A.In James 5:16, the Scripture states, "The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.”
1.An effective prayer is one that is powerful, energetic, and successful in its purpose.A prayer is effective when it is given in faith (Jas. 1:5-6) with the right motives (Jas. 4:1-3) according to God’s will (1John 5:14-15).
2.A righteous man is not a flawless man, but he is a man who has been made righteous (justified) by faith in Jesus Christ (Phil. 3:9).
3.Such a prayer can accomplish both temporal (Matt. 6:11; Acts 12:5; 1Tim. 4:4-5; 3John 2) and spiritual (Matt. 6:12-13; Rom. 10:1; 2Cor. 13:7, 9; Eph. 6:19; 2Thess. 3:1; Jas. 1:5-6) goals.
B.If the effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much, then even more can be accomplished when a righteous man is persistent in his prayers.
1.Persistent prayer is to be a part of a righteous man’s life, for Christians are commanded to "pray without ceasing” (1Thess. 5:17).Such prayer is a habit that must never be broken.
2.The greatest example of persistent prayer is that of our Lord Jesus, who prayed at all times.Jesus prayed:
a.At His baptism (Luke 3:21)
b.Early in the morning (Mark 1:35)
c.Often by Himself (Matt. 14:22-23; Luke 5:16)
d.All night long (Luke 6:12)
e.When He was rejected (Matt. 11:25-26)
f.At the feeding of five thousand (Luke 9:16)
g.Before Peter’s confession (Luke 9:18)
h.At the transfiguration (Luke 9:28-29)
i.Before teaching His disciples (Luke 11:1)
j.For the children (Matt. 19:13)
k.As He predicted His own death (John 12:27-28)
l.As He taught about the Lord’s Supper (Luke 22:17-18)
m.That He would be glorified (John 17:1-5)
n.For His disciples (John 17:6-26)
o.For Peter (Luke 22:31-32)
p.In Gethsemane (Matt. 26:36-42)
q.On the cross (Matt. 27:46; Luke 23:34, 46)
r.After the resurrection (Luke 4:30)
3.Presently, let us consider two parables taught by our Lord to demonstrate the effectiveness of persistent prayer.
II.THE PARABLE OF THE PERSISTENT FRIEND
A.Read the text of this parable from Luke 11:5-10:
Then He said to them, "Suppose one of you has a friend, and goes to him at midnight and says to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves; for a friend of mine has come to me from a journey, and I have nothing to set before him’; and from inside he answers and says, ‘Do not bother me; the door has already been shut and my children and I are in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.’I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will get up and give him as much as he needs.So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.For everyone who asks, receives; and he who seeks, finds; and to him who knocks, it will be opened.”
B.Notice a few points from the parable.
1.The man asking for help came to his friend in time of need.
a.He did not wait for a convenient time.He came at midnight because that was the time of his need.This teaches us not to delay in asking God to supply our needs.
b.This is our privilege in Jesus Christ, for Hebrews 4:16 says, "Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
2.The first answer given by the man in the house was rejection.If the man asking for help had only asked once, then he would not have received any help.
a.If we expect God to grant our petitions, supplications, and intercessions after one request, then we are mistaken.He may grant the answers to our prayers immediately, but we cannot always expect Him to do so.
b.The lesson of this parable is persistence in prayer.We are not to give up after one try.
3.The man in the house eventually granted his friend’s request because of the friend’s persistence.
a.The primary reason for the man’s eventual positive response was not the strength of their friendship, but it was his friend’s persistence.
b.This is the main point of the parable.In verses 9 and 10, when Jesus says, "Ask,” He means to keep on asking.Likewise, He means to keep on seeking and to keep on knocking.Those who keep on asking will receive, those who keep on seeking will find, and those who keep on knocking will have doors opened to them.
III.THE PARABLE OF THE PERSISTENT WIDOW
A.Read the text of this parable from Luke 18:1-8:
Now He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart, saying, "In a certain city there was a judge who did not fear God and did not respect man.There was a widow in that city, and she kept coming to him, saying, ‘Give me legal protection from my opponent.’ For a while he was unwilling; but afterward he said to himself, ‘Even though I do not fear God nor respect man, yet because this widow bothers me, I will give her legal protection, otherwise by continually coming she will wear me out.’”And the Lord said, "Hear what the unrighteous judge said; now, will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry to Him day and night, and will He delay long over them?I tell you that He will bring about justice for them quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?”
B.Notice a few points from the parable.
1.The widow came to the judge because he was the only hope for her protection, just as God is our only hope.
a.God made special provisions for defenseless persons like widows and orphans in Israel (Ex. 22:22-24; Deut. 10:17-18; 14:29; 24:17-21; 26:12-13; Ps. 146:9; Jer. 7:6; 27:3; Zech. 7:10).Those who oppressed such persons were cursed (Deut. 27:19; Isa. 1:17, 23; Ezek. 22:7; Mal. 3:5).
b.This judge was appointed to the defense of such persons, and God is our defense.Psalm 18:2 says, "The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge; my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.”
2.If the widow had not continually come to the judge, then she would not have received his protection.
a.Initially, the judge was unwilling to help her.However, he eventually granted her request because, as he said, "otherwise by continually coming she will wear me out.”
b.The lesson for us is not that God will not answer our prayers unless we nag Him, but rather it is to teach us to be persistent like the widow.We must never stop praying.
3.The judge granted the widow’s request only because of her persistence.
a.The judge did not fear God and did not respect man, yet he eventually did God’s will in the best interest of this widow because of her persistence.
b.Jesus drew a contrast between the judge and God, showing that if this unrighteous judge will do justice because of the persistence of the widow, then our righteous Father will bring justice to His children whom He loves in much greater measure.
4.Persistent prayer is a sign of faith.
a.Such prayer shows reliance on God and trust that He is able to deliver the object of the prayer.The widow came to the judge because she knew he could help her, and we go to God because we know He can help us.
b.Sadly, Jesus ended the lesson by asking whether He would find any such faith on the earth.Of course, that depends on us.Will we be persistent in our prayers?
III.CONCLUSION
A.Do not confuse persistence in prayer with vain repetition done for show, which is forbidden by the Lord (Matt. 6:7-8).Rather, understand persistent prayer to be an unceasing habit of personal faith to God.
B.Therefore, let us be persistent in our prayers so that we may receive our requests from God who hears us.
