LUKE 18 COMMENTARYEDITED BY GLENN PEASE

The Parable of the Persistent Widow

1 Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show

them that they should always pray and not give

up.

BARNES, "A parable - See the notes at Mat_13:3.

To this end - To show this.

Always - At all times. That is, we must not neglect regular stated seasons of prayer; we must seize on occasions of remarkable providences as afflictions or signal blessings to seek God in prayer; we must always maintain a spirit of prayer, or be in a proper frame to lift up our hearts to God for his blessing, and we must not grow weary though our prayer seems not to be answered.

Not to faint - Not to grow weary or give over. The parable is designed to teach us that, though our prayers should long appear to be unanswered, we should persevere, and not grow weary in supplication to God.

CLARKE, "Men ought always to pray - Therefore the plain meaning and moral of the parable are evident; viz. that as afflictions and desolations were coming on the land, and they should have need of much patience and continual fortitude, and the constant influence and protection of the Almighty, therefore they should be instant in prayer. It states, farther, that men should never cease praying for that the necessity of which God has given them to feel, till they receive a full answer to their prayers. No other meaning need be searched for in this parable: St. Luke, who perfectly knew his Masters meaning, has explained it as above.

GILL, "And he spoke a parable unto them,.... To his own disciples, as the Ethiopic version reads, in order to encourage them to prayer, with perseverance in it; since such sore times of trial and affliction were coming upon the Jews, of which he had spoken in the preceding chapter; and such times more especially call for prayer; see Psa_50:15

to this end, that men ought always to pray. This is opposed to them, who pray not at all, or have left off prayer before God, or who pray only in distress; and suggests, that a man should pray as often as he has an opportunity; should be constant and assiduous at the throne of grace, and continue putting up his requests

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to God, though he does not presently return an answer:

and not to faint; by reason of afflictions, temptations, desertions, and delays in answering prayer; and prayer itself is an admirable antidote against fainting under afflictive providences: it is with the Jews an affirmative precept that a man should

pray, , "every day" (k); it was usual with them to pray three times a day; see Psa_55:17 there is no set time fixed by Christ; men should be always praying. This is not to be understood, that a man should be always actually engaged in the work of prayer; that he should be continually either in his closet, in private devotion to God, or attending exercises of more public prayer, with the saints; for there are other religious exercises to be performed, besides prayer; and besides, there are many civil affairs of life, it is every man's indispensable duty to regard: nor does our Lord mean in the least to break in upon, or interrupt the natural and civil duties of life; but his meaning is, that a man should persevere in prayer, and not leave off, or be dejected, because he has not an immediate answer; and this is clear from the following case.

HENRY 1-4, "This parable has its key hanging at the door; the drift and design of it are prefixed. Christ spoke it with this intent, to teach us that men ought always to pray and not to faint, Luk_18:1. It supposes that all God's people are prayingpeople; all God's children keep up both a constant and an occasional correspondence with him, send to him statedly, and upon every emergency. It is our privilege and honour that we may pray. It is our duty; we ought to pray, we sin if we neglect it. It is to be our constant work; we ought always to pray, it is that which the duty of every day requires. We must pray, and never grow weary of praying, nor think of leaving it off till it comes to be swallowed up in everlasting praise. But that which seems particularly designed here is to teach us constancy and perseverance in our requests for some spiritual mercies that we are in pursuit of, relating either to ourselves or to the church of God. When we are praying for strength against our spiritual enemies, our lusts and corruptions, which are our worst enemies, we must continue instant in prayer, must pray and not faint, for we shall not seek God's face in vain. So we must likewise in our prayers for the deliverance of the people of God out of the hands of their persecutors and oppressors.

I. Christ shows, by a parable, the power of importunity among men, who will be swayed by that, when nothing else will influence, to do what is just and right. He gives you an instance of an honest cause that succeeded before an unjust judge, not by the equity or compassionableness of it, but purely by dint of importunity. Observe here, 1. The bad character of the judge that was in a certain city. He neither feared God nor regarded man; he had no manner of concern either for his conscience or for his reputation; he stood in no awe either of the wrath of God against him or of the censures of men concerning him: or, he took no care to do his duty either to God or man; he was a perfect stranger both to godliness and honour, and had no notion of either. It is not strange if those that have cast off the fear of their Creator be altogether regardless of their fellow-creatures; where no fear of God is no good is to be expected. Such a prevalency of irreligion and inhumanity is bad in any, but very bad in a judge, who has power in his hand, in the use of which he ought to be guided by the principles of religion and justice, and, if he be not, instead of doing good with his power he will be in danger of doing hurt. Wickedness in the place of judgmentwas one of the sorest evils Solomon saw under the sun, Ecc_3:16. 2. The distressed case of a poor widow that was necessitated to make her appeal to him, being wronged by some one that thought to bear her down with power and terror. She had manifestly right on her side; but, it should seem, in soliciting to have right done her, she tied not herself to the formalities of the law, but made personal application to the judge from day to day at his own house, still crying, Avenge me of mine adversary;

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that is, Do me justice against mine adversary; not that she desired to be revenged on him for any thing he had done against her, but that he might be obliged to restore what effects he had of hers in his hands, and might be disabled any more to oppress her. Note, Poor widows have often many adversaries, who barbarously take advantage of their weak and helpless state to invade their rights, and defraud them of what little they have; and magistrates are particularly charged, not only not to do violence to the widow (Jer_21:3), but to judge the fatherless, and plead for the widow (Isa_1:17), to be their patrons and protectors; then they are as gods, for God is so, Psa_68:5. 3. The difficulty and discouragement she met with in her cause: He would not for awhile. According to his usual practice, he frowned upon her, took no notice of her cause, but connived at all the wrong her adversary did her; for she had no bribe to give him, no great man whom he stood in any awe of to speak for her, so that he did not at all incline to redress her grievances; and he himself was conscience of the reason of his dilatoriness, and could not but own within himself that he neither feared God nor regarded man. It is sad that a man should know so much amiss of himself, and be in no care to amend it

JAMISON 1-5, "Luk_18:1-8. Parable of the importunate widow.

always Compare Luk_18:7, night and day.

faint lose heart, or slacken.

CALVIN, "We know that perseverance in prayer is a rare and difficult

attainment; and it is a manifestation of our unbelief that, when our first prayers

are not successful, we immediately throw away not only hope, but all the ardor

of prayer. But it is an undoubted evidence of our Faith, if we are disappointed of

our wish, and yet do not lose courage. Most properly, therefore, does Christ

recommend to his disciples to persevere in praying.

The parable which he employs, though apparently harsh, was admirably fitted to

instruct his disciples, that they ought to be importunate in their prayers to God

the Father, till they at length draw from him what He would otherwise appear to

be unwilling to give. Not that by our prayers we gain a victory over God, and

bend him slowly and reluctantly to compassion, but because the actual facts do

not all at once make it evident that he graciously listens to our prayers. In the

parable Christ describes to us a widow, who obtained what she wanted from an

unjust and cruel judge, because she did not cease to make earnest demands. The

leading truth conveyed is, that God does not all at once grant assistance to his

people, because he chooses to be, as it were, wearied out by prayers; and that,

however wretched and despicable may be the condition of those who pray to

him, yet if they do not desist from the uninterrupted exercise of prayer, he will at

length regard them and relieve their necessities.

The parties between whom the comparison is drawn are, indeed, by no means

equal; for there is a wide difference between a wicked and cruel man and God,

who is naturally inclined to mercy. But Christ intended to assure believers that

they have no reason to fear lest their persevering entreaties to the Father of

mercy should be refused, since by importunate supplication they prevail on men

who are given to cruelty. The wicked and iron-hearted judge could not avoid

yielding at length, though reluctantly, to the earnest solicitations of the widow:

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how then shall the prayers of believers, when perseveringly maintained, be

without effect? If exhaustion and weakness are felt by us when we give way after

a slight exertion, or if the ardor of prayer languishes because God appears to

lend a deaf ear, let us rest assured of our ultimate success, though it may not be

immediately apparent. Entertaining this conviction, let us contend against our

impatience, so that the long delay may not induce us to discontinue our prayers.

BARCLAY, "UNWEARIED IN PRAYER (Luke 18:1-8)

18:1-8 Jesus spoke a parable to them to show that it is necessary always to pray

and not to lose heart. "There was a judge," he said, "in a town who neither

feared God nor respected man. There was a widow in the same town who kept

coming to him and saying, 'Vindicate me against my adversary.' For some time

he refused. But afterwards he said to himself, 'Even though I neither fear God

nor respect man, because she bothers me, I will vindicate this widow, lest by her

constant coming she exhausts me.'" The Lord said, "Listen to what the unjust

judge says. And shall God not vindicate his own chosen ones who cry to him day

and night, even though he seem to wait for long? But when the Son of Man

comes will he find faith on earth?"

