Seeking for the help of the Lord, I direct your prayerful attention to the Gospel according to Luke chapter 18 and reading verse 1 for our text. And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray and not to faint. that men ought always to pray. Luke chapter 18 and verse 1. We read that without a parable spake he not unto them. The Lord used parables extensively, following, of course, that of which the prophets inspired by the Lord, also used in the Old Testament. Very often there was an earthly story that was told, or a presentation presented to them, and then they were given the explanation for it. And so in the teaching of our Lord, He uses these windows, as it were, into deep doctrinal truth, but using a simple illustration, a earthly story, with a spiritual meaning. And many of the people, they just heard the earthly story, and they didn't discern the meaning. The disciples at times, they asked the Lord, to explain to them the parable, and the Lord did so. Here, the Lord tells this parable, and he gives them right at the very start of it, the end. Very often in the parables, there is more than one teaching that we may derive from it. We think of the parable of the Good Samaritan, especially. The Lord told that one in answer to the question, and who is my neighbor? And so the end, the teaching of that parable was to show who our neighbor is. But in the process, it gives a beautiful illustration of the Lord coming down to where the wounded one was and doing everything for Him. And how the priests, the Levites, the law, the ceremonial law, they, that couldn't touch Him. But the Lord Jesus Christ did. And so there are other illustrations as well. But here we're told very clearly that the Lord is telling this parable With this end in view, this aim, we don't want to lose sight of this or muddy this, that man ought always to pray and not to faint. We think of how illustrative the times of prayer are throughout the Old Testament. We think of the case with the children of Israel going out of Egypt, then came Amalek, and Joshua was detailed with fighting with Amalek with the sword, but it wasn't to be just the means, just the sword. Moses had to hold up his rod, a type of prayer, seeking the power of God to be with Joshua. and Aaron and her held up his hands because every time his hands came down, then Amalek prevailed. When he lifted them up, then Joshua, Israel prevailed. And there we see a very direct correlation between the power of God being given, and we may say through prayer, and the power of God withheld. The means must be used, but we need to join prayer with those things that we do. And in that illustration, there is seen a very evident effect, and it's a blessed thing. I hope we prove it in our prayers, that when we pray, then the Lord helps us. When we don't pray, we find things going against us. And may we know it the same as Israel proved it. We think of the case of Elijah. We have Elijah, of course, in the Old Testament, but James brings him in, in his epistle, and he sets him forth before us as a man of faith, a prayer of faith. And he says, Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are. And he prayed earnestly that it might not rain, and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit. What an effect. And before that he prayed for rain, he prayed that the Lord would send the fire from heaven and that they would know that he'd turn their hearts back again. The Lord has ordained, I will for this being quiet of, by the house of Israel to do it for them. It is the way that God has his people communicate to him, the way that there is fellowship between him and his people It is the way the Lord Jesus Christ also trod in the nights that he spent in prayer on the mountains with his father. While he was on this earth, voluntary, humbled at the seed of Abraham, he trod the path that we tread, and that is the path of prayer. So I want to look at this parable and five lessons, five things that we can draw from this short parable. The parable itself is very simple. There's a picture of a judge in a city. And we're told about that judge that he did not fear God nor regard man. And it seemed he almost made a thing of that, a badge of honor, if you like. Because he says, though I fear not God, nor regard man. It wasn't just others saying it of him. He was proud of the fact. But there was then a widow, and she had an adversary. And she came to him and asked this judge that he would avenge her of her adversary, that he would help her, take her part. of that person that was against her. And he would not do it for a while. But then he said, and he thought within himself, this woman is going to keep coming. She's going to wear me out. She's going to keep annoying me. She's going to keep asking and asking. So I will, I'll avenge her of her adversary, just to stop her from keep coming. That was the story, the parable. And then the Lord applied that. He said, hear what the unjust judge said. And he applies it in this way. If that judge, he wouldn't help her, because of any moral duty toward God or man, but just to stop himself being worn out by her continual coming, he would. And the Lord is illustrating, if that ungodly man that feared not God would answer a widow's petition on that basis, How much more our Heavenly Father, who is righteous and holy and just and good, and has bid us to pray and come before Him, how much more will He answer the prayers of His people when they come again and again unto Him? And the Lord assures that He will. and he will answer speedily. It is a comparison, really, between an ungodly man on earth and our loving Heavenly Father, and it's used as a real powerful incentive for us to pray. So these five things, the first thing in verse one, that prayer is the antidote for fainting. Our text says that men ought always to pray and not to faint. In other words, if you don't pray, then you'll faint. How many times we might be tempted to give up on something, to put it to a lost cause, We're dejected. We faint. We've no strength left in us. We're discouraged. We're disheartened. And in effect, the Lord says here, this is how to fix that. This is the antidote for