October 21, 2010

"Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. He said: "In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared about men. And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, 'Grant me justice against my adversary.' For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, 'Even though I don't fear God or care about men, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won't eventually wear me out with her coming!'" And the Lord said, "Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?" (Luke 18: 1-8)


Have you ever heard someone say, "it's not what you know, but who you know that counts?" If you have, then you probably were listening to someone who "got in" to something, not because of their accomplishments or what they knew, but strictly because of who they knew. This phrase is usually married to a positive outcome. Not so in Jesus' parable where He tells us that the "who she knew" - the who the widow knew, was "a judge who neither feared God nor cared about men," and that he was an "unjust judge." We aren't even told "what" the widow knew. We don't know if she had a good case or not, all we know is that she just kept striking out because of the "who" that she was dealing with.

We as Christians could say that "it's what we know about who we know that counts." The writer to the Hebrews offers the following advice about prayer, "Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." (Hebrews 4:16) We know that the One "who we know," our just God, loved us enough to justify us and help us with our greatest need. Unlike the unjust judge, God "cared about men" and while He extends mercy, offers grace, and has love for men that is undeserved, He doesn't simply forget about the times when we have given in to our adversaries and ended up sinning. He doesn't simply forget about the punishment the sinner deserves. He doesn't say, "oh that's OK, you sinned but I'll just look the other way." No, He is a just God. When Jesus prayed at Gethsemane, "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will," (Matthew 26:42), The Father's answer was no, you have to go through with this. Because I am a just God, you have to drink the cup and pay for the sins of the world so that the world may be redeemed. We know that "who we know" is a God who demands justice, but who also has justified us.

And because the One "who we know" loved us enough to justify us, when we go to him in prayer, we can be sure that every single time he will see that he answers our prayers according to his justice and according to our needs that He knows even better than we do. In fact, we are told that the One "who we know" has his eyes and ears on those who have been justified and made right, "For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer." (I Peter 3:12) There are numerous passages in Scripture that urge the righteous to "always pray," but the one that is most concise is found in I Thessalonians, where we find the command: "pray continually" (I Thessalonians 5:17). Our continual prayers aren't offered up simply in hopes that we might wear down the One "who we know," so that he will eventually answer us. No, our God's eyes and ears are zeroed in on us waiting for our prayers. He won't put us off, but every time we come to Him he will answer and graciously give us everything according to our needs. "He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? (Romans 8:32)

In the parable, the widow's plea was for justice against her adversaries. Our adversaries in faith are the devil, the world and our sinful flesh. Jesus wants us to "always pray and not give up," in our battle against these adversaries. For the Christian, "it's what we know about who we know that counts," but in the end what also counts is "who knows us." Remember what Jesus said earlier in the Gospel of Luke about what He will say to those who on the day of judgment who claim that they know Him, but who really didn't have faith? He will say, "I don't know you or where you come from. Away from me, all you evildoers!" (Luke 13:27) Jesus echoes His message from Luke 13, that when the Son of Man comes, only a few will be saved - He echoes that with the question that he tacks on to the end of this parable, "when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?" Through constant prayer to the One who has made us right, and to the One who not only invites, but commands us to pray to Him, we are able to "not give up."

Because of what we know about who we know, and through faith, who also knows us - if the Son of Man returned tonight the answer to His question would be yes - at least in our case. What we know about who we know is that our God is a God of justice who demands justification. We also know that the One who we know, sent His son so that each of us would be justified. When we have faith in this, then the One who we know will also know us. Our "always prayers," to the God who always hears our prayers, should include pleas for justice from our adversaries - the devil, the world and our sinful flesh - that we may be on the winning side in our battles with them here on earth, and that in the end, because of what Jesus has won for us, that we will also win the war against them. So that "when the Son of Man comes, [he will] find faith on the earth," let Him find faith in action in our hearts and expressed on our lips in prayer.