This parable tells of the kind of thing which could, and often did, happen. There

are two characters in it.

(i) The judge was clearly not a Jewish judge. All ordinary Jewish disputes were

taken before the elders, and not into the public courts at all. If, under Jewish

law, a matter was taken to arbitration, one man could not constitute a court.

There were always three judges, one chosen by the plaintiff, one by the

defendant, and one independently appointed.

This judge was one of the paid magistrates appointed either by Herod or by the

Romans. Such judges were notorious. Unless a plaintiff had influence and money

to bribe his way to a verdict he had no hope of ever getting his case settled. These

judges were said to pervert justice for a dish of meat. People even punned on

their title. Officially they were called Dayyaneh Gezeroth, which means judges of

prohibitions or punishments. Popularly they were called Dayyaneh Gezeloth,

which means robber judges.

(ii) The widow was the symbol of all who were poor and defenceless. It was

obvious that she, without resource of any kind, had no hope of ever extracting

justice from such a judge. But she had one weapon--persistence. It is possible

that what the judge in the end feared was actual physical violence. The word

translated, lest she exhausts me, can mean, lest she give me a black eye. It is

possible to close a person's eye in two ways--either by sleep or by assault and

battery! In either event, in the end her persistence won the day.

This parable is like the parable of the Friend at Midnight. It does not liken God

to an unjust judge; it contrasts him to such a person. Jesus was saying, "If, in the

end, an unjust and rapacious judge can be wearied into giving a widow woman

justice, how much more will God, who is a loving Father, give his children what

they need?"

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That is true, but it is no reason why we should expect to get whatever we pray

for. Often a father has to refuse the request of a child, because he knows that

what the child asks would hurt rather than help. God is like that. We do not

know what is to happen in the next hour, let alone the next week, or month, or

year. Only God sees time whole, and, therefore, only God knows what is good for

us in the long run. That is why Jesus said we must never be discouraged in

prayer. That is why he wondered if men's faith would stand the long delays

before the Son of Man should come. We will never grow weary in prayer and our

faith will never falter if, after we have offered to God our prayers and requests,

we add the perfect prayer, Thy will be done.

LIGHTFOOT, "[And not to faint.] The discourse is continued still; and this

parable hath its connexion with chapter 17, concerning Christ's coming to

avenge himself upon Jerusalem; which if we keep our eye upon, it may help us to

an easier understanding of some more obscure passages that occur in the

application of this parable. And to this doth the expression not to faint, seem to

have relation; viz. that they might not suffer their hopes and courage to languish

and droop, upon the prospect of some afflictions they were likely to grapple with,

but that they would give themselves to continual prayer.

COFFMAN, "The content of this chapter deals with two parables on prayer, that

of the unjust judge (Luke 18:1-8), that of the Pharisee and the publican (Luke

18:9-14), bringing children to Jesus (Luke 18:15-17), the account of the rich

young ruler (Luke 18:18-30), another prophecy of his Passion (Luke 18:31-34),

and the healing of the blind man at Jericho (Luke 18:35-43).

THE PARABLE OF THE UNJUST JUDGE

And he spake a parable unto them to the end that they ought always to pray, and

not to faint. (Luke 18:1)

Dummelow listed the lessons from this parable, thus:

(1) The duty of continual prayer; (2) the answer to prayer, persisted in, is

certain; (3) in the end, God will maintain the cause of his elect against their

adversaries; and (4) a warning against the failure of faith in times of seeming

abandonment by God.[1]

And he spake a parable ... is literally, "And he spake also a parable ..."[2] This

indicates that this is actually a part of the preceding discourse.

Ought always to pray ... This has no reference to a ceaseless bending of the knee,

or a continuation without intermission in the utterance of petitions to the

Almighty, but to an attitude of unbroken fellowship with God. As Augustine

said, "There is another interior prayer without intermission, and that is the

longing of thy heart."[3] It was to this that Paul referred: "Pray without

ceasing" (1 Thessalonians 5:17).

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And not to faint ... There is a remarkable analogy in this comparison of spiritual

failure to physical fainting. Physically, men can faint from shock, disease,

hunger, fear, etc.; and for a development of the application to spiritual things,

see my Commentary on Hebrews, Hebrews 12:3.

[1] J. R. Dummelow, Commentary on the Holy Bible (New York: The Macmillan

Company, 1937), p. 763.

[2] Charles L. Childers, Beacon Bible Commentary (Kansas City, Missouri:

Beacon Hill Press, 1964), p. 576.

[3] Quoted by Richard C. Trench, Notes on the Parables of Our Lord (Old

Tappan, New Jersey: Fleming H. Revell Company, 1953), p. 485.

COKE, "Luke 18:1. And he spake a parable, &c. But, [ , ] he taught them by

a parable, that men ought to persevere in prayer, and not to be discouraged.

Heylin. The particle. , but, plainly implies, that this parable has a relation to

the discourse in the preceding chapter, and was delivered at the same time. The

evangelist says it was designed to shew, that men ought always to pray, and not

to faint; that is, ought frequently to pray; for so the word signifies, John

18:20. The figure is carried still higher in the epithet given to the morning and

evening sacrifices; which, because of their frequency, are called, a continual

burnt-offering: and, in allusion to this, men are directed to pray without ceasing,

1 Thessalonians 5:17. See on Luke 2:37. It is plain, therefore, that the parable

was spoken to recommend continual praying, not in the strict sense of the words,

but frequency, earnestness, and perseverance in the duty, not only for blessings

on ourselves, but also for blessings on the church of God militant on earth; and

being delivered on this occasion, it is designed to inspire the disciples with

earnestness and perseverance in their prayers, particularly for the coming of the

Son of man, to put an end to the Jewish polity, notwithstanding God should long

defer the accomplishment of their desires. The comingof Christ to destroy the

Jewish polity, is in this and other passages of scripture, spoken of as a thing

exceedingly to be wished for by the disciples in those days; the reason was, the

Jews in every country, being their bitter persecutors, were the chief opposers of

the Christian religion. Our Lord often in the course of his ministry

recommended frequency, earnestness, and perseverance in prayer; not because

the Divine Being is tired out by our importunity, but because it is both an

expression and exerciseof our firm belief and confidence in his goodness, without

which it would not be fit for God to bestow his blessings upon us, nor should we

be capable of receiving and using them. See Matthew 7:11. Luke 11:8. The word

, rendered to faint, is expressive, and signifies, "to faint under pressures

and persecutions,to yield to evils, and despond under them,to be so wholly

wearied out with them, as to give place to them,and to cease from prayer as

unavailing to procure relief." See Ephesians 3:13. 2 Thessalonians 3:13. Hebrews

12:3.

NISBET, "PRAY, ALWAYS PRAY

Men ought always to pray, and not to faint.

Luke 18:1

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I. The reality of prayer.Gods mighty men have been men steeped in prayer.

There are some in this church who can look back and remember instances when

in trouble they have kneeled down to pray, and have known that they have been

heard. The burden of responsibility has been lifted from their shoulders, and

they have gained peacethe peace which God alone can give.

II. The reflex influence of prayer.We are to put our trouble into words just as

if He did not know anything about it, and while we are telling Him all about it

we are telling ourselves that He knows all about it, and the time that we spend in

telling Him what He already knows is not badly spent, as one might think. One

might call this telling of our trouble the reflex influence which prayer has on us.

There are certain things which we cannot tell to our fellow-men; they would not

understand us if we did; and there are certain things so secret that we cannot tell

them to our neighbour. In telling these things to God we become conscious that

there is Someone to sympathise with us, Who knows all about us, and can feel for

us. The Christian life should be one long act of prayer. We may live out our days

in His presence. We may pray about everything. It is as possible to pray as it is to

read, and write, and walk. We often say of a thing that we are thinking of and

waiting for, that we are working at it night and day. That does not mean that we

never rest, but that we give all our time and thoughts to it; and it is just the same

with prayer. Men ought always to pray.

III. Desire a condition of prayer.Desire is a condition of prayerWhatever ye

desire believe that ye shall receive, etc. How many pray and lack desire! How

many men come to church and say, Lord, keep me from sin, and all the time

they are indulging in some besetting sin; who as soon as they go out walk into the

temptation; who say, Lord, set my thoughts on things above, and all the time

they are setting their thoughts on making what they call their pile! Our prayers

will not be efficacious until our desires go with them.

Rev. J. Pullein-Thompson.

Illustration

When Martin Luther was wrestling with a mans sin, he used to say, I have

spent three hours of the day in prayer; and when Abraham Lincoln was in

trouble he said, I have been driven many times to my knees by the

overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go; my own wisdom and the

wisdom of all those around me seemed useless, and so I was driven to prayer.