it. If you had a natural malady and you went to the chemist and you asked them, how do I fix this? This is what they would prescribe. That man ought always to pray. What an encouragement, just in the very first verse, to pray. And you might say, well, mine are very, very poor prayers. They may be. But the Lord doesn't answer for the eloquence of prayer. You might say, I'm not sure, I don't know what to pray. This woman here, she had one thing, one thing that she wanted the Lord to do. Later on in the chapter, even though we might think with the blind man how that he was crying unto the Lord, the Lord must surely have known why he was crying, why he wanted his attention. He was blind. Why did he even bother to ask Him, what wilt thou that I should do unto thee? But really, everything, all of our troubles and all of our trials, the Lord knows exactly what we want, He knows what we need, but He bids us ask. He wants to hear it from our own lips, and so If we say, well, we have nothing to pray, we don't know what to say, bring those things that are making you faint. Bring those things that are making you disheartened, that are making you feel ready to give up. Bring those things before the Lord in prayer. It's either pray or faint. There's another saying that either sinning will stop praying or praying will stop sinning. But here is, in another way, either praying will stop fainting or fainting will stop praying. This is a parable meant to encourage in the path of prayer. And the very first verse is to those that are disheartened, those that are discouraged, those that really feel ready to faint and to give up. The second thing we may learn is that which you'll find in verse 7. The Lord says, The first part of verse 7. Here is a mark of election. Now, I know we should not go through life and all the time be asking the Lord, am I elect or am I not? Our election is known by our calling. We are to make known our calling and election sure. And so rather than just asking, as it were, the Lord to tell us whether we elect or not, we are to look for those real evidences of being called by God, quickened, the new birth, walking with the Lord. But here we are told very, very clearly, here is a mark of God's elect. They pray. They pray night and day. They also pray where the Lord is not answering them immediately because they're continuing to pray. There's much lesson in that. God's people, God's elect people, are a praying people. They are a people that the Lord draws to himself in this way. We think of the Apostle Paul, Saul of Tarsus, as he was. Behold, he prayeth, was said to Ananias, this one one mark, one evidence of life, a communication between a poor sinner and Almighty God. One that is uttering words upon earth and they may not even be audible as Hannah's were not audible, but the Lord knows the heart and knows what is secretly spoken to him. And we know that we come to God through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. If He asks anything in my name, I will do it. Our Lord is the mediator, the one mediator between God and man, the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the one that presents our petitions with His merits and we plead His name. I think it is sometimes when we listen to the procedures in our own Parliaments. If you have a Member of Parliament addressing the House, every now and again they will bring in the Speaker, Mr Speaker or Madam Speaker. They are going through the Chair and it's all the time reminded that the order of the House is to speak through the Chair. In God's people they often throughout their prayers, they are pleading the name of Jesus, or pleading for His name's sake. And it's a reminder to them, and it is glorifying to the Lord Jesus Christ, and honouring unto God our Father, that we do that, that we are very mindful that we are coming to God through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. It's very, very sad when there's professed Christians that don't do this and even cannot see why they should. And there have been those that I've known that have not been able to see the need to plead the name of Jesus. Most solemn. But here then is a a mark of being those that are chosen in Christ Jesus before the foundation of the world, those that have been loved with an everlasting love and therefore with loving kindness have been drawn. And one effect of that drawing is to be drawn to the throne of grace and drawn to cry unto their God. Continuing in prayer, that is the mark. You know, many in times of trouble will offer just a short little prayer. When things go right, then they don't pray again. And so the mark of election here is that continuing, which cry day and night. And this whole parable is speaking of that importunate prayer, constant prayer. You say, but aren't we warned about vain repetition? What about our Lord in the Garden of Gethsemane? Did he not pray again the same words three times? Just because they're the same words doesn't mean it's vain repetition. It's not like the empty choruses of some so-called Christian music today that has no substance of doctrine, no real truth in it, just empty words and repetitions to worldly music. Real prayer may only be a few words. We read of it in this passage. The publican? God be merciful to me, a sinner. But he went down to his house justified. Don't think we need to have all sorts of different prayers or very wordy prayers, where the heart is in it, where it's real, where it's really felt. That's not vain repetition. Repetition is different than vain repetition. Vain is empty. It is worthless, the heart is not in it. But repetition, when a burdened heart is crying to the Lord and giving Him no rest, continually coming, there is the mark of being one of the elect. The third lesson, again in verse seven, is that the Lord is mindful of our sins and our faults, and he bears long with us. At the end of that verse we read, which cried day and night unto him, though he bear long with them. You know, if we had a child that was asking us for things, but they were troublesome, they got bad ways, bad habits, faults and failings and we bore with them. We may realise their infirmities or weaknesses or