Tag Archives: Luke 18:1-8

Pray And Never Give Up

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Discipleship Devotional Study Guide - Promises - Day 218 - Luke 18:1-8 - Pray And Never Give Up - Growing As Disciples

Discipleship Devotional Study Guide – Promises – Day 218 – Luke 18:1-8 – Pray And Never Give Up – Growing As Disciples

One day Jesus told his disciples a story to show that they should always pray and never give up.  “There was a judge in a certain city,” he said, “who neither feared God nor cared about people.  A widow of that city came to him repeatedly, saying, ‘Give me justice in this dispute with my enemy.’  The judge ignored her for a while, but finally he said to himself, ‘I don’t fear God or care about people,  but this woman is driving me crazy. I’m going to see that she gets justice, because she is wearing me out with her constant requests!’”  Then the Lord said, “Learn a lesson from this unjust judge.  Even he rendered a just decision in the end. So don’t you think God will surely give justice to his chosen people who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off?  I tell you, he will grant justice to them quickly! But when the Son of Man returns, how many will he find on the earth who have faith?”  Luke 18:1-8 (NLT)  

Persistent In Prayer

Will you do that? Will I do what? Will you be persistent in prayer? Will you keep on praying until you have an answer from me? Yes, I will be persistent in prayer. Yes, I will keep on praying until I have an answer from you? You do have a few questions about prayer, don’t you? Yes, I do. Go ahead, ask me. Why are not all my prayers answered immediately? Why must I sometimes wait a great deal of time before a prayer of mine is answered? Let me ask you a few questions. I’m listening. Is “no” an answer to prayer? Yes, “no” is an answer to prayer. Why might I say “no” to one of your prayers? I may be asking for something that is not helpful or healthy for me. I may be asking for something far less than what you want to give me. You might have something completely different or better in mind for me. So, a “no” from me is not just an answer to your prayer, but it is a very good answer to some of your prayers. I get that, I understand. That’s good. I have another question for you. Is “not yet” or “wait” an answer to prayer? Yes, “not yet” and “wait” are both answers to prayer. Why might I say, “not yet” or “wait” to one of your prayers? The timing is not right. I may not be ready to receive what I am asking of you. Other circumstances may need to come into alignment to make it to be the right time for my prayer to be answered. Yes, those are real and true reasons why I haven’t answered some of your prayers immediately. Have I ever answered one of your prayers in a way that you could have never dreamed of, asked for, or even imagined? There is no doubt about that. Has it sometimes taken you quite a while to realize that I had in fact answered your prayer without you even noticing it right away? There is no doubt about that either. Now, for the hardest questions. Have I ever asked you to keep praying because I wanted to grow your faith and develop your persistence in prayer? Has waiting and being persistent in prayer caused you to rely more fully on me? Has waiting and be persistent in prayer caused you to draw nearer to me and made our relationship more intimate? Yes, and that is no doubt better and more important that what I was praying for anyhow. It pleases me that you know this to be true. Thank you, Heavenly Father for all your varied answers to my prayers. I will keep on being persistent in prayer. That will be very good.

Heavenly Father, with a heart filled with faith, I will be persistent in my prayers. I will not lose heart. I will not give up and quit. Help me to be persistent in my prayers. Do your good work in me so that you will find me full of faith when I meet you face to face. Amen

Key Question…  What prayers have you been praying with great persistence over a very long time?

Living It Out… With a heart filled with faith may you remain persistent in your prayers until an answer comes.

Seeing It Happen… Have faith that answers will come as you remain persistent in your prayers.

Get Ready To Share… Share with another person or your small group what answers have come as you have been persistent in prayer.

Prayer To Bless Others… May you always keep praying and never give up until an answer comes.

For today’s complete 4 page Discipleship Devotional Study Guide click here:

Promises – Day 203 – Luke 18-1-8 – Pray And Never Give Up – 4 Page Discipleship Devotional Study Guide

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By Jon Ulrich © All rights reserved                   Copying not permitted                      www.GrowingAsDisciples.com

Always Pray And Not Give Up

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Discipleship Devotional Study Guide - Becoming Like Christ - Day 140 - Luke 18:1-8 - Always Pray And Not Give Up- Growing As Disciples

Discipleship Devotional Study Guide – Becoming Like Christ – Day 140 – Luke 18:1-8 – Always Pray And Not Give Up- Growing As Disciples

