Prayer 1. The God Who Hears 2 Pet 3:8-13; Luke 17:20-18:8
Audio: https://www.daleappleby.net/index.php/mp3-sermons/51-recent-sermons/958-1-the-god-who-hears
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8u5m8g0H4WQ
Introduction
I used to teach frequently and passionately on prayer, certainly because of the way the Lord had revolutionised my own life through prayer, and a conviction that the importance of prayer cannot be overestimated. That I should return to this subject after some years has come in an unexpected way, which I trust is a sign of God’s grace for his Church. I am still convinced that the fundamental strategy of the Spirit to transform our city is to raise up prayer cells everywhere e.g. cleaners in schools, workers in offices, students in universities, believers in parks, folk in factories, shops, in homes for the elderly, prayer everywhere, at lunch time, before and after work, day and night (Luke 18:7). At all times people praying for the transformation of the space into which God has placed them. But why isn’t this already happening…? There are many possible answers to this question, but we must start at the most foundational level. We do not believe that God is essentially a prayer hearing and prayer answering God.
All Christians know deep in their hearts that prayer is tremendously important. Our primarily reason for this conviction is that prayer integrated/unified the life of Jesus. He was praying at his baptism, before choosing the apostles, immediately prior to teaching the Lord’s Prayer, on the mount of Transfiguration, in Gethsemane and on the cross (Luke 3:21; 6:12; 9:18, 29; 11:1; 22:41; 23:34 etc.). To be like Jesus (Rom 8:29) means to be men and women of prayer. Knowing this is perhaps the reason so many believers struggle have a guilty conscience about their struggles to pray. Simply exhorting people to pray more (cf. Rom 12:12; Col 4:2; 1 Tim 2:1) doesn’t empower prayer and generally just leaves people feeling even worse. The desire to pray must be birthed in us by a sovereign work of God. When we are persuaded that God loves to hear us pray and to answers our prayers, we will pray and pray with zeal. Luke introduces the purpose of parable of the unjust judge (Luke 18:1-8) with these words, Jesus “told his disciples a parable to show that they ought (Gk. dei) always to pray and not lose heart.” The language here is very strong, there is a divine imperative associated with prayer (cf. Luke 2:49; 9:22; 24:26 etc.).
Interpreting the Parable
This parable is somewhat unusual, because its central human authority figure, the judge who “neither feared God nor respected man” is the exact opposite of the Lord. Whereas in the Old Testament the laws of God show special regard for the oppressed, strangers, orphans and widows i.e. the powerless (Lev 19:9-10; Deut 14:28-29; 24:19-22, 26:12; James 1:27 etc.), this judge is a thoroughly wicked person who refused to give justice even to the needy. The other factor indispensable to understanding the message of the parable is the wider context in which Jesus was teaching.
The Time in Which we Live
The story of the judge and the widow is told by Jesus immediately after his long discourse about the coming of the kingdom of God (Luke 17:20 cf. Matt 24:3). Whereas in other places in the Gospels the coming of Jesus as Judge is foreshadowed by apocalyptic signs in the heavenlies and catastrophes upon the earth (Matt 24:3-31), here in Luke (17:26-30) things are going on in the world as they normally do.
“Just as it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the days of the Son of Man. 27 They were eating and drinking and marrying and being given in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all.28 Likewise, just as it was in the days of Lot—they were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building, 29 but on the day when Lot went out from Sodom, fire and sulphur rained from heaven and destroyed them all— 30 so will it be on the day when the Son of Man is revealed.”
What’s wrong with eating, drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, or with buying, selling, planting and building….? Nothing. But if people live like life is all about family, prosperity and enjoyment, then God’s judgement will come upon them suddenly and irreversibly (Luke 21:34). Catastrophe will rain down on such a society because such a manner of living has no concern for justice to the needy! To be human is to have a sense of justice, a sense that it is always right to do the right thing, and everyone wants justice for themselves. But it is God’s justice that is central to the parable of the unjust judge and to be aflame with zeal for the justice of his kingdom is what ignites constant prayer (cf. John 2:17; Luke 19:45-46; Matt 11:12).
Jesus said that when he returns it will be like the days of Lot and the destruction of Sodom. Why was Sodom famously destroyed….? Almost certainly we will think they were annihilated for their homosexual depravity. This is not a wrong answer (Gen 19:5-8) but a biblically incomplete one. Prior to the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah there is a story with a focus on righteousness. Having reckoned Abraham is to be righteous and just (Gen 18:19) the Lord visits him and shares his plans to destroy the evil cities. In deep humility, but with great persistence, Abraham interceded with the Lord (Gen 18:22-33) reminding God himself, “Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right/what is just?”” (Gen 18:25). That if fifty “righteous”/just people could be found would God spare the cities? Convinced of God’s just nature he intercedes by faith on behalf of the cities haggling the number down to a mere ten people. Tragically, there aren’t even ten righteous in the Sodom and Gomorrah, so they must be destroyed. This is a great story of persevering prayer based on the righteous character of God.
A story made even more powerful and practical for us when we listen to what the Lord says in Ezekiel concerning the grievous sins of Sodom. “this was the guilt…Sodom: she…had pride, excess of food, and prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor and needy. 50 They were haughty and did an abomination before me. So I did away with them, when I saw it.” (Ezek 16:49-50). Wealthy Sodom had no heart to respond to the anguished cry of the oppressed who were suffering under great injustice (cf. Gen 18:20). We live in a nation hard-hearted towards the poor, homeless (116,000), persecuted, refugees etc. whilst many of us live in pride, excess of food and prosperity. Our times are the days of Sodom.
