Jesus asked himself a rhetorical question at the end of his parable about the unjust judge in Luke 18, “And yet, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” If the faithful are paying attention, this question should represent a stinging rebuke about our lack of endurance and perseverance in our faith and prayer life.
The parable itself was told by Jesus to emphasize our need to pray without ceasing and to never lose heart (Luke 18:1). The unjust judge eventually granted justice to the widow not because he cared about justice, feared God, or respected anyone, but simply to make her go away and quit bothering him. Have you ever considered how much we bother God with all our prayers? Don’t you think the selfish “I want” prayers: “I want a new car, I want a million dollars, I want a boat, I want a an endless buffet,” are more than a little annoying to God?
Yet Jesus declares, “God is quick to provide our needs, and also quick to answer our prayers, even when we think He is taking forever to get back to us. Humankind’s concept of time appears to be quite different from God’s, and Jesus seems to confirm this idea with this parable. But Jesus is still concerned that when the Son of Man comes again there may not be any faithful followers left on earth. As the end of time approaches, God may just be thankful for the faithful few who still pray without ceasing, and preserve until the end, never losing hope or heart. BTW, how’s your prayer life?
Grace & Peace, Charles.