YOU ARE NOT ALWAYS PRAYING BECAUSE YOU HAVE NOT READ AND UNDERSTOOD LUKE CHAPTER 18 VERSE 1 TO 8

“Prayer should be the key of the day and the lock of the night” – George Herbert

Luke 18:1 (KJV)
And He spake a parable unto them to this end, that MEN OUGHT ALWAYS TO PRAY, and not to faint;

According to Luke chapter 18 verse 1, Jesus was about to share a parable with a believer – it could be a pastor, evangelist, prophet, apostle, pastor’s wife, choir member, sanctuary cleaner, youth member, prayer warrior, drummer, keyboardist, usher, banker, journalist, politician, professor, teacher, DJ, filmmaker, etc, to affirm a statement and way of thinking as the son of God; which is, “MEN HAVE TO ALWAYS PRAY, and not to FAINT”.

In other words, Jesus is sharing this parable with us with just one agenda: TO MAKE YOU AND I SEE THE NEED TO ALWAYS PRAY, AND NOT TO FAINT. This parable has no other meaning to a believer than to teach him/her the importance of prayer.


“The opposite of a PRAYERFUL man is a FAINTING man, not a PRAYERLESS man” – Apostle Arome Osayi

Luke 18:2-4 (KJV)
2 Saying, there was in a city A JUDGE, which FEARED NOT GOD, neither REGARDED MAN:
3 And there was A WIDOW in that city; and she came unto him, saying, AVENGE ME OF MINE ADVERSARY.
4 And he would not for a while: BUT AFTERWARD he said within himself, though I FEAR NOT GOD, NOR REGARD MAN;

According to Jesus, there was a city which had a Judge who did not fear God, nor had respect for people. In that same city where the Judge lived was a Widow who needed urgent judgment against her enemy. So, she decided to visit the chambers of this Judge in that city for him to grant her justice.

On the first day the Judge, who did not fear God nor had respect for people, ignored her. And this attitude and decision of the Judge continued for a long time. But, this Widow kept going to the Judge with the same request daily.

After a period of time, the Judge decided to change his mind and grant the Widow the justice she needed. The Judge did not want to grant her the justice initially, but he finally did it. WHY?

Luke 18:6 (KJV)
And the Lord said, HEAR what the unjust judge saith.

At this juncture of the parable, Jesus gives you and I a quick assignment: “HEAR WHAT THE UNJUST JUDGE SAID”. In other words, you and I must go back and reread what the unjust judge said to himself before granting the widow her heart's desire.

To Jesus, that statement is the key you and I need to better understand; what He is trying to say about US (BELIEVERS) ALWAYS PRAYING. And that statement can be found in the fourth and fifth verse of Luke chapter 18.

Luke 18:4-5 (KJV)
4 And he would not for a while: BUT AFTERWARD he said within himself, though I FEAR NOT GOD, NOR REGARD MAN;
5 Yet because this widow troubleth me, I WILL AVENGE HER, lest by her continual coming she weary me.

I will use the original Greek translation for us to better understand what Jesus is driving at. I am doing this because our understanding of OUR NEED TO ALWAYS PRAY stands/rests on our understanding of what the unjust Judge said within him before granting the Widow her justice.

This is what the unjust Judge said within himself, “Though I do not fear God nor have respect for people; yet because this Widow KEEPS SHOWING UP/PRESENTING HERSELF BEFORE ME, I will grant her justice. If not, her continuous coming to me will annoy me.”


“Is Prayer your steering wheel or your spare tire?” – Corrie ten Boom

Luke 18:7-8 (KJV)
7 And shall not God avenge His own elect, WHICH CRY DAY AND NIGHT UNTO HIM, though He bear long with them?
8 I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man cometh, shall He find faith on the earth?

From the above, this is what Jesus is trying to tell you and me; “If the unjust Judge decided to grant the Widow justice because she KEPT SHOWING UP/PRESENTING HERSELF BEFORE HIM, why would God not do something for you and me, believers who have been bought and washed by the precious blood of His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, if we would only continuously CRY/TALK/PRAY unto Him day and night according to His Will.”