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

Keep On Praying 

Don’t do that. Don’t quit. Don’t give up. Don’t lose heart. I’m not sure what you are talking about. Can you be more specific? Keep on praying. Keep on asking. Keep on coming before me. Persistently with day and night consistency keep on making your needs known to me. Why is that? I will hear and answer your prayers. I will supply what you need. There is something that you must know about me. What’s that? I am both the giver and granter of prayers. What does that mean? Do you think that your prayers originate with you? Are you the author of your prayers? I have never thought of that question before. Do you have an answer now? I doubt that many of my prayers originate with me. I am surely not the author of my prayers. I would say that many if not most and maybe all of my prayers have come from you. How does that thought change your thoughts about prayer? You want me to pray. You want me to come to you. You want me to enter into your presence. You want me to live in an intimate relationship with you. You want me to walk and talk with you moment by moment and day and night throughout my entire life. There is no matter that is too small or too large to become a subject of prayer. That’s right. Will you keep on coming to me? Will you never give up? Will you live in an intimate relationship with me? Will you keep on consistently and persistently praying the prayers I will give you to pray? Yes Lord, I will. That will be very good. 

Lord, I will keep on praying. I will keep on crying out to you. I will keep on making my needs known to you. Day and night, I will keep on coming before you. I won’t quit. I won’t lose heart. I won’t give up. Thank you, that you will hear and answer my prayers. Amen

Key Question… How has the Lord encouraged and strengthened you to keep on being persistent in your prayers?

Living It Out… .Day and night keep on being persistent in your prayers to the Lord.

Seeing It Happen… Have faith that the Lord will hear and answer your prayers as you consistently and persistently pray to Him.

Get Ready To Share… Share with another person or your small group how you are remaining persistent in your prayers to the Lord.

Prayer To Bless Others… May you not give up, but keep on praying to the Lord.

For today’s complete 4 page Discipleship Devotional Study Guide click here:

Becoming Like Christ – Day 140 – Luke 18-1-8 – Always Pray And Not Give Up – 4 Page Discipleship Devotional Study Guide

Please consider sharing these devotionals with others through the social media you use.

Individual users may save the Discipleship Devotional Study Guide to their desktop for private use. All the blanks in the study guides are fields that allow typed responses. To use the fields on the study guide you may need to open the guide with a free version of adobe reader.

By Jon Ulrich © All rights reserved                   Copying not permitted                      www.GrowingAsDisciples.com

The Persistent Widow

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Discipleship Devotional Study Guide - Parables - The Persistent Widow - Luke 18:1-8 - Growing As Disciples

Discipleship Devotional Study Guide – Parables – The Persistent Widow – Luke 18:1-8 – Growing As Disciples

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

Imagine That

What do you want from me? What are you willing to continue to ask of me day and night? What will you continue to persevere in prayer for until you have an answer from me? I’m not hearing a very quick answer from you. I know, I’m thinking. Doesn’t something jump out to you right away? It’s not that I can’t think of anything. I’m not sure of what’s worthy of bringing to you night and day. Don’t tell me that you don’t want to bother me with small stuff. I was about to. That would be a mistake. Why is that? Your prayers are never a bother to me. I delight to hear all your prayers, both the large ones and the ones you consider to be the small ones.  There is something that I want you to know. What’s that? There is no such thing as a small and unimportant prayer request.  Why is that?  Think back over your life for a second. What very small seemingly insignificant events changed the course of your life? Do you have any in mind? Yes, I do.  Would you ever have been able to predict, in advance, which insignificant detail was going to change the course of your life? No, I wouldn’t. So, what does that tell you? It tells me that I should bring all my prayer requests to you, even ones I consider to be insignificant. Yes, that’s right.

There are a couple of things that I want you to know about being persistent in prayer. What’s that?  Your persistence in prayer tells me something about your prayer. What’s that? It tells me that you are serious about it. When you pray a “one and done” prayer how important is that prayer to you? Not very, I suppose. Yes, there have been times that you have prayed a prayer and not even remembered that you prayed it. I’m sure that is true. It is. Do you know what else your persistence in prayer tells me? What’s that? It tells me that you have faith in me. Otherwise, you would stop praying.  Yes, I would. You believe that I will hear and answer your prayers. Yes, I do.

Since you are having a hard time remembering your persistent prayers, at this moment, let me tell you what I am regularly hearing from you. Alright, go ahead. You are persistently praying that you will know and love me. Yes, I am. Do you think this prayer is being answered as you persist in prayer with me? Yes, I do.  You have been praying that I will use you so that you will bear abundant fruit for me. Yes, I have. Is this persistent prayer being answered for you? Yes, it is. You have been asking me to mold and shape you into the person that I want you to become. That’s right. Are you being transformed as you persist in prayer with me? Yes Father, I am.

