◄ What Does Luke 18:1 Mean? ►

Now He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart,

Luke 18:1(NASB)

Verse of the Day

So much of the Lord's teachings were demonstrated through stories and parables, but familiarity with the text and a less than perfect translation has often reduced the urgency of a message or conceals the significant truth that lies within.

In his Gospel, Luke was seeking to convey the absolute necessity and the imperative demand for men to pray at all times, to remain in constant communion with the Lord, and not to lose hope or to give up, but rather, to live in an attitude of prayer, moment by moment, in order to maintain ongoing contact with our Almighty God.

This parable is designed to urge us not to become discouraged or to lose heart, but to keep on seeking the Lord, to keep on keeping on, in utter dependency on our Heavenly Father.

The need to keep in constant communion with the Lord is not just a good idea but is absolutely necessary. It is imperative that we maintain an ever-open channel of communication between ourselves and our Heavenly Father, and when that channel of communication is closed, it is not the fault of our Father but our own, for sin in its many guises and disguises is the single cause that keeps sinful man from a holy God and keeps a forgiven sinner from his Heavenly Father.

We know that God hears our prayers and delights in answering our petitions, but always in His time and in His way. Many times when we are praying about a certain situation, we may not get the answer we had hoped for or imagined. And often, we find that the time spent in prayer at the throne of grace changes us, moving our focus onto Jesus, being conformed into His image as we decrease and He increases in our lives.

May we be those who run to the throne of grace often, and who remain there as we continue to pour out our prayers to our Heavenly Father, not giving up, but remaining steadfast in our faith. In this parable, we are urged that men MUST pray at all times and not to lose heart, for it is only the humble heart that is clean before the Lord and who trusts in Christ alone for his needs and necessities, that will maintain constant communion and uninterrupted fellowship which equates to an attitude of unbroken prayer.

My Prayer

Loving Father, help me, I pray, to remain clean before You in thought, word, and deed, so that I may maintain that attitude of unbroken communion with You. In Jesus' name, AMEN.