03-17-24 The Parable of the Persistent Widow

The speaker is leading a Bible study on a parable from Luke 18. The parable is about a persistent widow who continues to ask a judge for justice until he finally grants it to her. The speaker explains that the purpose of the parable is to encourage believers to always pray and not give up. The judge in the story is described as evil and lacking fear of God, but even he eventually gives in to the widow's requests. The speaker emphasizes that God, who is the opposite of the judge, will surely answer the prayers of his people. She also discusses the importance of persisting in prayer and making the right choices even when faced with hindrances. Okay, welcome to Disciples Ignited Bible Study this morning. Today is Sunday, March 17, 2024, and we are studying the Bible study book by Jack Hayford, His Name is Jesus, and today, what page are we on, Carol? We're on page 93, we're doing The Widow and the Judge, Luke 18, so everybody turn to Luke 18, please. Alright, so everybody got their book open. If you don't have, if you're just listening to this audio, we'll make sure that we read everything from the book to you so that you can follow along with us. Alright, now today we're going to be studying about a parable, an interesting parable that Jesus has given us in Luke chapter 18, verses 1-8, and since this is only 8 verses, we're just going to read the entire thing together, so Carol, why don't you go ahead and read that out. Okay, it's Luke 18, 1-8. Then the Lord said, Alright, why don't we pray, Sandra, why don't you pray and ask the Lord just to open up our hearts and our understanding that He can speak to us today through His word. Father, we ask, Lord God, Father, that you would touch each of us, Lord God, and all that will hear this recording, Lord God, Father, and open up our understanding, Lord, Father, that as we, Lord God, Father, go over this lesson today, Lord God, Father, that we will understand, Lord God, Father, what it is, Lord God, Father, that you are saying to us through your word on today, Lord God. Father, speak to us through your word, Lord God, Father, let us get the understanding and the knowledge, Lord God, Father, that you will have us to get through your word on today, in Jesus' name, Amen. Now, in Luke 18, verse 1, we're given really the whole purpose of this parable. So, why was Jesus teaching this parable to the crowds that day? What does verse 1 tell us? So that we should not give up praying. Alright, so somebody read verse 1. Somebody, somebody read verse 1. And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that man ought always to pray and not to faint. Alright, now, I'm going to give y'all some Greek here, which is so very interesting. I normally use the NIV, and it says that they should always pray and not give up. But I looked up in some other translations and found that that Greek word could be translated different things that I think will help us out. The English Standard Version says that we ought to pray and not lose heart. And then in the NESB, it says that we ought to pray and not become discouraged. The King James, that we shouldn't faint, the New Living Translation says that we should pray and never give up. Let me read it to you and to amplify it. Jesus told them the parable to this effect that they ought always to pray and not to turn coward, to faint, to lose heart, to give up. Now, first of all, this, remember I've taught y'all that in the Greek, they have tenses. And whenever a verb is in the present tense, what does that mean? What does the present tense in the Greek mean? Always, continually. Continuous, alright. So, this word, prayer, that you should pray, this is a verb. And this is in present tense. So what does that tell us, Edwina? That it's always an action. Yeah, that we should always pray. That it's continuous prayer. So it's not like you pray today and then you really press through. But you're supposed to always pray with that kind of mindset. I'm not giving up, I'm pressing through. So, prayer is in present tense. But also, this word, not give up, that is actually the word, engagao. Anyway, it's a Greek word. But it means not to become weary, not to become discouraged, not to tire, not to give up, not to lose heart, not to give up, to persist. But this is also in the present tense. So what does that tell us, Carol? That we need to keep on keeping on. Yeah, you never give up. You press on. Now, so why did Jesus sense the need to teach this parable? Because who would be tempted to give up and faint and become weary? Okay, so he paints this picture. He gives us a story that just would be so discouraging. That would be so disheartening. That most people would just give up. So what was the story? What was the hardship in the story? Speak up, guys. Imagine you dealing with somebody with a heart so hard when it comes to giving people justice. Okay, so you're talking about the judge. Yes. What was the judge like? He was harsh. He was a terrible person. He was an unfair person. Okay, so Jesus really points out two things specifically about this judge. What were they? He