A sermon preached at Moore College Chapel, 27 May 2025
This is a parable Jesus told his disciples “to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart” (Luke 18:1). And we all need this encouragement, don’t we? Because prayer is hard. Especially that persistent, daily habit of praying, day after day, month after month, year after year.
Why is it so hard? It’s hard because of the times we live in. Because things are not right in our world or in our lives. And God doesn’t always seem to answer our prayers—or at least not straight away. Jesus told this parable about prayer when he was teaching his disciples about the coming of God’s kingdom. Jesus has just promised here that his kingdom is going to come, clearly and finally. He is going to make things right. He is going to bring judgment. But in the meantime, things aren’t right. While the rest of the world seems to be going on as normal, oblivious to God’s kingdom, for God’s people this is a time of rejection, of suffering.
This time we live in is unjust. So it’s a time of longing for justice, a time of begging for justice. A time of prayer to God. Prayer for God to fix things that are wrong. And as we face suffering and sickness, as we face anxiety and rejection, as we face pressure to give up our faith in Jesus, as we beg God to heal and restore, to bring our loved ones who don’t know Jesus to trust in him, to take away the evil—as we pray, day after day, month after month, year after year, it can so easily feel like maybe God doesn’t care? Maybe God isn’t answering?
And so Jesus tells this parable—and explains it—to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart. So as we read this account, I want you to see what is the main reason Jesus gives. …