took allowance that they were a child and we bore along with them. When we think of our behaviour before the Lord and Sometimes Satan can say, when we go to prayer, you look at what you've been doing, you look at what you said, then you drag up things years ago, and you say, how can you expect an answer to prayer? How can you pray? When you put the Lord through all of these things, you must be the most trying, fretful, ungrateful, a wearisome child that ever God had. Well, here he says, though he bear long with them. Just a few words, but I hope you find them encouraging. I did. In looking at them, I think, well, the Lord knows what we are. He doesn't expect when we come before him in prayer that we are perfect, not that we sin that grace might abound. But if the Lord was to say, I only hear prayers from those that are perfect, those that have never worried me, never troubled me, I'll listen to their prayers, but not any other. And this is another thing, belonging to the elect. You might say, well, the elect, well, they're very godly people, and they never do anything wrong. The Lord has not tried. with them and with their behaviour, but the Lord says yes, though he bear long with them. We are not saved by works, we are saved by grace. Those who are still under the covenant of works, they can't grasp this, they can't understand this. Their religion is in the rigorous observance to the minutest detail with fear and with torment to make sure that they get everything right. Their secret thought is, well, this is my hope of heaven, and it should be the hope of everyone else as well. And when they see one of God's people fall, or perhaps not walk as they think, then they can't believe that they're one of God's children at all. But God's people, they're saved by grace. They're shown mercy. They're forgiven. The Lord has borne their sin. He's put away their transgressions. And He does not look for perfection. We obey the Lord out of love to Him, out of hatred to sin, and wanting to do that which pleases Him. We're not doing it with a thought, we're earning our way to heaven. And if we do put a foot wrong, do those things wrong, the Lord in mercy forgives us. You know, if we were an employee of a farm, and our employer said to us, you must do everything perfectly. I will not tolerate one little tiny slip up of anything that you do. It would make you so careful, you'd be fearful to do anything, more likely to do a lot more mistakes. But if you had one that taught you, one that earned your respect, and just let you go and do your work, and if you made a mistake, they said, it doesn't matter, we can rectify it, you do this or that. What a burden it would lift off the employee. How much more productive, how much better they would be, realizing that they were not working under such a microscope and under such strict conditions. that they would lose their employment with just one tiny slipper. The way the Lord brings His people is leads them by love and He leads them, He bears with their infirmities, their failings, their sins. We're not sinless, we do sin. We don't sin that grace might abound. But every one of God's people will be mindful The Lord is bearing long with me." They'll be amazed sometimes at the answers to prayer and the blessings. You say, what, Lord? When I behave like this, when I've thought these things, when I've been so rebellious, when I've been so fretful, what? Thou hast favoured me thus and blessed me thus. We sometimes be even fearful of receiving from His hand because feeling so unworthy of it. And so this is an encouraging word, that the Lord bears long with his elect, long with those that are crying day and night unto him. The fourth thing is that the Lord will answer speedily. Now we might say, well, How can that be so? The Lord says in verse 8, I tell you that you will avenge them speedily. But why do they cry day and night? Why is the Lord teaching of importunity, of keep going and going and going? Because if we interpreted this, well, as soon as you ask, the Lord gives the answer. There'd be no need for this exhortation. There'd be no need. for continuing in prayer, in importunate prayer. It would be like this widow coming to the judge, and she sets her case, and he said, yes, I'll do it straight away, and he does it straight away. But that's not the case. What does it mean? Spiritually, really in God's time, in the time appointed, that is what he will do. He will never be a moment, Before his time, there'll never be a moment behind. It'll be the exact timing. It's one of the marks of the Lord's dealings with his people. You might say all of the years that the butler forgot Joseph, and there is Joseph in the prison. Do you not think Joseph was praying all those years? Bring before the Lord his dreams. How unjust it was that he was in the prison, and that the butler had forgotten him, and he'd told him his dream, he'd charged him, but nothing was happening at all. But the Lord hadn't forgotten him. The exact right time, how speedily it was. You know, Joseph would have been going about his business in that prison, and suddenly the door opens, and they say, come, get shaved, get changed, you're coming before Pharaoh, no warning, just suddenly. Isn't that speedily? The thing was done suddenly, and those things done suddenly, that may have been waited a long time for them to be done, are things that have been the subject of prayer, asking, and asking, and waiting, But the whole point of this parable, it doesn't end with the widow asking and asking, but the judge never ever gives what she wants. He does. And that's what the Lord says of his people. And I approve this. Even if it is not the exact thing we've been asking for, he gives better. And when we receive that, we esteem it better. The Apostle Paul asked the Lord three times that he would remove the thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan, from him. But the Lord said, no, my grace is sufficient for thee. In other words, instead of taking it away, Paul, I'm going to give you grace to bear it. And the Apostle greatly esteemed that, much more rather than, he said, will I glory in my infirmity that the grace of God might