had no fear for God. He had no fear for God. And? He didn't care for God. All right. This word of fear. In the Greek, it literally means to have a fear. But that fear is based on your awe of who they are. So you're not just going to act any old way with this person that you're in awe of. But he had no awe of God. He had no fear of God. He had no respect for other people. What is it about this judge that he has no fear of God? He has no respect for man. What makes him like this? Sounds like a narcissist to me. He cares about himself and that's it. About him and nobody else. I agree. What is the root? I mean, if you could have one word. I mean, specific. Yeah, okay. Flesh. Pride. Thank you. Oh, she got it. Pride. He thought he was all that. He thought he was better than God. He doesn't need to listen to God because he's got everything under control. So Carol was right. He's a narcissist. So this judge, how do you deal with a judge that has the ability to give you justice, but he could care less because he does not fear God. He doesn't respect man. I don't think he cares. She did it. She harassed him, harassed him, harassed him, just kept coming, kept coming, kept coming, kept coming. She became a pest, really. Okay, so now why would, why did eventually the judge give her what she asked for? He had to give in to her. But why? Because she was specific. He wants peace. So who was he thinking about? Himself. As Carol said, he's a narcissist. He's just thinking about himself. And he is full of himself. He's full of pride. He could care less about God. He could care less about people. But he does finally give her justice. So she won't come back. Yeah, so that she'll leave him alone. Now, why does Jesus, now I want you all to think about this. Why did Jesus make this evil judge somewhat as, is he saying God's like that? Okay, so Jesus is making this evil judge the exact opposite of God. But this is what he's saying. If this judge, who is totally evil, will give justice, will not God, who is totally opposite, will he not give you justice? Yes, he will. I think it's interesting though that Jesus all the time is showing us how God looks at us. We human beings in our sin. I mean, he tells us that he wouldn't entrust himself to anybody. Anybody. Not even his disciples because he knew what was in the heart of men. And just think, he's picked a judge to be the example. And how does he make that judge look? Absolutely wicked. Because that's how the Lord looks at our sin. We're all absolutely wicked. All of us have that potential of being as bad as this guy was because of our sin. Which we have a tendency to make ourselves, I'm a good guy, I would never do that, I'm not so bad. But Jesus was always pointing out how bad we really are. He really was. And how much he loved us. Yeah, despite it all. Alright, so this judge is the exact opposite, I like that, he's the exact opposite of God. But he still came in and gave the lady justice. But it was all the cause of moderation. He was looking out after himself. But that, again, is how God is opposite. God's not looking out after himself. Who is he looking out after? He's looking out after us. And so, the Lord is the exact opposite. But the lady got what she was asking for. And so the book says, why did the judge avenge her? In verse 5 it tells us, yeah, because this widow keeps bothering me. I like the way mine put it, this woman is driving me crazy. She's wearing me out. Let me ask you, in your praying, because I know that you all pray. In your praying, would you ever give God reason to say, man, they just won't give up. Now, the Lord would say they're pestering me because he just loves our prayers. But would he ever be able to say, you know what, when they pray, man, they just don't give up. Sometimes, yeah. That would be a good thing to say, wouldn't it? Yeah, that'd be a good thing. Yeah. That'd be a good thing. But can't the Lord say that of all of us? That when they pray. I'll tell you what, there's somebody here that every time they pray, the atmosphere changes. And it's almost like heaven and stuff. They're praying. So I'm going to listen. Do our prayers affect the Lord like that? Oh! Quiet, everybody! Someone's praying! I believe that that's the kind of power that the Lord has put at our disposal. That when we pray, he's going to stop and listen. But there are going to be times. Oh! There are going to be times, y'all, that the Lord purposefully allows hindrances to get in our way. Why? Why, Jaden? Why would the Lord allow hindrances to your prayer? Why doesn't he just make it easy? Because he wants us to make the right choices. Because he what? He wants us to make the right choices. Alright, so he wants us to make the right choices. So why would... What choice would we have to make if we're being hindered in prayer? What would we have to choose? We can't do it without God. Huh? Speak up. We can't do it without God. Okay, but I can't hear what she's saying. We can't do it without God. We can't do it without God. We can't do it without God. Alright, so Edwina, you were going to comment. Because he wants you to continue to pray. I