BURKITT, "There is no duty in Christianity, the practice of which our Saviour

pressed upon us more frequently than this duty of prayer. To encourage his

disciples, (and us in them,) to fervency, importunity, and perseverance in this

duty, he propounds here the parable of an unjust judge, who was overcome by

an importunate widow, to do her justice contrary to his own inclination.

From whence our Saviour argues, that if importunity will prevail with a sinful

man, to grant petitions offered to him; how much more prevalent will such

importunity be with the infinitely good God, to relieve the necessities of such as

devoutly implore his help. And the force of the argument lies thus: "The judge in

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the parable was an inferior and subordinate judge, was an unrighteous and

unjust judge, was a merciless and hard hearted judge; and yet, upon her

importunity, he avenged her: how much more will the sovereign and supreme

Judge, the holy and righteous, the merciful and compassionate Judge of all the

earth, hear and help his praying people, and be the just Avenger of those that

fear him"

From the whole note,

1. That prayer, or a liberty of making our requests known to God, is an

inestimable favor and privilege. He that considers the nature of God, and the

nature of man, cannot question it: God is a being of infinite fullness and

perfection; a self- sufficient, and an all-sufficient good; and man an indigent,

helpless, dependent creature, full of wants, and obnoxious to dangers.

2. That prayer is not only an inestimable privilege, but an indispensable duty. So

solicitous is God for our welfare and happiness, that he makes our privilege our

duty, by the authority of his command; so that we are at once ungrateful to God,

and unjust to ourselves, in the most exalted degree, if we do not pray unto him,

and spread our wants before him.

3. That this duty of prayer is not an occasional, but a constant duty: Men ought

always to pray; that is,

1. At all seasonable times and fit opportunities. We are said to do it seasonably;

now the seasons for prayer are morning and evening. As the morning and

evening sacrifice was constant among the Jews, and the fire was always upon the

altar, and never went out; so he that prays morning and evening, may be said to

be instant in prayer, and to pray without ceasing.

2. Always to pray, is an endeavor always to keep the heart in a praying frame,

and to be very frequent in offering up pious exclamations, and short mental

prayers to God, as occasion shall offer; when in the field, in the shop, in the bed,

when sleep departs, in the journey when alone. This may be done advantageously

without loss of time, and acceptably without danger of hypocrisy, which too often

mingles itself with our more set prayers.

Observe, 4. We must not only pray constantly, but pray fervently, yea,

importunately; if we would pray successfully, we must cry to God as the widow

to the judge: vehemency and importunity are both helps and ornaments to

prayer; they both fortify and beautify our prayers; they pierce the heavens, and

offer an holy violence to God: Tertullian says, "God delights in such

importunity."

Nevertheless, when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth? If by

the Son of man's coming we understand Christ's coming in judgment against

Jerusalem, then the sense is this; "That when he comes to take vengeance on the

obstinate Jews, and to destroy their city, he will find but little faith, and patient

waiting for help from God in the land of Judea, and consequently little

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importuning him with incessant cries and supplications as this poor woman did

the unjust judge."

If by the Son of man's coming, we understand Christ's coming to judge the world

at the last day, then the sense is, "When he cometh, he will find but few faithful

ones, comparatively speaking; he will find but few sincere and serious

Christians, in whom the genuine effectws and fruits are found."

Learn, that when Christ shall come to judgment, he will find comparatively very

few whose hearts have not fainted, and very many, who through the power that

temptation has upon the frailty of human nature are fallen away: When the Son

of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth? Verily, but little faith, and few

faithful ones.

SIMEON, "THE DUTY OF PERSEVERING IN PRAYER

Luke 18:1. Men ought always to pray, and not to faint.

THE efficacy of prayer is continually exhibited in the sacred writings, and every

incitement to it is afforded us: nevertheless we are prone to faint in the

performance of it. To encourage our perseverance in it our Lord delivered a

parable. Waving all notice of the parable itself, we shall consider,

I. Our duty

To be always in the act of prayer would interfere with other duties: that which is

here inculcated, implies that we pray,

Statedly

[Regular seasons for prayer should be fixed. Except in cases of absolute necessity

[Note: Matthew 9:13.] they should be adhered to. We should constantly

acknowledge God in the public assembly [Note: Hebrews 10:25.]. We should

maintain his worship also in our families [Note: Abraham and Joshua were

noted for their attention to family religion, Genesis 18:19. Joshua 24:15 : and our

Lords example is worthy of imitation; he not only expounded his parables to his

disciples in private, but prayed with them. See Luke 9:18. which means, he was

at a distance from the multitude, and praying with his disciples.]; nor should we

on any account omit it in our closets [Note: How frequent the stated seasons shall

be, must be left to our own discretion; Davids example is good, Psalms 55:17.

But as the morning and evening sacrifices were called the continual burnt-

offering, so they may be said to pray always, who pray at those returning

seasons.].]

Occasionally

[There are many particular occasions which require us to pray: in prosperity,

that God may counteract its evil tendency [Note: Our liturgy teaches us to pray,

in all time of our wealth. See Proverbs 30:9.]: in adversity, that we may be

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supported under it [Note: James 5:13.]: in times of public distress or danger, to

avert the calamity [Note: 2 Chronicles 7:14.].]

Habitually

[We should maintain a spiritual frame of mind. We may have a disposition for

prayer in the midst of business; nor will secret ejaculations prevail less than

solemn devotions [Note: Compare 2 Samuel 15:31. with 2 Samuel 17:14; 2

Samuel 17:23. See also Nehemiah 2:4; Nehemiah 2:6.].]

To pray thus is our duty; We ought, &c.

It is a duty we owe to God

[He, our Creator, Preserver, and Redeemer, has commanded it; nor can any

thing absolve us from our obligation to obey.]

We owe it also to our neighbour

[The edification of Christs mystical body depends, not only on the union of

every part with the head, but on the whole being fitly framed together, and on

every joint supplying its proper nourishment [Note: Ephesians 4:16. Colossians

2:19.]. But if we be remiss in prayer, we shall be incapable of administering that

benefit, which other members have a right to expect from us [Note: Samuel had a

deep conviction of this truth; 1 Samuel 12:23.].]

We owe it to ourselves

[A spirit of supplication is as necessary to the soul, as food to the body; nor can

we feel any regard for our souls, if we do not cultivate it.]

It is, however, by no means easy to fulfil this duty

II. The difficulties that attend it

When we set ourselves to the performance of it, we shall find difficulties

Before we begin to pray

[ Worldly business may occupy, or worldly amusements dissipate, our thoughts.

Family cares may distract our minds, and family disagreements indispose us for

this holy employment [Note: 1 Peter 3:7.]. Lassitude of body may unfit us for the

necessary exertions. We may be disabled by an invincible hardness of heart. A

want of utterance may also operate as a heavy discouragement. By these means

many are tempted to defer their religious exercises: but to yield to the temptation

is to increase the difficulty.]

While we are engaged in prayer

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[The world is never more troublesome than at such seasons. Something seen or

heard, lost or gained, done or to be done, will generally obtrude itself upon us

when we are at the throne of grace. The flesh also, with its vilest imaginations,

will solicit our attention; nor will Satan be backward to interrupt our devotions

[Note: He has various devices whereby he strives to accomplish his purpose. He

will suggest it is needless to pray: or, it is presumption for so great a sinner to

ask any thing of God: or, it is hypocrisy to ask, when the heart is so little

engaged. Sometimes he will inject into the Christians mind the most

blasphemous and horrid thoughts; and at other times tempt him to admire his

own fluency and enlargement in prayer. Such are the fiery darts with which he

often assails the soul, Ephesians 6:16.].]

After we have concluded prayer

[When we have prayed, we should expect an answer. But worldliness may again

induce a forgetfulness of God; and a habit of worldly conversation drive every

serious thought from our minds. Impatience to receive the desired blessings may

deject us. Ignorance of the method in which God answers prayer may cause us to

disquiet ourselves with many ungrounded apprehensions. Unbelief may rob us of

the benefits we might have received [Note: James 1:6-7.]. Whatever obstructs

Gods answers to prayer, disqualifies us for the future discharge of that duty.]