be manifest in me when I am weak, then am I strong. It is only in trials and tribulations that the grace of God comes out and others see it. Others notice the effect of the help and the grace that God has given to his afflicted people, or people in providences that other people look upon them and say, how do they continue like that? How do they keep going? How do they do that? Well, it's not in us, but it's through the grace of God. And so the Lord does answer speedily And it is the right time. Well, the last thing is that continuing in prayer is an exercise of faith. In the latter part of verse 8, we read, Nevertheless, when the Son of Man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth? Shall ye find faith on the earth? Why put that at the end of this parable that's on prayer? Because prayer is an exercise of faith. You think of the end of this chapter, we have the blind man crying unto the Lord and The Lord asking him, what wilt thou that I should do unto thee? And he said, Lord, that I may receive my sight. And Jesus said unto him, receive thy sight, thy faith hath saved thee. Thy faith. And again, that was joined to him asking. Him crying, thou son of David. He could see through the Jesus of Nazareth that He was the Son of David. He believed that He could do. He that cometh to God must believe that He is, that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him. Prayer is an act of faith. We believe that we are coming to the true and living God. We believe that He is able and willing to answer prayer. We believe that He has made a way that He can be just and yet justifying ungodly people. And it is through our Lord Jesus Christ. We said of coming before Him and through Him in prayer. And the reason is this, everything that we ask of God, the Lord, for His people, for His elect, has settled their debt. He's paid what they owed. the Lord coming to this world, the Lord taking our nature, the Lord suffering as God and man in one person upon Calvary's tree, putting away our sin by the sacrifice of himself, then rising again from the dead. It is through what Christ has done on our behalf, bearing our sins, that then he makes a way that he can do what he will with his own. He has already settled the debt. He is just. He is righteous. None can say unto him, you're not fair in answering that petition. Why should you answer that? That person doesn't deserve it. What sinners they are. And you say, yes, they are sinners. But I put away their sin. I blotted out their sin. I have loved them. I've died for them, I've shed my blood for them, shall not I answer their prayer? Now that I've given it, now that I've given them life, shall not I answer? Of course, He will answer. We have to remember that, that every blessing that comes to us, it is through Jesus' precious blood. Every answer to prayer, every appearance for us and every help, is because Christ has died. You might say, does the Lord ever answer half-hearted, empty prayers of the ungodly? There are those times that He may do so, but that will be to their condemnation at the last day, when they've taken the answer, immediately forgotten even asking, and never returned to give glory to God. Our Lord healed, at one time, ten lepers. Those lepers had come asking Him to have mercy upon them, and He did. And He healed every one of them. But when one realized that he was healed, as he went as told to go to the priest and show themselves to the priest, He realized he was cleansed as he went, and he returned to give glory to God, to give thanks to the Lord. The Lord said, where are the nine? Were there not ten healed? Where are the nine? But what a solemn thing at the judgment, when it shall be said to those nine, you prayed, you asked, but then you had no regard for who you prayed and who answered your prayers. You didn't give glory to God. bound up with real prayer is a mindfulness, like Hannah for this child I prayed, like the Samaritan giving glory to God, it is returning. In Psalm 107, we have really an indication of how many forget to do this. O that men would praise the Lord for his goodness. O give thanks unto the Lord for his goodness. Again and again, the turning point in Psalm 107, they fell down, there was none to help, then they cried unto the Lord in their trouble. Prayer was the turning point in every time, however low they got. And they were to understand from that. We are to understand the loving kindness of the Lord. But we'd understand through that Psalm how backward we often are. in returning to give thanks unto God. If we are continuing in prayer, if we're praying with a mindfulness of where those blessings and helps come from, then it will lead us to Him, lead us to adore Him, to worship Him, and to strengthen our faith in Him, our trust in Him. It won't just be for temporal things, it'll be for eternal things, it'll be for blessings and helps, that this world do not seek after. They'll be seeking that the Lord would overcome for us this body of death, that he'd deliver us from our adversary, the devil, that he would save us from the ungodly, save us from the spirit of this world, deliver us from our own old nature, and save us from falling, deliver us from snares, and bring us to have the fruits of the Spirit, to be evidence in our lives, in our conversation, in all that we do. Many will be the petitions of God's people that the world wouldn't even think worthy that they should ever ask. We may ask ourselves with our petitions, are they only concerning our health, our job and outward things? Or are they those things that are spiritual things? We're looking for spiritual blessings, the blessing of the Lord, the subduing of our sins, the increase of love to the Lord and His people, that ability to serve Him acceptably, and that we might be delivered from every evil way. May we be those that continue in prayer and in these things, not fainting. We know our sins and our old nature will accompany us right through our journey. Always they'll be there. But may we not faint, but may we pray. And may we think of these five things in this short parable that are an encouragement, a strength to us. May we be those that continue in prayer. Amen.