mean, regardless of how... I mean, we all have faced that life. It seems so impossible. But he wants us to continue to pray. And be consistent. And dig deeper. Alright. Let me just give you this thought. Let me just say something. What do you mean? What is the hindrance? I've never found a hindrance. Okay. A hindrance would be like... Okay, let me give you a hindrance. There was a woman in the Bible named Hannah. Hannah was barren. And she wanted more than anything. She wanted a son. And so she prayed. And so year after year... She didn't have a son. So she kept on praying. Every year she prayed and prayed and prayed and prayed. And then God gave her a son. But this is quicker. Guess who made her barren? The Bible tells us that God made her barren. Was it because God didn't want to give her a son? No. Because He wanted her to pray through. In desperation. Because who was birthed out of her prayer? The greatest prophet of the Old Testament, Samuel. He was a product of her persistent faith-filled praying. And I think the hindrance also made her willing to give her child to the Lord. Yes, yes, yes, yes. You know, she started bargaining with God. You give me the son. And when I wean him, I'm going to give him back to you. I'll bring him right here to Shiloh where the tabernacle is. And he's going to serve you all of his life. And Samuel did. Yeah. So the Lord wanted her to be willing probably to give him up. It wasn't just a matter of her getting a son. The Lord needed a prophet. Okay, so let me just plant this seed into your thinking. Our question. When we pray, what are we most concerned about? I'll go. I'll be honest. Okay, all right. Well, let's make it sound a little bit nicer. Why? What are we concerned about when we pray? We want what? An instant answer. We want an answer. We want God to answer our prayer, right? Are we just praying because we don't want Him to answer? No, we want an answer. Okay, we want Him to grant our request. What is God concerned with? What is He more concerned with? Motive. What is He desiring more? Motive is right. Okay, motive. What does He desire more, though? His purpose. His purpose. Relationship. You're concerned about having your prayer answered. Did you know what? If God answered all of our prayers lickety-split, He would have very little people that would continue praying because of relationship. So that could be one of the reasons why He delays answers so that you'll come spend time in His presence more. Yeah. Because the Lord, He wants to answer our prayers. But even more than that, He wants you to build a relationship with Him. So, y'all, I do believe that if we would put as our top priority building a relationship with Him, that a lot more of our prayers would be answered lickety-split. Because that is no longer our main motive. Our motive is praying His will, just building this relationship with Him. Because if our relationship is where it should be, then, you know what? The tone of our prayers are going to be changed. We're not going to be praying about what we want. Because we have this relationship with the Lord, we're praying what He wants. And, y'all, there could be light years separation between those two things. So it really all depends upon relationship. But that wasn't really the purpose of this parable. The purpose of this parable was to teach God's people that we should always pray and don't lose heart. Carol, what are some of the things that cause us to lose heart? Because it's just taking so long to get an answer. Like a week? A month? No, no. Years? I would say sometimes it's years, sometimes it's months. It depends on what situation. Sometimes it's a lifetime. That's one thing I do struggle with at times, when it's something that seems so serious to me, so critical to me, and yet it seems to be taking so long. But the Lord told me, He said, if you really love me, you're going to trust me. And I'm there, oh, Lord, help me. You're right, I want to trust you more. That's what you pray every day. Yeah, yeah. Rudolph, what to you would make it, what causes people in your thinking to lose heart? The same thing Sister Carol said. You think you're doing your best, and you're not getting any results. And you get discouraged. Us, by nature, we want to see the Lord. Regardless, we know if we trust in the Lord, things will come eventually in His own way, in the best way. But us, we're always on our way. But God doesn't function that way. Okay. So really, what is the need, what is our real need in order to pray and not give up? Faith, I guess. Faith. Yeah. I really liked what you said, Rudolph, that we get discouraged, we lose heart when things don't happen. And really, that shows that we are lacking what? Faith. And faith is trusting Him. Amen. That's why I believe that the Lord ended this parable with this very interesting statement that seems to have absolutely nothing to do with what He's just taught, but it absolutely has everything to do with what He's teaching. Let me read it in Luke chapter 18, verse 8. I tell you, He will see that they get justice in quickly. However, and so this is kind of Him capping everything