Application

[Let us not expect victory without many conflicts. Let us remember the effect of

perseverance in the case of Moses [Note: Exodus 17:11-13.]. Above all, let us

attend to the parable spoken for this end [Note: Luke 18:2-8.]. So shall we be

kept from fainting under our discouragements, and God will fulfil to us his own

promise [Note: Galatians 6:9.] ]

BENSON, ". And he spake, &c. . He also spake

a parable to them. The particle , here used, plainly implies, that this parable

has a relation to the preceding discourse, of which indeed it is a continuation, but

which is improperly interrupted by the division of the chapters. There is in it,

and in the following parable, a particular reference to the distress and trouble

they were soon to meet with from their persecutors, which would render the

duties of prayer, patience, and perseverance peculiarly seasonable. That men

ought always to pray At all times, on all occasions, or frequently, (as the word

, here rendered always, signifies, John 18:20,) and not to faint Under

their trials, not to despond, or yield to evils, as , here used, signifies, so

as to be wearied out by them, and cease from prayer, as unavailing to procure

relief. It frequently happens, that after men have prayed for any particular

blessing, they desist, because God does not immediately grant them their

petition. To show the evil of this, and to recommend importunity and

perseverance in prayer especially when we are in pursuit of any spiritual mercy

or mercies, relating either to ourselves, our friends, or the church of God, the

present parable is introduced. As delivered on this occasion, it seems to have

been principally designed to inspire the disciples with earnestness and

perseverance in their prayers for the coming of the Son of man to destroy the

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Jewish constitution, notwithstanding God should long defer the accomplishment

of their desire. For this event is represented, not only here, but in several other

passages of Scripture, as a thing exceedingly to be wished for in those days. The

reason was, the Jews in every country were their bitterest persecutors, and the

chief opposers of Christianity. See Luke 21:28; Hebrews 10:25; James 5:7; 1

Peter 4:7. Independent of this, however, in the course of his ministry, our Lord

often recommended frequency, earnestness, and perseverance in prayer, not

because God is, or can be, ever tired out with our importunity; but because it is

both an expression and exercise of our firm belief of, and confidence in, his

power and goodness, without which it would not be fit for God to bestow his

blessings upon us, nor would we be capable of receiving and using them. See on

Matthew 7:7-11; Luke 11:5-8. Of continual praying, see on 1 Thessalonians 5:17.

MACLAREN, "THREE KINDS OF PRAYING

The two parables in this passage are each prefaced by Lukes explanation of their purpose. They are also connected by being both concerned with aspects of prayer. But the second was apparently not spoken at the same time as the first, but is put here by Luke as in an appropriate place.

I. The wearisome widow and the unrighteous judge.

The similarities and dissimilarities between this parable and that in Luk_11:5-8 are equally instructive. Both take a very unlovely character as open to the influence of persistent entreaty; both strongly underscore the unworthiness and selfishness of the motive for yielding. Both expect the hearers to use common-sense enough to take the sleepy friend and the worried judge as contrasts to, not parables, of Him to whom Christians pray. But the judge is a much worse man than the owner of the loaves, and his denial of the justice which it was his office to dispense is a crime; the widows need is greater than the mans, and the judges cynical soliloquy, in its unabashed avowal of caring for neither God nor man, and being guided only by regard to comfort, touches a deep depth of selfishness. The worse he was, the more emphatic is the exhortation to persistence. If the continual dropping of the widows plea could wear away such a stone as that, its like could wear away anything. Yes, and suppose that the judge were as righteous and as full of love and wish to help as this judge was of their opposites; suppose that instead of the cry being a weariness it was a delight; suppose, in short, that, to go back to Luk_11:1-54, we call on Him as Father who, without respect of persons, judgeth: then our continual coming will surely not be less effectual than hers was.

But we must note the spiritual experience supposed by the parable to belong to the Christian life. That forlorn figure of the widow, with all its suggestions of helplessness and oppression, is Christs picture of His Church left on earth without Him. And though of course it is a very incomplete representation, it is a true presentation of one side and aspect of the devout life on earth. In the world ye shall have tribulation, and the truer His servants are to Him, and the more their hearts are with Christ in God, the more they will feel out of touch with the world, and the more it will instinctively be their adversary. If the widow does not feel the worlds enmity, it will generally be because she is not a widow indeed.

And another notable fact of Christian experience underlies the parable; namely that the Churchs cry for protection from the adversary is often apparently unheard. In Luk_11:1-54 the prayer was for supply of necessities, here it is for the specific blessing of protection from the adversary. Whether that is referred to the needs of

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the Church or of the individual, it is true that usually the help sought is long delayed. It is not only souls under the altar that have to cry How long, O Lord, dost Thou not avenge? One thinks of years of persecution for whole communities, or of long, weary days of harassment and suffering for individuals, of multitudes of prayers and groans sent up into a heaven that, for all the answers sent down, might as well be empty, and one feels it hard to hold by the faith that verily, there is a God that heareth.

We have all had times when our faith has staggered, and we have found no answer to our hearts question: Why tarry the wheels of His chariot? Many of us have felt what Mary and Martha felt when Jesus abode still two days in the place where He was after He had received their message, in which they had been so sure of His coming at once when He heard that he whom Thou lovest is sick, that they did not ask Him to come. The delays of Gods help are a constant feature in His providence, and, as Jesus says here, they are but too likely to take the life out of faith.

But over against these we have to place Jesus triumphant assurance here: He will avenge them speedily. Yes, the longest delay may yet be right early, for heavens clock does not beat at the same rate as our little chronometers. God is the God of patience, and He has waited for millenniums for the establishment of His kingdom on earth; His own elect may learn long-suffering from Him, and need to take to heart the old exhortation, If the vision tarry, wait for it, for it will surely come, and will not tarry. Yes, Gods delays are not delays, but are for our profit that we may always pray and not faint, and may keep alight the flame of the sure hope that the Son of man cometh, and that in His coming all adversaries shall be destroyed, and the widow, no longer a widow, but the bride, go in to the feast and forget her foes, and the days of her mourning be ended.

II. The Pharisee and the publican.

Lukes label on this parable tells us that it was spoken to a group of the very people who were personated in it by the Pharisee. One can fancy their faces as they listened, and how they would love the speaker! Their two characteristics are self-righteousness and depreciation of every one else, which is the natural result of such trust in self. The self-adulation was absolute, the contempt was all-embracing, for the Revised Version rightly renders set all others at nought. That may sound exaggerated, but the way to judge of moral characteristics is to take them in their fullest development and to see what they lead to then. The two pictures heighten each other. The one needs many strokes to bring out the features, the other needs but one. Self-righteousness takes many shapes, penitence has but one emotion to express, one cry to utter.

Every word in the Pharisees prayer is reeking with self-complacency. Even the expression prayed with himself is significant, for it suggests that the prayer was less addressed to God than to himself, and also that his words could scarcely be spoken in the hearing of others, both because of their arrogant self-praise and of their insolent calumnies of all the rest. It was not prayer to God, but soliloquy in his own praise, and it was in equal parts adulation of himself and slander of other men. So it never went higher than the inner roof of the temple court, and was, in a very fatal sense, to himself.

God is complimented with being named formally at first, and in the first two words, I thank thee, but that is only formal introduction, and in all the rest of his prayer there is not a trace of praying. Such a self-satisfied gentleman had no need to ask for anything, so he brought no petitions. He uses the conventional language of thanksgiving, but his real meaning is to praise himself to God, not to thank God for himself. God is named once. All the rest is I, I, I. He had no longing for communion,

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no aspiration, no emotion.

His conception of righteousness was mean and shallow. And as St. Bernard notes, he was not so much thankful for being righteous as for being alone in his goodness. No doubt he was warranted in disclaiming gross sins, but he was glad to be free from them, not because they were sins, but because they were vulgar. He had no right to fling mud either on all the rest or on this publican, and if he had been really praying or giving thanks he would have had enough to think of in God and himself without casting sidelong and depreciatory glances at his neighbours. He who truly prays sees no man any more, or if he does, sees men only as subjects for intercession, not for contempt. The Pharisees notion of righteousness was primarily negative, as consisting in abstinence from flagrant sins, and, in so far as it was positive, it dealt entirely with ceremonial acts. Such a starved and surface conception of righteousness is essential to self-righteousness, for no man who sees the law of duty in its depth and inwardness can flatter himself that he has kept it. To fast twice a week and to give tithes of all that one acquired were acts of supererogation, and are proudly recounted as if God should feel much indebted to the doer for paying Him more than was required. The Pharisee makes no petitions. He states his claims, and tacitly expects that God will meet them.

Few words are needed to paint the publican; for his estimate of himself is simple and one, and what he wants from God is one thing, and one only. His attitude expresses his emotions, for he does not venture to go near the shining example of all respectability and righteousness, nor to lift his eyes to heaven. Like the penitent psalmist, his iniquities have taken hold on him, so that he is not able to look up. Keen consciousness of sin, true sorrow for sin, earnest desire to shake off the burden of sin, lowly trust in Gods pardoning mercy, are all crowded into his brief petition. The arrow thus feathered goes straight up to the throne; the Pharisees prayer cannot rise above his own lips.

