a desire building on the inside of themselves for the same kind of thing to happen. Dear folks, can you imagine a church this size, and all of us with this kind of goal, praying with specific prayers and seeing answer to those prayers. What an amazing impact we would have on this town and surrounding area.
Don't pray when you feel like it. Have an appointment with the Lord and keep it. A man is powerful on his knees. Corrie ten Boom.
3. Here Is Prayer That Is Passionate!
The greatest danger to persistent, precise prayer is the habit of performance without passion.
Puritan pastor John Preston captures the essence of this danger in these words:
"If it is performed in a formal or customary and overly manner, you would be as good to omit it altogether; for the Lord takes our prayers not by number but by weight. When it is an outward picture, a dead carcass of prayer, when there is no life, no fervency in it, God does not regard it. Do not be deceived in this, it is a very common deception. It may be a man's conscience would be upon him, if he should omit it altogether. Therefore, when he does something, his heart is satisfied, and so he grows worse and worse. Therefore, consider that the very doing of the duty is not that which the Lord heeds, but he will have it so performed that the end may be obtained and that the thing for which you pray may be effected.
If a man sends his servant to go to such a place, it is not his going to and fro that he regards, but he would have him to dispatch the business. So it is in all other works. He does not care about the formality of performance, but he would have the thing so done that it be of use to him. If you send a servant to make a fire for you, and he goes and lays some green wood together and puts a few coals underneath, this is not to make a fire for you. He must either get dry wood, or he must blow until it burns and is fit for use.
So when your hearts are unfit, when they are like green wood, when you come to warm them and to quicken them by prayer to God, it may be you post over this duty, and leave your hearts as cold and distempered as they were before.
My beloved, this is not to perform this duty. The duty is effectually performed when your hearts are wrought upon by it, and when they are brought to a better tune and temper than they were before.
If you find sinful lusts, your business there is to work them out by prayer, to reason the matter, to expostulate the thing before the Lord, and not to give over until you have set all the wheels of your soul right, until you have made your hearts perfect with God. And if you find your hearts cleaving too much to the world, you must wean them and take them off. If you find a deadness and unaptness, an indisposition in you, you must lift up your soul to the Lord and not give over until you are quickened. And this is to perform the duty in such a manner as the Lord accepts, otherwise it is hypocritical performance; for this is hypocrisy, when a man is not willing to let the duty go altogether, nor yet is willing to perform it fervently, and in a quick and zealous manner.
He that omits it altogether is a profane person, and he that performs it zealously, and to purpose, is a holy man; but a hypocrite goes between both. He would do something at it, but he will not do it thoroughly. And, therefore, if you find you have carelessly performed this duty from day to day, that you have performed it in a negligent, perfunctory manner, know that it is a hypocritical performance. Therefore when we spend so much time exhorting you to a constant course in this duty, remember still that you must perform it in such a manner that may have heat and life in it, that it may be acceptable to God. End quote.
This widow was absolutely passionate about her request. She cared with deep feeling what happened, and she was for letting this judge know it.
"Grant me justice!" she cried, "Grant me justice!" and although this was a hot-headed, hardhearted man, she was determined to keep on crying with a passionate cry. Remember the words of the judge in v5.
"Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me."
What was the result of such passion? This judge, although unjust, finally gave in. It would seem he most certainly would have given her justice for a price, but she had no bribe, she could not pay him a penny. He was without fear of God, so his conscience did not bother him one little bit. He wasn't Jewish, so he would not be disturbed about a poor Jewish widow. What could she do for him? He had no respect for any other man, except for one man, himself.
That of course is why he gave in to this persistent, precise, passionate plea. He was worried only about this widow "bothering" him "troubling" him, he was concerned about her continual calling on him, it was getting to him, it was troubling him, so rather than having to listen to her again and again, he relented and granted her request.
Now, dear folks, our God is not like that. He encourages us to be persistent, precise and passionate in our prayer requests, not in order to have him give in to us but because that prayer request which comes from the heart, in the eyes of the Lord, is seen by God as serious business and when we get serious God gets serious. We must never give up!