There is in the Church a deep carelessness concerning human misery which is grieving the Spirit whose powerful presence we need to pray. Try getting a congregation moved to pray constantly for our persecuted brothers and sisters across the globe. To understand the times in which we live, so we can pray intelligently, we need to press deeper into the scriptures. There we will find described a callousness of heart (Eph 4:17-18) that is a mark of deep idolatry. In Romans 1:18-32 there is described an order to the expression of evil that is rarely engaged with by materialistic Western Christianity. The root sin which draws out the wrath of God is exchanging divine glory for idols (vv.18-23). Paul then says, “Therefore God abandoned them to do whatever shameful things their hearts desired” (v.24ff) and speaks of sexual depravities. The proliferation of sexual sin in our nation is a divine punishment for selfish uncaring materialism. And materialism in the Church breeds a comfort with this world that undercuts the desire to pray for the Lord’s Return to put all things right.
Longing for his Appearing
The widow in the parable of the unjust judge stands for a follower of Jesus impassioned that he returns speedily to reveal God’s righteous character. Jesus’ point is that if even the unrighteous judge finally gave justice to the woman because she harassed him, how much more will a God whose essential nature is Just (Ezra 9:15; Ps 116:5; Isa 45:21; Heb 1:8 etc.), respond to the pleas of his people. “And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them? 8 I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily.” (Luke 18:7-8). The posture we need to adopt before God in prayer is like the disposition of this widow, as she was a person without power or influence, we must depend entirely on the Lord to put things right. There is a dimension to this story however which is usually missed.
That Jesus says it is God’s “chosen ones/elect” who pray and are heard is a tremendous encouragement. For in Luke’s Gospel it is Jesus himself who is called the “chosen one”, first by the Father at the mount of Transfiguration and then by the Jewish rulers as he is on the cross (Luke 9:35; 23:35). In both situations, one of exaltation and one of humiliation, Jesus prayed (Luke 9:28; 23:34), his prayers were prayers for us and his prayers have been heard (cf. John 11:41) and his vindication revealed by resurrection from the dead (1 Tim 3:16 cf. Isa 50:8-9; 53:11; 54:17). Because Christians are the elect/chosen in Christ (Eph 1:4) our prayers will be heard by the Lord and our vindication will speedily arrive.
The elect “cry” to God day and night, for crying is the true pitch of prayer (cf. Mark 15:34; Rom 8:15). Crying out prayer is not nominal prayer, formulaic prayer, dutiful prayer or prayer for personal prosperity, it is impassioned prayer for eternal justice. This sort of prayer is a prophetic sign that the pray-er is in communion with a Righteous God (cf. James 5:16) and that he/she is one of God’s chosen ones immersed in his favour in Christ and confident, irrespective of circumstances, that God is a generous hearted and attentive Father. Those who pray for the righteousness of God’s kingdom will be answered (Matt 6:33).
Someone asked an important question the other day. “If Jesus is coming back whether I pray or not, why pray? What difference does it make?” The Bible has a very interesting answer to this question. In a passage devoted to the transformation of the universe into the just world God desires, Peter says, “Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, 12 waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn! 13 But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.” (2 Pet 3:11-13). The conduct of our lives, in which prayer is central, somehow accelerates the Return of Jesus! But there are even more intimate reasons to pray.
Eschaton
When we pray for God’s justice in the world we become increasingly conformed to the righteousness of Christ in the conduct of our own lives (2 Cor 5:21). Such conformity to Christ in humanity is the reason why God created the world and it is something for which we should long most deeply. When Jesus appears we will be raised from the dead to be like him (1 John 3:2) and our glorified bodies will display for all to see the justice of God exerted in the death and resurrection of his (Acts 17:31; Rev 19:11). Of that Day, the an angel spoke to Daniel, “those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above; and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.” (Dan 12:2-3 cf. 2 Thess 1:9-10), and Jesus said, “the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father.” (Matt 13:43). These glorious scriptures are all about…us. Whoever has a sense of the immeasurable glory coming to them at the final revelation of Jesus (1 Pet 1:7) will be moved to pray that the justice of God come speedily, and will believe that it will indeed come.
Unbelief
Jesus knew the human heart (John 2:24), which is why he climaxed his parable with, ““Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”” (Luke 18:8). Under conditions of gross global injustice and of a seemingly unending delay to Christ’s return, Jesus predicted most men and women will not believe that God is a prayer hearing God. It is shameful that the weak prayer lives of most Australian Christians suggest that the Lord is not concerned for justice, mercy and human dignity. Shocking as it may sound, our prayerlessness indicates that in our hearts we believe that the Lord is an unjust judge.
Conclusion
The prayer which Jesus encourages, crying out prayer, night and day prayer, prayer that never loses heart for justice (Luke 18:1, 6), is fiercely opposed by evil powers who understand it as a threat to their dominion. Whilst we are so concerned for “prosperous ease”, as every election unashamedly shows, and so little concerned for what concerned Jesus, feeding the hungry, healing the sick, clothing the naked, visiting the prisoner, preaching the gospel, we will not see the kingdom of God come with power to our land. Nevertheless, we can be encouraged.
In worship at a church some years ago I could sense that all over the world the chosen ones of God are crying out for God’s justice to deliver them from their adversaries and the Lord is hearing this cry and will answer, speedily. In the present circumstances it may seem to us like Jesus is long delayed in coming, but after he has come and raised all things to glory, we will realise the time was indeed short (1 Cor 7:29; Rev 12:12; 1 John 2:18). He will come again in glory for a Church that is a praying Church and he will judge the living and the dead and his kingdom will have no end. His last words to us in scripture are, ““Surely I am coming soon/quickly.”” (Rev 22:20 cf. 1 Cor 16:22). I want to be a part of a C/church that has turned away from apathy inducing comforts and inspired by the promise of our Saviour cries out to him day and night. Is this what you want, if so, pray to be ablaze with a divine sense of justice and you will see it for yourself.