Jesus does not leave His hearers to apply the parable, but drives its application home to them, since He knew how keen a thrust was needed to pierce the triple breastplate of self-righteousness. The publican was justified; that is, accounted as righteous. In the judgment of heaven, which is the judgment of truth, sin forsaken is sin passed away. The Pharisee condensed his contempt into this publican; Jesus takes up the this and turns it into a distinction, when He says, this man went down to his house justified. Gods condemnation of the Pharisee and acceptance of the publican are no anomalous aberration of divine justice, for it is a universal law, which has abundant exemplifications, that he that exalteth himself is likely to be humbled, and he that humbles himself to be exalted. Daily life does not always yield examples thereof, but in the inner life and as concerns our relations to God, that law is absolutely and always true.

SBC, "THREE KINDS OF PRAYING

The two parables in this passage are each prefaced by Lukes explanation of their purpose. They are also connected by being both concerned with aspects of prayer. But the second was apparently not spoken at the same time as the first, but is put here by Luke as in an appropriate place.

I. The wearisome widow and the unrighteous judge.

The similarities and dissimilarities between this parable and that in Luk_11:5-8 are equally instructive. Both take a very unlovely character as open to the influence of persistent entreaty; both strongly underscore the unworthiness and selfishness of the

14

motive for yielding. Both expect the hearers to use common-sense enough to take the sleepy friend and the worried judge as contrasts to, not parables, of Him to whom Christians pray. But the judge is a much worse man than the owner of the loaves, and his denial of the justice which it was his office to dispense is a crime; the widows need is greater than the mans, and the judges cynical soliloquy, in its unabashed avowal of caring for neither God nor man, and being guided only by regard to comfort, touches a deep depth of selfishness. The worse he was, the more emphatic is the exhortation to persistence. If the continual dropping of the widows plea could wear away such a stone as that, its like could wear away anything. Yes, and suppose that the judge were as righteous and as full of love and wish to help as this judge was of their opposites; suppose that instead of the cry being a weariness it was a delight; suppose, in short, that, to go back to Luk_11:1-54, we call on Him as Father who, without respect of persons, judgeth: then our continual coming will surely not be less effectual than hers was.

But we must note the spiritual experience supposed by the parable to belong to the Christian life. That forlorn figure of the widow, with all its suggestions of helplessness and oppression, is Christs picture of His Church left on earth without Him. And though of course it is a very incomplete representation, it is a true presentation of one side and aspect of the devout life on earth. In the world ye shall have tribulation, and the truer His servants are to Him, and the more their hearts are with Christ in God, the more they will feel out of touch with the world, and the more it will instinctively be their adversary. If the widow does not feel the worlds enmity, it will generally be because she is not a widow indeed.

And another notable fact of Christian experience underlies the parable; namely that the Churchs cry for protection from the adversary is often apparently unheard. In Luk_11:1-54 the prayer was for supply of necessities, here it is for the specific blessing of protection from the adversary. Whether that is referred to the needs of the Church or of the individual, it is true that usually the help sought is long delayed. It is not only souls under the altar that have to cry How long, O Lord, dost Thou not avenge? One thinks of years of persecution for whole communities, or of long, weary days of harassment and suffering for individuals, of multitudes of prayers and groans sent up into a heaven that, for all the answers sent down, might as well be empty, and one feels it hard to hold by the faith that verily, there is a God that heareth.

We have all had times when our faith has staggered, and we have found no answer to our hearts question: Why tarry the wheels of His chariot? Many of us have felt what Mary and Martha felt when Jesus abode still two days in the place where He was after He had received their message, in which they had been so sure of His coming at once when He heard that he whom Thou lovest is sick, that they did not ask Him to come. The delays of Gods help are a constant feature in His providence, and, as Jesus says here, they are but too likely to take the life out of faith.

But over against these we have to place Jesus triumphant assurance here: He will avenge them speedily. Yes, the longest delay may yet be right early, for heavens clock does not beat at the same rate as our little chronometers. God is the God of patience, and He has waited for millenniums for the establishment of His kingdom on earth; His own elect may learn long-suffering from Him, and need to take to heart the old exhortation, If the vision tarry, wait for it, for it will surely come, and will not tarry. Yes, Gods delays are not delays, but are for our profit that we may always pray and not faint, and may keep alight the flame of the sure hope that the Son of man cometh, and that in His coming all adversaries shall be destroyed, and the widow, no longer a widow, but the bride, go in to the feast and forget her foes, and the days of her mourning be ended.

15

II. The Pharisee and the publican.

Lukes label on this parable tells us that it was spoken to a group of the very people who were personated in it by the Pharisee. One can fancy their faces as they listened, and how they would love the speaker! Their two characteristics are self-righteousness and depreciation of every one else, which is the natural result of such trust in self. The self-adulation was absolute, the contempt was all-embracing, for the Revised Version rightly renders set all others at nought. That may sound exaggerated, but the way to judge of moral characteristics is to take them in their fullest development and to see what they lead to then. The two pictures heighten each other. The one needs many strokes to bring out the features, the other needs but one. Self-righteousness takes many shapes, penitence has but one emotion to express, one cry to utter.

Every word in the Pharisees prayer is reeking with self-complacency. Even the expression prayed with himself is significant, for it suggests that the prayer was less addressed to God than to himself, and also that his words could scarcely be spoken in the hearing of others, both because of their arrogant self-praise and of their insolent calumnies of all the rest. It was not prayer to God, but soliloquy in his own praise, and it was in equal parts adulation of himself and slander of other men. So it never went higher than the inner roof of the temple court, and was, in a very fatal sense, to himself.

God is complimented with being named formally at first, and in the first two words, I thank thee, but that is only formal introduction, and in all the rest of his prayer there is not a trace of praying. Such a self-satisfied gentleman had no need to ask for anything, so he brought no petitions. He uses the conventional language of thanksgiving, but his real meaning is to praise himself to God, not to thank God for himself. God is named once. All the rest is I, I, I. He had no longing for communion, no aspiration, no emotion.

His conception of righteousness was mean and shallow. And as St. Bernard notes, he was not so much thankful for being righteous as for being alone in his goodness. No doubt he was warranted in disclaiming gross sins, but he was glad to be free from them, not because they were sins, but because they were vulgar. He had no right to fling mud either on all the rest or on this publican, and if he had been really praying or giving thanks he would have had enough to think of in God and himself without casting sidelong and depreciatory glances at his neighbours. He who truly prays sees no man any more, or if he does, sees men only as subjects for intercession, not for contempt. The Pharisees notion of righteousness was primarily negative, as consisting in abstinence from flagrant sins, and, in so far as it was positive, it dealt entirely with ceremonial acts. Such a starved and surface conception of righteousness is essential to self-righteousness, for no man who sees the law of duty in its depth and inwardness can flatter himself that he has kept it. To fast twice a week and to give tithes of all that one acquired were acts of supererogation, and are proudly recounted as if God should feel much indebted to the doer for paying Him more than was required. The Pharisee makes no petitions. He states his claims, and tacitly expects that God will meet them.

Few words are needed to paint the publican; for his estimate of himself is simple and one, and what he wants from God is one thing, and one only. His attitude expresses his emotions, for he does not venture to go near the shining example of all respectability and righteousness, nor to lift his eyes to heaven. Like the penitent psalmist, his iniquities have taken hold on him, so that he is not able to look up. Keen consciousness of sin, true sorrow for sin, earnest desire to shake off the burden of sin, lowly trust in Gods pardoning mercy, are all crowded into his brief petition.

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The arrow thus feathered goes straight up to the throne; the Pharisees prayer cannot rise above his own lips.

Jesus does not leave His hearers to apply the parable, but drives its application home to them, since He knew how keen a thrust was needed to pierce the triple breastplate of self-righteousness. The publican was justified; that is, accounted as righteous. In the judgment of heaven, which is the judgment of truth, sin forsaken is sin passed away. The Pharisee condensed his contempt into this publican; Jesus takes up the this and turns it into a distinction, when He says, this man went down to his house justified. Gods condemnation of the Pharisee and acceptance of the publican are no anomalous aberration of divine justice, for it is a universal law, which has abundant exemplifications, that he that exalteth himself is likely to be humbled, and he that humbles himself to be exalted. Daily life does not always yield examples thereof, but in the inner life and as concerns our relations to God, that law is absolutely and always true.

BI 1-8, "Men ought always to pray, and not to faint

The strange weapon-All-prayer

While Christian was in the Palace Beautiful, they showed him all the remarkable objects in the armory, from the ox-goad of Shamgar to the sword of the Spirit.And amongst the arms he saw, and with some of which he was arrayed as be left the place, was a single weapon with a strange, new nameAll-prayer. When I was a child, I used to wonder much what this could have beenits shape, its use. I imagine I know something more about it in these later years. At any rate, I think Bunyan found his name for it in one of the New Testament Epistles: Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit Eph_6:18). It so happens, also, that we have two parables of our Lord given us in the eighteenth chapter of Luke to one end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint. One of these parables teaches the lesson of importunity, the other teaches the lesson of sincerity. And it does not need that we draw from this collocation the subtle suggestion that want of importunity and want of sincerity are what weaken the weapon of all-prayer, and render faint the heart of the Christian who wields it. We know that we do not pray always, and that we do not always pray.

