about the necessity for them to pray always without becoming weary.
This is a hard lesson to learn. Why do we have to pray always? If God is all powerful why shouldn't asking once be enough? We start to think of God like the judge in the parable. He is indifferent and unwilling to help. Jesus knows that we have a tendency to think like this. He makes the judge a caricature of this tendency. It's like he's saying, 'I know you're thinking that my Father is like this, but stay with me while I explain.'
because this widow keeps bothering me
I shall deliver a just decision for her
lest she finally come and strike me.’”
We may at times be so frustrated with our prayer that we sympathize with the widow. Yet we never force God into answering our prayers by annoying him into it. He doesn't grant our requests because he is afraid of being hit. In fact, God answers not because he is like the judge, but because he is unlike him. Our caricature about God is contrasted with his true heart.
Will not God then secure the rights of his chosen ones
who call out to him day and night?
Will he be slow to answer them?
God answers because he genuinely cares about our hearts. When widows ask God for a just decision he gives it because he loves them. It doesn't always come as soon as they'd like. But we can rest assured that God does want to "see to it that justice is done for them speedily." He wants to pour his blessings upon us more than we want to receive them.
But sometimes there are hearts that still need work, ours and others. Prayer changes these hearts and opens them to receive. In prayer like this we surrender ourselves more completely to God. For example, sometimes we must keep asking to show our trust in God in spite of the circumstances. Sometimes the blessings we want now are not given so that we can receive something greater that God wants to give.
The ultimate blessing God has for us is himself. When we come to trust in his love for us we begin to have the sort of faith that moves mountains. Our petitions are no longer clouded by doubts about who God is.
But if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly, and he will be given it. But he should ask in faith, not doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed about by the wind (cf. Jam. 1:5-6).
Instead of doubt we trust the goodness of the one who makes all things work together for our good (cf. Rom. 8:28). Our requests to him fall in line with his plan for us more naturally the more we trust in him. As this happens we see more and more of them answered and our trust increases in a wonderful feed forward mechanism. Where before we were anxious we now have peace because we take Paul's advice: "Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God."
We become like the missionaries in John's letter. We don't need anything from the pagans to make this mission work. We don't need their remedies to anxiety. Our motivation is the Name. Our strength is the prayer of our brothers and sisters.
Please help them in a way worthy of God to continue their journey.
For they have set out for the sake of the Name
and are accepting nothing from the pagans.
And we in turn are strength for them. Let's set out for the sake of the Name. And let us continue the journey in prayer that never loses heart. When we do we have peace knowing that God always gives us exactly what we need.
Light shines through the darkness for the upright;
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