together. However, when the Son of Man comes, when the Son of Man comes, who's the Son of Man? Jesus. Jesus, okay. So when Jesus comes, will He find faith on the earth? What is He talking about? He wants to see His people worship Jesus. Okay. Through thick and thin, through hardship, through difficulties. Jerry? Faith, yeah. Faith. Is He going to find faith on the earth? People still believing. Even when their prayers aren't answered. Even when their prayers aren't answered. What about when their prayers are not answered in their lifetime? I still believe. It's not even hard at all, but I think delayed answers causes Christians to either become mature, or that kind of test can really blow you out of the way. In a sense that, like you said, it will point out to your motives. Because there's a lot of Christians that, after a while, they're just not going to stick with God. And that's why a lot of people leave the church. Because they're like, you know what? If God is doing things my way, I'm going to turn my back to Him. And sadly, we serve such a pure God, a fair God, that He has to test everyone to see what your motives are all about. But we pray that most of us will be mature enough that even though we don't get what we want, we'll still stick with Him. When we consider that Jesus is going to be looking, it's so interesting. The more that I study the Word and walk with Jesus, I'm seeing more clearly that probably, if not the number one thing, it is really just so far up there, that is important to Jesus is faith. Because faith means trust. And faith is always proven by what? Works of obedience. Yes, it is proven by action. It's proven by obedient action. Now, there was a... Right here. Somebody read verse 7. 18 verse 7. Something very interesting. Rudolph, you got that? Who has it? 18 verse 7? Yeah. I have it. And will not God bring about justice for His chosen ones who cry out to Him day and night? Okay. That's the NIV. That's great. Chosen ones is what we're looking for. Sandra, you use the King James Version. Read that out for us. And shall not God avenge His own elect which cry day and night unto Him though He bear long with them? So, elect. Mine has. Even he rendered, this is the NLT, a just decision in the end. So, don't you think God will surely give justice to His chosen people who cry out to Him day and night? Okay. So, chosen people, chosen ones, elect. Y'all, this is a term that has been debated for centuries on what it means. The elect. Who are the elect of God? They are. The chosen. Okay. So, what does it take to become the elect of God? You have to receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. Okay. Be born again. Right. There is one, I would say, system of theology that believes that God elects people to be saved. He chooses. He's going to be chosen. So, therefore, they are the elect. However, why don't we look at Matthew. Wow. Okay. Matthew what? Let's see. Oh, I need to bring that up. Let's see. Where is it? Yeah, please forgive me. I'm going to have to look for that real quick. Chosen. No. What particular area? I don't know. Matthew. Well, many are called, few are chosen. Many are. I'm having a problem here. Okay. Let's see. Chapter 22 in Matthew. Thank you. How did you find it? Just look through Google. Thank you. All right. Matthew 22. It didn't give me the verse, but it gave me the chapter. Yeah. Okay. Jesus has just told another parable, and he ends this parable by saying that this man that was invited to a wedding party, he didn't put on the wedding clothes, and so the person that invited him comes in, finds out that he didn't have the wedding clothes on, and so the king told the attendants, tie him hand and foot and throw him outside into the darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. That sounds terrible. And then he ends it with this. For many are, what? Many are called, but few are chosen. So, this great word, to be chosen, the elect, chosen people. I do not follow along in that theological thought that God chooses those who are going to be saved and those who are going to be damned. I believe that for God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life. So, God desires that all come to Jesus. He doesn't elect those who are going to come and elect those who are going to be sent to hell. He gives us all that opportunity. So, he calls everybody, but he doesn't choose everybody. What makes the decision on whether we are chosen? Janine, what makes that decision? What way would that be? What's he looking for, in other words? Faith? Heart? Okay. Well, no, if we say that, if the word is looking for fruit, that means that I've got to earn my salvation. So, is that right? I've got to earn my salvation in that way? Yeah. You've got to be saved. You've got to be saved through Jesus. Okay. So, could we say this then? That we are chosen by way of our response? Yes. He has called us. He sent us an invitation. I have replied. All right. Yes. I'm coming. And so, our response determines whether we are chosen. God doesn't make that decision. He gives us the free will to respond. Yes. And then going back to chapter 18 of