I. Let us take up this matter of IMPORTUNITY in the outset. At first sight it gives perplexity to some students of the Bible. We must notice that Christ does not identify His Father, the Hearer of Prayer, with this judge in the parable in any sense whatsoever. The very point of the illustration turns upon his superiority. God is just, and this man was unjust. This petitioner was a lonely widow and a stranger; God was dealing with His own elect. The woman came uninvited; Christians are pressed with invitations to ask, and knock, and seek. The unjust judge never agreed to listen to the widow; God has promised, over and over again, that it shall be granted to those that ask. The judge may have had relations with this womans adversary which would complicate, and, in some way, commit him to an unnecessary quarrel in her behalf, if his office should be exercised in defence; God is in open and declared conflict, on His own account, with our adversary, and rejoices to defeat his machinations, and avenge His own chosen speedily.

Hence, the whole teaching of the story is directed towards our encouragement thus: If we would persist with a wicked judge that regarded nobody, God nor man, then surely we would press our prayers with God. What is the duty then? Simply, go on praying.

II. Let us move on to consider, in the second place, this matter of SINCERITY in

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prayer, suggested by the other parable. To men of the world it must be a subject of real wonder and surprise, to use no more disrespectful terms, why so many petitions offered by the people of God prove fruitless. To all this, Christians ought to be able to reply that prayer follows laws and respects intelligent conditions, just as every other part of Gods plan of redemption does. We are accustomed to say to each other that God always hears prayer. No, He does not. The wisest man that was ever inspired says distinctly, He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be abomination. And in the New Testament the apostle explains the whole anomaly of failure thus: Ye ask and receive not, because ye ask amiss. For one thing, self-conceit destroys all sincerity in prayer. For another thing, spits against others destroys all sincerity in prayer. Listen to the Pharisees preposterous comparison of himself in the matter of money and merit with the publican almost out of sight there in the corner. Inconsistencies in life also destroy sincerity in prayer. Purity from evil is a prime condition of success. (C. S. Robinson, D. D.)

The duty of persevering in prayer

I. OUR DUTY. That which is here inculcated implies that we pray

1. Statedly.

2. Occasionally. There are many particular occasions which require us to pray.

(1) Prosperity, that God may counteract its evil tendency (Pro_30:9).

(2) Adversity, that we may be supported under it (Jas_5:13).

(3) Times of public distress or danger, to avert the calamity (2Ch_7:14).

3. Habitually. We should maintain a spiritual frame of mind. To pray thus is our duty; We ought, etc.

(1) It is a duty we owe to God. He, our Creator, Preserver, and Redeemer, has commanded it.

(2) We owe it also to our neighbour. The edification of Christs mystical body depends, not only on the union of every part with the head, but on the whole being fitly framed together, and on every joint supplying its proper nourishment (Eph_4:16 : Col_2:19). But if we be remiss in prayer, we shall be incapable of administering that benefit, which other members have a right to expect from us.

(3) We owe it to ourselves. A spirit of supplication is as necessary to the soul, as food to the body. Nor can we feel any regard for our souls, if we do not cultivate it.

II. THE DIFFICULTIES THAT ATTEND IT. When we set ourselves to the performance of it, we shall find difficulties

1. Before we begin to pray. Worldly business may indispose our minds for this employment. Family cares may distract and dissipate our thoughts. Lassitude of body may unfit us for the necessary exertions. We may be disabled by an invincible hardness of heart. A want of utterance may also operate as a heavy discouragement.

2. While we are engaged in prayer. The world is never more troublesome than at such seasons. The flesh also, with its vilest imaginations will solicit our attention. Nor will Satan be backward to interrupt our devotions.

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3. After we have concluded prayer. When we have prayed, we should expect an answer. But worldliness may again induce a forgetfulness of God. Impatience to receive the desired blessings may deject us. Ignorance of the method in which God answers prayer may cause us to disquiet ourselves with many ungrounded apprehensions. Unbelief may rob us of the benefits we might have received (Jas_1:6-7). Whatever obstructs Gods answers to prayer, disqualifies us for the future discharge of that duty. (Theological Sketch-book.)

The nature and duty of prayer

I. THE NATURE OF PRAYER.

1. An expression of our sense of Gods infinite superiority.

2. An expression of our dependence upon God.

3. A declaration of our obligation to God.

4. A declaration of our faith in Gods ability to grant us anything our circumstances may require. There are several things necessary to constitute true prayer, and which form its constituent parts.

(1) Faith is one essential.

(2) Sincerity is another ingredient in true prayer.

(3) Humility.

II. We notice THE DUTY OF PRAYER. Prayer is a duty, if we consider it

1. As a Divine injunction.

2. It appears a duty, if we consider God as a prayer-hearing God.

3. It is a duty, if we consider the beneficial effects of prayer.

(1) Prayer brings great benefits to ourselves. It brings us into closer communion with Christ.

(2) Prayer is a powerful antidote to, and one of the most effectual safeguards against, worldly-mindedness.

(3) By prayer we get divinely enlightened.

(4) Prayer brings with it advancement in personal holiness.

(5) Prayer is a powerful stimulant to every Christian grace. He who lives in the habitual exercise of sincere and earnest prayer cannot remain in a lukewarm, inactive, lethargic state. (Essex Remembrancer.)

Men ought always to pray

Why?

1. Because the King wills it. Because it is an edict of eternal wisdom and truth, the command of absolute righteousness and justice, the direction of infinite goodness and love.

2. Because it is an instinct and faculty of our nature, part and parcel of our mental manhood; and as the all-wise Creator has endowed us with the power, and not only the power, but the tendency to pray, we cannot and do not fulfil His

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will, or rightly use our capabilities, unless we pray.

3. Because it is a privilege, a precious privilege conferred. The maker of the machine can mend and manage it; and He who created usbody, mind, and spiritinvites us to bring our bodily needs, hunger, thirst, aches, pains, and infirmities; our mental cares, griefs, doubts, perplexities, and depressions; our spiritual wants, fears, forebodings, sins, and weaknessto Him in prayer.

4. Because our state and condition is one of perpetual peril, and weakness, and need. The sin on our conscience condemns us, and we cannot undo it. We all get the heartache, and we cannot cure it. We can neither condone our offences, nor lighten our conscience, nor carry our sorrows, nor hush our complainings, nor dry our tears!

5. Because in the infinite love and mercy of God to poor sinners a new and living way hath been opened for us into the presence of God, so that not only doth the sinner gain a hearing, but he has an infinite guarantee that his prayers shall prosper, and his petitions shall be fulfilled.

6. Because our needs, our perils, our personal insufficiency, are always with us; because the throne of prayer is always accessible, and the Hearer of prayer is always willing; and because the power and privilege of prayer has a direct connection with the whole sphere of our daily life, and the whole circle of our daily needs.

7. Because no really earnest and reliant prayers can possibly be in vain. We are apt to faint in our petitionings if the gift we seek is long delayed. (J. J.Wray.)

Prayer

The ought of Christ outweighs all the objections of infidelity, and is stronger than the adverse conclusions of a material science.

1. Prayer should be constant. Can we, indeed, says Augustine, without ceasing bend the knee, bow the body, or lift up the hands? If the attitude and the language of prayer were essential to its being truly offered, the command of Christ would seem to be exaggerated. But understand it as the souls attitude to God, and it is no exaggeration. That soul, says Dr. Donne, which is ever turned toward God, prays sometimes when it does not know that it prays. The testimony of the Christian father accords with this. After admitting that formal, oral prayer must have its pauses and intermissions, Augustine says, There is another interior prayer without intermission, and that is the longing of the heart. Whatever else thou mayest be doing, if thou longest after the Sabbath of God, thou dost not intermit to pray. Thus the whole life becomes, what Origen conceived the life of the Christian should be, one great connected prayer. The importance of constancy in it arises from the place it holds in mans spiritual life. Prayer is to the soul what the nerves of the body are to the mindits medium of communication with a world that else were unperceived and unrealized.

2. Prayer should be earnest. There is danger of our prayer degenerating into a dead form, or perfunctory serviceworse than no praying at all. The simple remedy is to deepen the desire or sense of need which prompts to prayer, and is the essence of prayer. If thou wishest not to intermit to pray, says one of the Christian fathers, see that thou do not intermit to desire. The coldness of love is the silence of the heart; the fervency of love is the cry of the heart. This warmth of desire is the product of a clear persuasion of the value of prayer as a means of

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help and strength.

3. Another quality of true prayer is, patient confidence in God. Shall not God avenge His own elect which cry day and night unto Him, though He bear long with them. There are two sure and solid grounds of confidence. One is found in Gods righteous character, by which He is constrained to rectify wrong and establish the right; and the other is found in His positive love for the suppliant.

