Have you heard the saying “The squeaky wheel gets the grease”? It basically means that when we are persistent we will get results. And generally speaking, the grease (or result) is what we are after. Sometimes being squeaky takes a lot of effort, personal sacrifice and time because it doesn’t come naturally. Take an infant for example, if they want to be fed, they will spend tremendous amounts of energy to let their parent know that they “want food now”. And if they don’t get it, they will cry, scream and shed tears until they are red, sweating and swollen in the face. In most cases, even if we are adamant that it’s not time for a feeding, we will give in and feed them because of their persistence.
Jesus conveys this principle through a parable, or an earthly story with a heavenly meaning. Luke 18:1-8 “And he (Jesus) told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart. He said, "In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected man. And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, 'Give me justice against my adversary.' For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself, 'Though I neither fear God nor respect man, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.'" And the Lord said, "Hear what the unrighteous judge says. And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them? I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?"
How often do we stress out over the day to day concerns of life: money, jobs, family, conflict, friendship, self-image, addictions, pain, and the future? Jesus is making a point here to His followers that when we continually come to God in prayer about our concerns, He not only hears us, but He quickly wants to bring relief. Our struggle typically is in the process of crying, screaming and shedding tears in prayer (like the infant). Sure, we typically give God a token prayer and in return we expect a quick answer. But believing that this is actually how our Father in heaven operates is a mistake. God will quickly answer WHEN we “cry to him day and night”. That kind of prayer doesn’t seem to be a one timer. It’s the process of being persistent until He comes with an answer.
The comfort that we can receive from this is that God is here right now, He hears the prayers of Christ followers, and He is anxiously waiting to give peace from our concerns and struggles. But it’s our move. We must daily, frequently and humbly come to God in prayer with our burdens. God does not and never will not break His promises. Come to Him now, today, tomorrow, and the following days with the exact same request…He WILL quickly answer you!
I noticed that people don't seem to comment - so if you want to delete this, please feel free. This really opened my eyes because I thought it was seen as unfaithful to continue to ask over and over for a need I had to be met. Like God was all, "Yeah, I heard you the first ten times -- do you have so little faith in me that you think I don't remember what you said?" I hadn't seen this parable before, and it makes me feel better about continuing to talk to God about the same issue; lately I've just been telling Him that I know it's in His hands and I need His help with remembering that! But thanks for this -- these entries have helped me a LOT!
Posted by: Angie | July 30, 2009 at 09:25 PM