Luke, then, he's going to give us justice, but the crux of that is stuck out to me when you read that, who cry out to him day and night. If you're born again, if you really know the Lord, you're going to be somebody that's crying out to him day and night. Prayer is going to be a part of your life. It's going to be a persistent part of your life if you're truly born again. Okay. So, if you have responded to Jesus by putting your faith in him, then you are the elect. And all throughout the New Testament, Jesus talks about that even the elect would be deceived if that were possible, showing us that's not possible if you have made a choice to follow Jesus. So, it's really, God's given you the free will. And that means it's full of grace. He's given you the grace to say yes to Jesus. But then let's go back to this parable, this very end thing. When the Son of Man comes, what is he going to be looking for? Faith. Faith. When you stand before Jesus, let's say that you die before he comes back, the second coming, what are you going to have to answer to him for? Did you live your life of faith? And what does that mean? Do you go into the life of faith saying, yes, one time and then that's it, and then you go do your own thing and live for the devil or whatever. Does that make any difference? Just putting your faith in Jesus, you got insurance. Or what is this life of faith? What is a life of faith? Continue. Continue. Faith. Continue. Prayer. Continue. Believing. Working out your salvation. Continually. Okay. Okay, let's bring this in and focus in on what Jesus is focusing in here. Prayer. Is he going to find you to be a man or a woman that has prayed with faith? Okay. It's easy, y'all, if the Lord gives you a prayer assignment and you pray that and he answers. Has the Lord ever given people prayer assignments that last their lifetime? Yeah. That they never see the answer? Yeah. It talks about that in Hebrews chapter 11. Give me an example. Somebody that prayed all their life for something and they never saw the answer. Moses did not go into the promised land. Yeah, I was going to say the promised land. I mean, was it a prayer, though? Well, yeah, I'm sure he did. I'm sure he did. Yeah, I'm sure he did. Yeah. That's good. Yeah, you're right. I mean, I was thinking about Hannah and Simeon, but they did for the end of their days, before Jesus comes to pass, but it's their whole lifetime. Okay. What about the prophets that were given prophecies about the Messiah? And those prophecies got people praying. Did they see that prophecy come to pass in their lifetime? Yeah. Isaiah prophesied a lot about the Messiah and he never saw him come. At least in the natural. Because there are illusions in the New Testament that some of them did see. Christ. Yeah. It says that Isaiah, when he was in that beautiful thing that we like when he went up into the throne room, it says in the New Testament he was looking at Jesus. Okay, so let me encourage you with this then. The Lord is more interested in a relationship with you than in the fruit that you're going to bear for him. Because when we put fruit as center stage, what are we concentrating on? We're concentrating on the fruit and not him. If we concentrate on him, what is going to be the result of that? We are automatically going to have what? Fruit. We're going to have fruit. If we put Jesus as the focus, everything else is going to be the result of that. Fruitfulness, whatever. Prayer. If we put Jesus as our focus, then there are going to be some prayer assignments that the Lord is going to give you. Some of those prayer assignments are going to be answered in your lifetime, hopefully most of them. But there may be some things that the Lord is going to give you to pray for that you might not see the results of it. But throughout your life, you're going to have to pray with persistence, but you're going to have to pray with what? Faith. All the time. Faith. Even when you don't see the answer. Yeah, even when you don't see the light at the end of the tunnel, you just keep on praying. Yeah, because you know God is going to answer. You see that? Amen. Of faith. Right. He's going to do it. Yeah. Go Sandra, go Sandra, go. Go Sandra, go Jesus, go. Why the priests in the temple in Jesus' time were so blinded when it comes to Jesus? Meaning, after Jesus went to the temple, he starts reading the scripture, and then he says, I am the one. And everybody got fueled up, got mad because of what he said, taking for an imposter. And then he said to them, why are you guys acting like that? If everybody else before me talked about me, knows that I was coming, and you guys read about me also, but you choose to take it differently, why they were so blind not knowing that Jesus was the one? What do you think? Right? Or you were too, you were, or there was something, they were waiting for somebody more ranger? Yeah, I believe they said jealousy too, pride, jealousy. Pride, jealousy. They had the wrong idea. I think you're right, they were looking for a messiah that was different than Jesus. When we begin to pray, and our relationship with Jesus begins to build, it may