4. One other quarry should mark true prayer, namely, humility. (A. H.Currier.)

The necessity of praying always, and not fainting

Our Lord Jesus Christ, has kindly intimated to all that have business at the court of heaven the necessity of so managing themselves that they still hang on there, and not faint, whatever entertainment they meet with during the dependence of their process.

I. The first thing to be considered, is, OUR LORDS KIND INTIMATION OF THIS WAY OF HIS FATHERS COURT.

1. I shall show the import of Christs making this intimation to petitioners at His Fathers court.

(1) The darkness that is naturally on the minds of poor sinners, with respect to heavens management about them. We may say, as Jer_5:4, Surely these are poor, they are foolish: for they know not the way of the Lord, nor the judgment of their God.

(2) Christs good-will to the sinners business going right there Exo_28:29).

(3) That our Lord sees sinners are in hazard of fainting from the entertainment they may meet with during the dependence of their process Heb_12:3).

(4) That they that shall hang on, and not faint, shall certainly come speed at length.

2. The weight and moment of this intimation. This will appear, if it is considered in a fourfold light.

(1) Jesus Christ, who makes it, has experienced it in His own case. Now, if this was the manner with the great Petitioner, how can we expect it should fare otherwise with us?

(2) He is the great Prophet of heaven, whose office it is to reveal the manner of the court to poor sinners.

(3) He is the only Intercessor there, the Fathers Secretary, the Solicitor for poor sinners there.

II. The second thing to be considered, is, THE WAY OF THE COURT OF HEAVEN, IN TRYSTING PETITIONERS WITH SOME HARDSHIPS, DURING THE DEPENDENCE OF THEIR PROCESS. Here I shall give you

1. A swatch of that way; and

2. Some reasons of that way, whereby to account for it in a suitableness to the Divine perfections.

1. (1) Oft-times there is deep silence from the throne (Mat_15:23).

(2) Oft-times they get a very angry-like answer. The woman of Canaan got a

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couple of them, one on the back of another: But He answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. It is not meet to take the childrens bread, and to cast it to dogs (Mat_15:24; Mat 15:26).

(3) Disappointed expectations are a piece of very ordinary entertainment there: We looked for peace, but no good came: and for a time of health, and behold trouble (Jer_8:15).

(4) Many a time, looking for an answer, Providence drives a course apparently just contrary to the granting of their petition; so is fulfilled that Psa_65:5, By terrible things in righteousness wilt Thou answer us, O God of our salvation.

(5) Oft-times the Lord, instead of easing the petitioner, lays new burdens on him: We looked for peace, but no good came; and for a time of health, and behold trouble (Jer_8:15). Instead of curing the old wound,there are new ones given.

2. (1) This way is taken with petitioners in the court of heaven; for thereby God is glorified, and His attributes more illustrated than otherwise they would be. In this view of it, Paul welcomes it in his own case, though it was hard to sense: And He said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for My strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly, therefore, will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me 2Co_12:9).

(2) Hereby the state of petitioners is tried, and a plain difference constituted between hypocrites and the sincere: He that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved (Mat_24:13).

(3) Hereby the graces of believing petitioners are tried, both as to the reality and strength of them; particularly their faith and patience (1Pe_1:6-7).

(4) Hereby believers are humbled, and taught that they hold of free grace. The exalting of grace is the great design of the whole contrivance of the gospel.

(5) This way is taken for honour of the word: Thou hast magnified Thy word above all Thy name (Psa_138:2).

(6) It is taken to make them long to be home.

III. The third thing to be considered, is, THE DUTY OF THE PETITIONERS TO HANG ON, AND NOT TO FAINT, WHATEVER THEY MEET WITH. We may view it in these things following.

1. They must never lift their process from the court of heaven: Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life (Joh_6:67-68).

2. They must never give over praying, but pray always. And Satan sometimes plies distressed souls to give up with it, as what they may see they will do no good with, for that God will not hear them. But that is a deceit of hell which ye must never yield to.

3. They must carry all their incident needs in new petitions to the same throne of grace, where the former petition may have been long lying, and still unanswered; and so pursue all together. The latter must not drive out the former, nor the former keep back the latter. It is one of the ways how the Lord keeps His people hanging about His hand without fainting, by sending them several loads above their burden; which loads He takes off soon at their request; and so makes them go under their burden the more easily. These short incident processes, that get a

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speedy answer, confirm their faith and hope in waiting on for the answer of the main.

4. They must continue in the faith of the promise, never quit the gripe of it; but trust and believe that it shall certainly be accomplished, though the wheels of providence should seem to drive out over it and in over it Rom_4:19-20).

Consider

1. If ye faint and give over, your suit is lost, ye have given up with it.

2. He is well worth the waiting on.

(1) Though He is infinitely above us, He has waited long on us.

(2) The longer you are called to wait for a mercy, ye will readily find it the more valuable when it comes.

(3) His time will be found the due time (Gal_6:9); the best chosen time for the mercys coming; witness the time of Isaacs birth.

(4) Ye shall be sure of some blessed of fallings, while ye wait on (Psa_27:14).

3. They have waited long, that have lost all, by not having patience to wait a little longer (Exo_32:1-35.; 1Sa_13:8; 1Sa 13:10). Therefore let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing Jas_1:4); for in due season ye shall reap, if ye faint not Gal_6:9). (T. Boston, D. D.)

Petitioners at the court of heaven encouraged; or, the happy issue of praying always, and not fainting

I. First, I SHALL SHOW WHAT IS THAT TREATMENT PETITIONERS MAY MEET WITH AT THE COURT OF HEAVEN, UNDER WHICH THEY WILL BE IN HAZARD OF FAINTING. I mentioned several particulars at another occasion; I offer now only three things in general.

1. The weight and pressure of their heavy case itself, whatever it is, may be long continued, notwithstanding all their addresses for help.

2. There may be no appearance of relief (Psa_74:9).

3. They may get incident weights laid on them, as a load above their burden (Psa_69:26). These are like drops poured into a full cup, ready to cause it run over; like smart touches on a broken leg, inclining one readily to faint.

II. The second thing to be spoke to, is, WHY PETITIONERS ARE IN HAZARD OF FAINTING FROM SUCH TREATMENT AT THE COURT OF HEAVEN.

1. Natural weakness. All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field (Isa_40:6). On this very view the Lord pitiesHis children (Psa_103:13-14).

2. Conscience of guilt: My wounds stink, and are corrupt; because of my foolishness (Psa_38:5-6). Guilt is a mother of fears, and fears cause fainting.

3. Unacquaintedness with the methods of sovereignty: Thy way is in the sea, and Thy path in the great waters, and Thy footsteps are not known Psa_77:19).

4. A strong bias to unbelief and walking by sense, quite contrary to our duty and interest (2Co_5:7). We are apt to be impressed more with what we see and feel in Providence, than what we hear from the Word.

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III. The third thing to be considered is, WHEREFORE THE LORD GIVES SUCH TREATMENT TO ANY OF HIS PETITIONERS. Negatively.

1. It is not for mere will and pleasure. Satan will be ready to suggest this, and pose the party with such questions as these, For what use is all this delay?

2. It is not because He has no pity on you, nor concern for you under your burden.

3. It is not to signify to you that you should give it over, and trouble Him no more with your petition; as the hasty unbelieving heart is ready to take it, and to give over duty because there is no sensible appearance of success: I said I will not make mention of Him nor speak any more in His Jer_20:9).

4. Lastly, It is not because He is resolved not to hear you at any rate, cry as long as ye will. But positively, in general, it is for holy, wise, becoming ends; it is necessary for His glory and your case.

But particularly

1. It is for the honour of the man Christ. It contributes to it

(1) In that thereby the petitioners are conformed to His image, in the suffering part thereof.

(2) Thereby He gets the more employment as the great Intercessor, and is more earnestly applied to than otherwise He would be. Longsome pleas give the advocates much ado; and longsome processes at the court of heaven bring much business to the Mediator, and so much honour.

(3) It affords Him the most signal occasion of displaying His power in combating with and baffling the old serpent, next to that He had on the 2Co_12:9).

2. To magnify the promise.

3. To keep up the mercy, till that time come, that, all things considered, will be the absolutely best time for bestowing it (Joh_11:14-15).

IV. The fourth thing to be spoke to is, WHAT IS THE IMPORT OF THIS INTIMATION MADE FOR THIS END? It imports

1. That sinners are ready to take delays at the court of heaven for denials.

2. That importunity and resolute hanging on, and repeated addresses for the supply of the same need, are very welcome and acceptable to Christ and His Father. There is no fear of excess here; the oftener ye come, the more resolute ye are in your hanging on, the more welcome.

