1 Then Jesus told them a parable about their need to pray at all times and not lose heart…8 I tell you, He will promptly carry out justice on their behalf. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on earth?”
-Luke 18:1, 8, BSB
Prayer is an essential element in the process of a believer’s growth in the Lord. In verse 8, prayer reflects one’s faith or the strength of it. Jesus connects prayer to the level of your trust in Him when you read the context that’s between verses 1 and 8.
Jesus talks about a widow who went to an unjust judge for justice who didn’t care about God or people, but because the widow kept coming to him, he saw that she was going to wear him out. He decides to give her the justice that she sought. Jesus then said, won’t God answer His children’s prayer even quicker? Jesus finished by comparing consistent prayer to strong faith.
Jesus only answers a prayer that is consistent because it exercises the person’s faith towards the Lord. In Hebrews 11:6, it says, “6 And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who approaches Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.” As you can see that faith in Jesus Christ is what pleases Him, and without it, you cannot not. A prayer that does not give up displays a faith that is firm and immovable.
Doubt is prayer’s cancer. It eats it up by causing the person to cease from hoping in an answered prayer from the Lord. After the person stops, bitterness develops, and its roots go down deep into the person’s soul and takes hold until it destroys that person’s faith.
Remember, the target will always be your faith because faith is what pleases God and strengthens you. Without faith in Jesus, there will be no life of prayer, hope, and worse, no salvation. How do you think that a person who at one time was a Christian turned around and became an atheist? Once you destroy the little bit of faith they had in Christ, it severs their connection to Him. They have no choice but to abandon Jesus because what keeps you clued to Jesus Christ is trust in Him.
If Jesus is not answering your prayer, do you give up, or have you made up your mind to be persistent until He answers you?
What type of faith do you have?
Spiritual Minefield 