So, what are you thinking about persistent prayer right now? I’m so thankful for your invitation to come and persist in prayer with you. You are answering my prayers beyond what I could have possibly imagined. Yes, I am. 

Heavenly Father, thank you for inviting me to come and bring all my prayers to you. Help me to persist in prayer with you. Mold and shape my life and grow my faith and trust in you as I await your answers to my persistent prayers. Amen

Key Question…  What has your Heavenly Father been able to do in your life as you have persisted in prayer with Him?

Living It Out…  Accept the invitation from your Heavenly Father to persist in prayer with Him.

Seeing It Happen…  Have faith that your Heavenly Father is inviting you to persist in prayer with Him.

Get Ready To Share…  Share with another person or your small group the prayers that you are persistently praying to your Heavenly Father.

Prayer To Bless Others…  May you be persistent in the prayers you pray to your Heavenly Father.

For today’s complete 4 page Discipleship Devotional Study Guide click here:

Yr 3 Wk 48 Day 1 Parables – Luke 18-1-8 – The Persistent Widow – 4 Page Discipleship Devotional Study Guide

Please consider sharing these devotionals with others through the social media you use.

Individual users may save the Discipleship Devotional Study Guide to their desktop for private use. All the blanks in the study guides are fields that allow typed responses. To use the fields on the study guide you may need to open the guide with a free version of adobe reader.

By Jon Ulrich © All rights reserved                   Copying not permitted                      www.GrowingAsDisciples.com

See That They Get Justice

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The Virtuous Life - Day 255 - Luke 18:1-8 - See That They Get Justice - Growing As Disciples

The Virtuous Life – Day 255 – Luke 18:1-8 – See That They Get Justice – Growing As Disciples

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

Persistent In Prayers 

That I will be. What will you be? I will be persistent in my prayers. I will keep on praying. I will not grow weary. I will not become tired. I will not quit and give up bringing my prayers to you. Why will you be persistent in your prayers? That is what you have asked of me. If you ask me to do something, I’m not going to spend a lot of time analyzing it or debating you. If you ask me to do something, that is all I need to know. I will do whatever you ask of me even when I don’t completely understand all the “what’s” and “why’s” of your request of me. That sounds like taking steps of faith with me, doesn’t it? Yes, it does. If I had every answer and new all the details of what you asked of me, what faith would be required of me? I know without a doubt that you want me to place all my faith in you. Yes, I do. Being persistent in my prayers is one way, a very important way, of my placing my faith in you. Being persistent in my prayers also answers the question, “Do I really believe that you will hear and answer my prayer?” If I have faith, I will keep on praying. If I do not have faith, I will quit and give up. I will stop praying to you. That I will never do. That will be very good.

I have a new topic for your prayers. It is a topic that has not often been the topic of your prayers. It is a new arena of prayer that I would like you to enter. That sounds interesting. That sounds exciting. I am glad that you think so. You have my full attention. There is pain and suffering in the world around you. There is brokenness in the lives of people all around you. There is injustice everywhere you turn in the world around you. I want you to pray for justice in the world around you. I want you to pray for those who are experiencing injustice.  I want you to intercede for those who are bruised and battered and broken. Will you do that? Will you pray these prayers? Yes, Heavenly Father, I will pray for the specific needs of those who are suffering injustice all around me. That will be very good.

Heavenly Father, I know you will hear and answer my prayers. I will be persistent in prayers. I will never give up and quit praying. I will keep on bringing my and others needs before you. Hear my prayers. Accomplish your all purposes and plans on the earth. Amen

Key Question…  What specific prayers have you been persistently praying for quite some time?

Living It Out…  Be persistent in your prayers and never give up praying to your Heavenly Father.

Seeing It Happen…  Have faith that your Heavenly Father will hear and answer your prayers as you keep on praying to Him.

Get Ready To Share…  Share with another person or your small group the prayers you are persistently praying to your Heavenly Father.

Prayer To Bless Others…  May you be persistent in your prayers and never give up praying to your Heavenly Father.

For today’s complete 4 page Discipleship Devotional Study Guide click here:

The Compassionate Life – Day 255 – Luke 18-1-8 – See That They Get Justice – 4 Page Discipleship Devotional Study Guide

Please consider sharing these devotionals with others through the social media you use.

Individual users may save the Discipleship Devotional Study Guide to their desktop for private use. All the blanks in the study guides are fields that allow typed responses. To use the fields on the study guide you may need to open the guide with a free version of adobe reader.

By Jon Ulrich © All rights reserved                                                        Copying not permitted                                                                                    www.GrowingAsDisciples.com