be that our view of Jesus may change. Why? Speak up, I can't hear you. Okay, no matter what. As our relationship with Jesus grows, we begin to really get to know him, don't we? And we begin to find out that our prayers are not God's gift to us so that we can get what we want, but it's so that we can work with him for the advancement of his kingdom. Bless you. And so it's not about us. I think what you said though, Rudolph, about the loose leaders, they were into the scriptures that Jesus said they studied them day and night, and they were into prayer. They went in there, they prayed, but they were praying what they wanted. That's the danger. And so they were not open to what their true kingdom of God was because they already had preconceived ideas. Lord, bring Messiah. When you bring Messiah, you're going to deliver us from the Romans. Lord, thank you. We will not be the oppressed people anymore. We're going to overthrow the Romans. So they already had a mindset of what they were expecting the Messiah to be. But the Lord had a bigger plan. He wanted to change their lives first, and then later he's going to come back and get rid of his enemies. All right. Adriana, why don't you take us to word wealth and read that out to us. Word wealth. Weary. People find out so little means to strike under the eye, to give a black eye to. The idea is that in her continued coming to the judge, she will somehow socially defame him for refusing to grant her request. It is really a selfish, motivated response of the judge, not one of compassion. How does Jesus apply the parable to our prayer life, verse 6 and 8? Okay, Janai, why don't you read verses 6 through 8 to us. And what we're looking for is, how is Jesus applying this whole parable to our prayer life? And then the Lord said, listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will see that they get justice and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, he will find faith on earth. Okay, so how do we apply this to your prayer life? What have you learned from this that is going to help you in your prayer life? You have to make that impact. You know, it says here, it literally means to strike under the eye, to give a black eye. You got to make that impact in prayer. Oh, that's good. Yeah, you got to... Like, the way I hear it, the way I hear it, someone says, come in here, we'll speak to Pastor David. You only got that one chance. Whatever it is that I need out there, if it's a life or death situation. I'm going to have to come in here and make... What does it say in the Bible? Come and speak with me. Come in and talk about your case. Come in and talk about it. Discuss your faith with me. This is my one chance of coming in here. I'm going to plead my case. I'm going to plead that case. I have to come in here and make that impact. And lately, this is what I'm learning about prayer. When I come to God, I have to plead my case in front of Him. I have to plead for the nation of Israel. I have to plead... Because that's my... That's all of us assignment. We need to plead for the nations like Israel, Haiti, the Middle East. We need to plead for our lives. We need to plead for our own cities. And we need to make that impact. So, while I'm being... You don't get those moments a lot in prayer. But when you do feel that... This is it. You know what, God? This is what I'm really here for. I need you to prove to this world that you still exist. And you need to do something for the nation of Israel. You get that once in a while. I could pray all day, all night, and I don't feel it. But once I have that, that's my time to make that blow. That's the time to make that blow. And make that impact. And He wants it. It's fancy to tell Christians that don't like to pray. You're not going to make that impact if you just... And run off to work. Because I want to spend time with Him. I have, because He said I have to concede to the praise. So, I'm going to go ahead and pray. I'm just going to... And run. You're not going to make no impact. This is something I saw in my dreams. God said, these are not heavenly prayers. These are not heavenly prayers. You have to pray heavenly prayers. It has to be above this earth. It has to be heavenly prayers. It has to be prayed above Him. What is above? I heard a pastor say this in a prayer meeting I went to once. He said, in French, Close the doors. When the Bible says, go into your chambers and pray. He didn't really mean just... It wasn't just a physical door. You have to shut that door. You have to come up higher. You have to come up higher. It has to be... Focus on Him. It has to be heavenly prayers. You have to keep all that doubt behind you. And you have to go forward. I found your verse. Isaiah 43, 26. Put me in remembrance. Let us argue together. Set forth your case that you may be proved right. You have to plead your case. So I'm coming in here. I'm going to say, Pastor David, listen. I have a life-and-death situation out here. And I don't know what it's going to take. So I have to be able to plead that case in front of you so bad that... I'm going to make it happen. Something came to me when