These words of Jesus are very powerful in their meaning and weight in our lives.  Jesus speaks them to His disciples in Luke chapter 18.  Take a moment to read them again, and say them out loud and consider them, let them sink in for a moment.  “We should always pray and not give up!”  They come to us in what is called, “The Parable of the Persistent Widow.” Let me summarize this parable for now and I encourage you to read it later.

In Luke 18 the chapter starts off saying, “Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. “  Jesus then tells a simple story about a widow who needed justice and a “judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought.”  The story is a simple contrast between a corrupt judge and your righteous, loving Father who will “see that they get justice, and quickly.”  The widow has to repeatedly cry out to the judge who finally relents.  Unlike this judge, Jesus points out, we have a heavenly Father who is eager to answer our prayers.   It is a simple story of direct contrast.  We should always pray for that which we need because we have a Father who answers.  Did you hear that?  I am not sure you got this yet.  We should always pray and not give up!

Do you have needs? Pray, don’t give up!  Do you have desperate needs?  Pray and don’t give up!  You have a loving Father who answers prayer.  Pray and don’t give up!  That’s right, Jesus says, PRAY AND DON’T GIVE UP!