Perseverance in Prayer

Sermon 74 in Series

Luke 18:1-8

[1] And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart. [2] He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected man. [3] And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’ [4] For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear God nor respect man, [5] yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.’” [6] And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge says. [7] 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. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”

DEEP SHEET: Sermon Study Questions
1.  How is this passage connected to the one before? What does it mean that Christians are a waiting people?
2.  What is the purpose / main idea of the parable as Jesus describes it in v. 1? What does it look like for us to lose heart in our praying?
3.  What comparison does Jesus draw between the widow and the Christian? How does he contrast God with the unrighteous judge?
4.  How does God view us and our prayers according to this passage? How are you encouraged to pray more frequently, fervently, and persistently?
5.  How much do you follow the template of the Lord’s Prayer with an emphasis on the coming of God’s kingdom? In what ways do we overlook or minimize the first few requests in order to quickly get to our earthly needs?
6.  How does the end of v. 8 challenge the believer to be vigilant? How are faith and prayer inextricably linked?

References: Luke 11:1-13 (corporate reading); 2 Corinthians 4:16; Galatians 6:9; Proverbs 9:10; Psalm 68:5; Deuteronomy 10:18; Ephesians 1:4-5; Luke 6:22; 2 Peter 3:8-9; Luke 21:31-36; Ephesians 6:18; Colossians 4:2; 3:2; Romans 12:12.