In other words, God will surely answer the prayers of believers if they will continuously pray unto Him day and night according to His Will, and be patient with Him.

Brothers and sisters, STOP expecting answers from God if you only SHOW UP/PRESENT YOURSELF to Him weekly, monthly, quarterly or yearly.


"Our continuous SHOWING before God is proof of our faith in Him" - MD

HAVE YOU CONSIDERED THE WAY YOU ARE LIVING?

[BUILD THE TEMPLE BEFORE YOU DO ANY OTHER THING (2)]

When the Israelites were considering their needs instead of rebuilding the Temple of God for God to rest in, strange things were happening in and around them. It was happening to them each day. They saw it happen to their neighbors also as they experienced it, but they could not see the hand of God in it. They thought it was normal because everybody was going through it. So, the Lord drew their attention to what they were failing to notice as a sign from Him to them.


Haggai 1:5-7, 9-10 (TLB)
5 Look at the result:
6 You plant much but harvest little. You have scarcely enough to eat or drink and not enough clothes to keep you warm. Your income disappears, as though you were putting it into pockets filled with holes!
7 “Think it over,” says the Lord Almighty. “Consider how you have acted and what has happened as a result!
9 “You hope for much but get so little. And when you bring it home, I blow it away – it doesn’t last at all. Why? Because my Temple lies in ruins, and you don’t care. YOUR ONLY CONCERN IS YOUR OWN FINE HOMES.
10 That is why I am holding back the rains from heaven and giving you such scant crops.


According to the above scripture, they were harvesting little after planting much because of their failure to rebuild the temple. So, if they knew that, they would have been wise to continue with the rebuilding of the Temple of God for God.

If they knew that they scarcely had enough to eat or drink because of their failure to rebuild the temple, they would have been wise to continue with the rebuilding of the Temple of God for God.

If they knew that they did not have enough clothes to keep them warm because of their failure to rebuild the Temple, they would have been wise to continue with the rebuilding of the Temple of God for God.

If they knew that their income was disappearing as though they were putting it into pockets filled with holes because of their failure to rebuild the Temple, they would have been wise to continue with the rebuilding of the Temple of God for God.

If they knew that they had little when they were hoping for much and the little they were bringing home were being blown away and were not lasting because of their failure to rebuild the Temple, they would have been wise to continue with the rebuilding of the Temple of God for God.

If they knew that the rains from heaven were being held back and they were receiving scanty crops because of their failure to rebuild the Temple, they would have been wise to continue with the rebuilding of the Temple of God for God.

If they had known, they would have been quick to rebuild the temple before doing any other thing. But, they failed to notice because they were not considering what was happening to them as a result of their inactions.

They were not considering their lives!

It is the same today. Our failure to notice the little things happening to us because of our failure to rebuild our spiritual walk/life with God is the reason we are going through those little things each day and ignorantly blaming the devil. But the devil is not to blame, YOUR SO-CALLED "CHRISTIAN LIFE” is to blame.
If you have placed the world, thus, the cares of this world, before God, then you are to blame; not the devil!


Matthew 6:33 (TLB) (emphasized)
And He will give them [(food, drink, clothes)] to you IF YOU GIVE HIM FIRST PLACE IN YOUR LIFE AND LIVE AS HE WANTS YOU TO.


Until you put God first, you are to blame, not the devil! The devil has no right over a believer, God does! And God will do everything in His power to grab the attention of His children again. Even if it means taking away what they love most.

So, how are you living your life as a Believer/Christian? Are you living your life for God or for man? Are you living your life according to what God wants or what man wants?

If your answer so far has been in the favor of man, you should now understand why you are going through such misery in life. You should understand why you are still living a powerless life though your Lord and Master, Jesus Christ, had all power and authority in Heaven and Earth given to Him. You should understand why other believers are happily manifesting the power of God when you are not.


CONSIDER YOUR LIFE!