you were talking. There was a message that Carol ministered, oh my goodness, over a decade ago. But she was talking about the prayer life of Abraham. And I have never, ever gotten that. Oh my goodness. Some... It's very interesting when you hear, like, many of the women in the Bible, when they're praying, they're praying how? Very emotionally. Right. Just, you know, that's their makeup. Very emotional. But when Abraham prayed, the Lord came down and said, should we destroy Solomon and Gomorrah? Or should we talk to Abraham about what we're going to do? Well, the Lord talked to Abraham. And how did Abraham... He bargained. They were destroyed. He was judicial. Bargaining, yes. He was like a lawyer... Yeah, I remember that. ...standing before the judge. Right. And I found this so interesting that I hadn't noticed this before, that in this parable with a persistent widow, he paints such a picture of an evil judge. We're standing before a judge that is not evil. He's the exact opposite, but he is still a judge. And so when we come to him, it is oftentimes we need to, as you said, lay our case before him. Sometimes we can bawl and squall, and that has its place. We can cry tears, and those have its place. We can be very emotional, and that has its place. But sometimes, there are times that you just need to be very judicial. Lord, you promised. And this is what your word says that is eternal, and I'm bringing this before the court. Lord, what are you going to do about your word in this case? Bam, bam, bam, bam, bam, bam. And when... Look at Abraham, how he approached this judicially. He said, Lord, will you spare Sodom if there's 50 righteous people? The Lord says, yes. Forty! And he keeps on going down, but he's doing it judicially the whole time until finally he says, Lord, what about five? No, ten. What about ten people? The Lord said, yeah, even for ten, I'll spare it. He didn't go down any lower, but maybe it would have changed him, don't know. But he was judicial. So, Tara, what do you see from this in this parable in your prayer life? Well, when I bring things before the Lord, and I do get frustrated when it takes a long time, I have to be real, there's times when I... I can understand sometimes how some people could get frustrated with the Lord and fall away from Him. You know, they brought so many things. I mean, we're talking about serious things, not just, you know, I want a car, I want, you know, silly stuff, but I mean serious things that they brought before the Lord, and it's taking a long, long time. And there's times when you feel like quitting and giving up. It's just real, you know. But the Bible says faith comes from hearing, and hearing the words of the Lord right here, this word. So when I get to that point, I just start reading the word, reading the word, reading the word, and literally the word will infuse you with faith again, remind you who the Lord really is, and that you can keep on keeping on and believe in God. And then the other thing that really helps me personally is when Jesus had been teaching, you know, hard teachings, you know, eat my flesh, drink my blood, and they didn't understand it, and most people left Him, and Jesus turns to His disciples and says, are you going to leave me too? And what do they say? Where else can we go? You're the only one that has the words of eternal life. So I remind myself, Carol, where would you go? Why would you give up? Why would you quit? Who else are you going to go to? He is God. There is no other. He is the only way, the truth, and the life. So why give up? You know, there's nothing to give up for. You've got a God that's worth it. He's the only God, so you might as well stick with it. You know, Carol, I seem to infer that, like, someone like you and Pastor David, who's been praying for revival for over 30 years, I've always put that in some mindset, like, you know what? People like Pastor David and KS, Sister Carol, and all of us who've been praying along with them, I think God has prepared us for such a greater calling that even ourselves, we don't understand it. So we get weary, we get sad that it doesn't happen, or personal prayers for our families, but I believe there will come a time that it is people like us who is used to having disappointment and hurt. I use the word maturity, that you've matured so much that when these times come, you will be able to become a mediator now and be used for all these baby Christians who, when things start falling apart, we're all going to be stuck. People love God until things are happening good. When you strike some, let's just call it a few bad things that happen in the city, you'll see how a lot of Christian people just shut down. COVID, we saw it. People don't want to go to church anymore. They just want to be in their house. They want to watch TV. You know, I think things like that, God is preparing you for such a higher calling, or He's using you guys to instill within some of us to get prepared for something like that. Okay, so let me ask you. I see it your way, but I even see it a different way too. I even see it as the prayers that they've been praying