97Oh, how I love your law!
I meditate on it all day long.
98Your commands are always with me
and make me wiser than my enemies.
99I have more insight than all my teachers,
for I meditate on your statutes.
100I have more understanding than the elders,
for I obey your precepts.
101I have kept my feet from every evil path
so that I might obey your word.
102I have not departed from your laws,
for you yourself have taught me.
103How sweet are your words to my taste,
sweeter than honey to my mouth!
104I gain understanding from your precepts;
therefore I hate every wrong path.
and Luke 18:1-8
1Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. 2He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought. 3And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’
4 “For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think, 5yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come and attack me!’ ”
6And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. 7And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? 8I 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?”
We pray in the hope that our prayers will be answered. How many pray for peace yet war rages on? How many pray for an end to poverty but the poor are still with us? Can these people still hope that their prayers will be answered?
The widow had nothing so wasn't able to pay court costs, so she relied on persistence.
"The squeaky wheel gets the grease"
Does this mean that we should harass God until we get what we want? This parable tells us that this is not what God is like, but tells us that it is important to pray and that our God is generous towards those that pray.
Jesus says that God will hear our prayers and answer them quickly. Some would say that His idea of quickly is a little distorted as their prayers are yet to be answered, but maybe God hasn't answered because he has something better in mind. Time is a relative thing and what may seem like a long time maybe relatively short it the grand scheme of things.
When we want something we should remember the acronym "PUSH" - Pray Until Something Happens.
Prayer is about developing a relationship with God. Once you have that relationship then God will answer your prayers, either giving you what you ask for or giving you something better.
Keep praying and may God bless you richly this week.
Richard.
Thank you Richard. I had to miss services today and that is exactly what I needed to hear.
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