3. That the faith of being heard at length, is necessary to keep one hanging on without fainting (Psa_27:13).

4. That the hearing to be got at length at the court of heaven is well worth the waiting on, be it ever so long. It will more than counterbalance all the fatigue of the process, that is kept longest in dependence.

V. The fifth thing in the method is, THE CERTAINTY OF SUCH PETITIONERS BEING HEARD AT LENGTH.

1. They are doubtless Gods own children, elect believers, whatever they think of themselves (Luk_17:7).

2. The nature, name, and promise of God, joins to insure it. He is good and

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gracious in His nature (Exo_34:6-9).

3. Such prayers are the product of His own Spirit in them, and therefore He cannot miss to be heard (Jas_5:16).

4. Our Lord Jesus has given His word on it, and so has impawned His honour they shall be heard: I tell you that He will avenge them speedily.

VI. Sixthly, How THEY SHALL BE HEARD TO THEIR HEARTS CONTENT.

1. They shall at length see that their prayers have been accepted. I do not say they shall at length be accepted, but they shall see they have been so.

2. They shall get an answer of their petitions to their hearts satisfaction Mat_15:28). The needy shall not always be forgotten: the expectation of the poor shall not perish for ever (Psa_9:18).

3. They shall be fully satisfied as to the long delay, and the whole steps of the procedure, however perplexing they were before (Rev_15:3).

4. They shall get it with increase according to the time they waited on, and the hardships they sustained during the dependence of the process. The fruit of the promise, the longer it is a-ripening, the more bulky it is.

5. Lastly, their spiritual enemies that flew thick and strong about them in the time of the darkness, shall be scattered at the appearance of this light 1Sa_2:5).

VII. Seventhly, How IT SHALL BE SPEEDILY, NOTWITHSTANDING THE LONG DELAY.

1. It shall be speedily in respect of the weight and value of it when it comes: so that the believer looking on the return of his petition, with an eye of faith perceiving the worth of it, may wonder it is come upon so short onwaiting (2Co_4:17).

2. It shall come in the most seasonable nick of time it can come in Gal_6:9), when it may come to the best advantage for the honour of God and their good: and that which comes in the best season, comes speedily. To everything there is a season; so fools haste is no speed.

3. It shall come as soon as they are prepared for it (Psa_10:17).

4. It shall not tarry one moment beyond the due and appointed time Hab_2:3).

5. Lastly, it will be surprising, as a glaring light to one brought out of a dungeon, though he was expecting it. (T. Boston, D. D.)

The necessity of prayer

I. With regard to the necessity of prayer, THE GERM OF THIS AS OF OTHER REVEALED DOCTRINES, IS TO BE FOUND IN OUR NATURE, and affords one illustration of the truth of that profound exclamation, O testimony of a soul, by nature Christian! Of moral truth there is an inward engraving, a light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. The virtues, says a modern writer, were like plants half developed in some gloomy shade, till Christ poured His sunshine upon them, and made them flourish with luxuriance. It is important, then, to ground the necessity of prayer on the dictates of nature as well as on the teaching of Revelation, thereby resting it on a double authority, each of which lends support to the other. For anything to be original in our nature, it must possess certain properties; in looking back to the beginning of our race it will present itself without any external origin,

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and it will continue to exist under conditions most diverse and at all times. We examine, then, the history of the past, we take up the book which contains the first records of our race in order to discover whether this communing with God existed from the firstto see what the first human souls did. All the elements of prayer were present in Adams intercourse with his Maker; man, rational and dependent; God, Almighty, Omniscient, and Good; andcommunications between the two. We trace the instinct of prayer continuing in fallen man, else it might have been supposed that it was a part of his supernatural equipment, and had no foundation in his natural life. In Adams sons this instinct survived; Cain and Abel offered sacrifices, and sacrifices are the outward expression of prayer; there was an ascent of the mind to God, a real ascent at least in one case, for by faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain. In an unfallen state, the instinct of the soul was to turn to the Author of its life, with joy and thankfulness; in a fallen state, the instinct of the soul is to turn to Him through its need of pardon and its sense of weakness; but in both states there is the instinct to turn to Him, though the leading reasons for doing so may be different. Looking back, then, into the past by the light of the only record which can safely guide us, we find the practice of prayer from the first without any external command or origin, and therefore it preserves one mark of an instinct of nature. But an instinct to be acknowledged must not only be able to claim antiquity on its side but also universality. That which is a genuine part of human nature will always be a part of human nature. If that which marked human life in its earlier stages, disappears in times of advanced civilization and culture, it may be doubted whether it was a pure instinct of our nature, and be attributed either on the one side to an original revelation or on the other to a defective or barbarous condition. It must, however, be admitted that in matters of religion, the mark of antiquity in an instinct has a special value; we can see in it natural religion before it has been tampered with. If we want to learn the habits of an animal, we must see it in its native freedom, and not only after it has been trained and domesticated. The instinct of prayer, however, does not lack the second property, universality; we find it both in the highest and lowest states of civilization, in places and races widely sundered both in position and circumstance. If we examine the practices of barbarous nations; if we turn to the ancient religions of the East; if we look at Greece and Rome in the plenitude of their intellectual power, we find that in some form or shape the necessity of prayer and homage to a superior Power is admitted, and in no nation is the instinct entirely obliterated. In the root of human nature there is a sense of dependency, and a sense of guilt; natural religion is based on these two, the correlatives of which are prayer and atonementthe actions respectively proper to the frail, and to the sinful. It is useless to speak of the instinct of prayer as of something imported into our nature: that which is simply imported does not make its home so fixed and sure, that no lapse of time or change of circumstances has the power to dislodge it. I have dwelt at some length on the instinctive character of prayer, because on it I first ground its obligation; we ought to pray out of deference to an instinct with which God has endowed us, for by our higher intuitions and instincts He expresses His will, and to neglect to act in accordance with them, is to disobey His voice within us. Moreover, this instinct of prayer is an imperious one; it is one which will assert itself, even when it has been set aside, and its presence denied. There are moments in life when men are superior to their own principles, and human systems fail to silence the deep cry of the heart; when men pray who have denied the power of prayer. That men ought always to pray, then, is the teaching of nature, and prayer as a matter of natural religion is an express duty.

II. We pass now from the sphere of the natural to the super-natural, from nature to grace, TO FIND ANOTHER BASIS FOR THE NECESSITY OF PRAYER.

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Prayer meets us with a two-fold claim in the domain of revealed religion; it is necessary as a means of grace, it is necessary also as a fulfilment of an express command of God; these are two sides, the one objective, the other subjective, of the same truth. It will be observed, that the necessity of prayer viewed in this connection is derived from the prior necessity of grace. Every man is held to pray in order to obtain spiritual goods, which are not given, except from heaven; wherefore they are not able to be procured in any other way but by being thus sought for. In the New Testament, that grace is a necessity for the supernatural life is an elemental truth. Grace is to that life what the water is to the life of the fish, or the air to our natural lifesomething absolutely indispensable. Being justified freely by His grace. By grace ye are saved. By the grace of God I am what I am; and His grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain. Grow in grace. He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it. In following the operations of grace from the commencement of the spiritual life to its end, five effects have been enumeratedit heals the soul, it produces a good will, it enables the good which was willed to be brought about in action, it makes perseverance in good possible, it leads to glory. Thus grace is, from first to last, the invisible nourishment of the souls life, and prayer is the means in mans own power of gaining grace; it is through prayer that the different effects of grace are wrought in us. We ask God for spiritual healingHeal my soul, for I have sinned against Thee. O cleanse Thou me from my secret faults. We need Divine help for resisting temptationsWhen Christ was baptized and prayed, the heavens were opened, showing that after Baptism prayer is necessary to man in two ways, to overcome the inward proneness to evil, and the outward enticements of the world and the devil. Temptations to be resisted with sanctifying effect must be resisted in the power of prayer; slight temptations may perhaps be vanquished by natural effort, or overthrown by an opposite vice, but such victories are not registered in heaven. Again, in order to advance in the spiritual life, in the development of virtues, prayer is a necessitythe apostles prayed, Lord, increase our faith. The increase of the interior life simply consists in the growth of different virtues and graces, and these virtues are formed by the combined action of grace and free-will; these are the two factors, the raw material so to speak, from which the fabric is manufactured. A continual supply of grace is needed for the increase of each virtue, and therefore prayer is needed, not only in general, but also with definite reference to the support of the virtue which we have to exercise, or in which we are most conscious of defect. He says prayer and grace are of the same necessity; grace is necessary for salvation, hence it ought to follow that prayer also is necessary; but why should prayer be ordained in relation to eternity, unless it he for the sake of obtaining grace? There are, however, two limits to the power of prayer which we must not forget in its relation to grace. Prayer is itself dependent on grace in the spiritual life, and an act of prayer for grace is a correspondence with a