and others have been praying for so long for revival. We've seen little sprits of the revival that everybody has been praying for revival. But yes, the big revival is coming. But the prayers, you've seen results of it. But yeah, the enemy tries to make us think that you're praying for revival, but there's no revival. Nothing's happening. But we're seeing the results. Right. What does this parable teach us, though, about prayer? I mean, we've seen what it tells us, but what does this tell us about prayer? That it has to be continual, and it has to be with faith. And it also tells us that sometimes prayer is hard. It's hard, yeah. It's a lot of work. Because we are dealing with, even though our judge is just and good. Right. We have an adversary. But even then, sometimes our judge doesn't do things our way. And sometimes he hides his face. You preached that years ago. Yeah. I think sometimes, you know, as parents, I've seen myself do that. Sometimes I just choose not to give it to my kids. And I just want to see how they're going to behave. I think God hides himself. And he said, OK, let's see how deep will you live for me. Again, he's making you mature. Right. All along he was right here. You just never saw him. You know, I don't really feel like the enemy is as much of a problem as what we think he is, because he's already defeated. But I think what is the issue is the flesh of men. Because sometimes you have somebody that is a true adversary. They are harassing you. They are threatening you. I mean, you're very safety. And you keep going to the Lord. And that person just doesn't seem to stop. You know what I mean? That's true. Because the Lord is long suffering. To the point beyond anything we would be. You know what I mean? We're not that loving. We're not that compassionate. But I'm still working on him. I'm still working on him. I'm still working on him. And you just want to go. And the Lord says, No, no, no. I love. I love. I'm redemptive. Eventually, you know, something will happen. But the Lord is so long suffering. Look at Nineveh. How bad they were. And when Jonah went and preached and they repented, God, they were another hundred years till they got judged for their evil. Let me also just plant the seed into your thinking. We talked about prayer. Sometimes it isn't answered immediately. One of the reasons may be is because that which you were praying for involves people. That's it. It's people. And God has given all mankind a precious gift. It's called free will. And if he has given you free will to make your choices on how you're going to serve him or not serve him, he's given that choice to others. And so when you're praying for God, Lord, help this person. Well, maybe they need help because they're being hurt by another person. How's God going to deal with that? Well, is he just going to wipe that person that's given the problem? Is he going to wipe him out? I think sometimes that's what we wonder. Like when somebody does me evil, the first thing that comes to my head is like, like I speak evil sometimes. Like isn't this person just being wiped out? Aren't we terrible? I'm just going to be real. Like there are times I do things, I have to repent and like, Lord, your will be done but not my will. But yeah, I'm human. Sometimes I have these thoughts like, oh my God, just get it. Take care of them. Just get rid of them. Okay. All right. So sometimes, sometimes when we're praying, we have been given a burden that involves situations that involve people. And so there's not an easy fix. It's not an easy answer. And so we've got to sometimes pray this thing through so that God can deal with the hearts of people. And in the meantime, he's also dealing with our hearts. So that we, there have been many prayers that I prayed concerning some very difficult situations. I've had to go back to the Lord and repent to say, Lord, I am, I was wrong. I was praying fleshly desires. And Lord, please, thank you for not answering those prayers. And or else I'd have to stand before you in eternity for having prayed this. But thank you for not answering them. So I've repented and say, now Lord, I'm at the point, Lord, just work this out. Just work this out. And I'm still praying. Lord, work this out. But as we pray, what are we going to leave with in this parable? The faith. And that are we willing to pray and not lose heart? Are you willing? Whoa! Are you willing for Jesus to call you unto himself and give you a prayer assignment that you're going to have to pray and not lose heart? And we're talking about giving a prayer assignment that really has nothing to do with you. Or has nothing to do with your family. Or has nothing to do with what you ever thought. But are you willing, if the Lord so desires to give you a job in prayer and you pray this thing through. How many of y'all are willing? Are you willing to be willing? Amen. Okay. Because there's some prayers that need to be prayed that haven't yet been prayed that need to be prayed by some chosen people that have said yes to Jesus that we need to pray and not give up. Amen? Amen. Amen. Carol, why don't you end us in prayer.