Jeremiah 33v3. "Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not."
Dr. A.T.Pierson once said, "there has never been a spiritual awakening in any country or locality that did not begin in united prayer!"
Maybe just now you’re saying, well pastor, I'm just not very passionate about anything in prayer. How can I become passionate?
I heard of a lawyer whose business had gone to pieces because revival had come to town. He himself was a Christian and while attending a revival meeting was called upon to open in prayer. He prayed, "Lord, stir up some strife amongst thy people, lest thy servant perish."
What moved him prompted him to pray!
You see, we become passionate when we catch God's vision. Proverbs 29v18.
"Where there is no vision, the people perish."
Beloved, we desperately need a vision of what God wants for our own lives, for our families, for our church, and for our community. And the only way we will catch that vision is to spend time alone with God. Sure it is hard work but
it is worth it. As we call upon God through the means of prayer, we link our minds with the very mind of God.
An ordinary simple Christian kneels down to say his prayers.... But if he is a Christian, he knows that what is prompting him to pray is also God: God, so to speak, inside him. But he also knows that all his real knowledge of God comes through Christ, the man who was God-that Christ is standing beside him, helping him to pray, praying for him. You see what is happening? God is the thing to which he is praying-the goal he is trying to reach. God is also the thing inside him, which is pushing him on-the motive power. God is also the road or bridge along which he is being pushed to that goal. So that the whole threefold life of the three-personal being is actually going on in that ordinary little bedroom where an ordinary man is saying his prayers. C. S. Lewis.
Listen beloved, God has great things planned for you, get into the mind of God and enjoy the blessing of God, which makes rich.
Philippians 2v5. "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus."
The greatest desire of my life is to have power with God and man, do you know, I can! God is not our enemy like this unjust judge was to the poor widow woman, in fact the whole purpose of that story is to show the difference between the unjust judge and our Just and Holy God. Our God is loving, merciful, kind, caring and a host of other adjectives I could use. He has our interests at heart; the whole purpose of this story being included in the cannon of Scripture is to encourage us to call upon God and keep on calling in the Spirit until he answers.
Someone has said, prayer may not always get what we want but it will get for us what God wants.
S.D.Gordon says, "the greatest thing anyone can do for God and man is pray. It's not the only thing, but it is the chief thing.
The great of this world today are the people who pray. I do not mean those who talk about prayer; nor those who say they believe in prayer; nor yet those who can explain about prayer; but I mean those people who take time to pray. End quote.
That of course is the test. Will we like this dear widow keep on calling upon God or will we easily give up when we don’t get what we want when we want.
The overriding thought in this short passage of course, is faithfulness. Here is a dear lady that will not cease to call even after she has called or requested many times. She will continue with her cry to the unjust judge, she will remain faithful to whatever has been left to her charge, she will not give ground to the enemy who wants to rob her of what is rightly hers.
V8 of our passage asks the question, "When the son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?"
Beloved, if God's work is going to be accomplished by God's people, it will be accomplished by prayer and faith. If we enter a covenant of prayer with God and by faith call continually on his Holy Name, that is prevailing prayer and God always honours that kind of faithfulness. That’s the kind of prayer God wants to answer. That’s the kind of prayer that makes life exciting and expectant, that’s the kind of prayer that will change hearts, habits, hurts, hostilities, homes, health and history.
Prayer is a rare gift, not a popular, ready gift. Prayer is not the fruit of natural talents; it is the product of faith, of holiness, of deeply spiritual character. Men learn to pray as they learn to love. Perfection in simplicity, in humility, in faith-these form its chief ingredients. Novices in these graces are not adept in prayer. It cannot be seized upon by untrained hands; graduates in heaven's highest school of art can alone touch its finest keys, raise its sweetest, highest notes. Fine material and fine finish are requisite. Master workmen are required, for mere journeymen cannot execute the work of prayer. E. M. Bounds.
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