Luke 18:2-5 says, “2Saying, There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man: 3And there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary. 4And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man; 5Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.”

Jesus begins to speak a parable to illustrate the purpose of praying without ceasing and refusing to lose heart. He speaks of a story concerning the widow and the judge. The church is pictured here in this parable as a widow. *The church can either be a widow, prostitute or bride. The church that is a widow is a church whose Jesus is dead. He is still buried in a tomb somewhere. They have no life or praise inside of them, but they are focused on a dead Jesus, and, as a result, the enemy takes advantage of them in their weakness. They have no one to defend or protect them. The prostitute church is the one who continually cheats on God with the things of this world. They say they love God, but their heart is far from them. They are living for a one-night stand, an experience with God, but then the rest of the week they have nothing to do with God. But the church Christ is coming back for is the spotless bride. It is the one who is faithful to God through thick and thin. It is the church who is so in love with God that He consumes all of their mind and time. They love nothing more than to continually be in the presence of the One they love. They will submit to His authority to reflect His nature to the world to show that they belong to Him! We are not to be a widow church or a prostitute church, but we are called to be the bride of Christ!

 

In the parable, the widow comes to the unjust judge and pleads with him to avenge her for her adversary. Of course, he could care less about this widow, and he surely does not fear God or any man, but because she continually comes to him, she is annoying him to the point that he has to do something. When you have a determination to get a breakthrough and the answer that you need, you can get it by continually going to the right sources. Sure, you will annoy people, but you will get exactly what you need. Then, Jesus said, “Hear what the unjust judge saith. And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them? I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:6-8) *This was a widow to an unjust judge, but we are a bride going to a Judge whose Son is a lawyer who happens to be our husband! 1 John 2:1 says, “My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” The word “advocate” means “lawyer”. We are able to approach the Great and Righteous Judge because His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, paid the penalty of sins so that when Satan, the accuser of the brethren, rises against us, we can stand strong because our lawyer paid the price for us. No other lawyer can do what Jesus can do! He will defend and stand for us because He is our husband. We can overcome every accusation Satan rises against us with because our husband is not dead but alive!

 

While the unjust judge only moved because he was wearied through the widow’s persistence in asking him to bring vengeance upon her adversaries, God, the righteous Judge, is waiting to hear from His own elect, which means “chosen people”. We are a chosen remnant that makes up the bride of Christ. 1 Peter 2:9 says, “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light.” You prove that you are part of the chosen generation when the royal blood of Christ flows in your veins, when you are set apart from the world to be like God, when you are purchased possession of God through the sacrifice Jesus Christ paid at Calvary, and when you show forth the praises of God who called you out of darkness into marvelous light. You identity that you are chosen through your persistence in prayer. The fact of the matter is that you are not going to annoy God when you pray, but you need to have a determination that you are going to approach the courtroom of heaven so much that you are going to do everything to weary God with your prayers! There has to be a determination inside of you that you are going to pray through! He will avenge His elect, fighting and warring on your behalf, when you cry out to Him day and night. He will move on the behalf of the intercessor and prayer warrior, and He will do so speedily. God is bearing, or delaying, long with us, not in tolerance, but patience. He does not tolerate sin, but He is patient with us, giving us space to repent and cry out to Him in prayer. Yet, in His long-bearing with us, He will move quickly if we choose to come boldly to throne of grace and dwell there until something changes. If God is not moving quickly enough, then you need to pray more in faith because, again, faith propels God into action. *God cannot answer your prayers when you choose to pray in fear of the circumstance rather than faith in God! God does not move in accordance to fear, but faith. When Jesus comes, He is looking for faith upon the earth. He is searching to move and call out to those who have faith. It is time to pray more than just 5 minutes before bed or at the time of a meal, but it is time to cry out day and night. It is time to rend the heavens with a prayer life that never ceases. It is about your hunger and desperation for God to move in your life and for you to be a continual carrier of His presence!