Keep Asking—Psalm 121; Luke 18: 1-8
Comedian John Crist has a routine called, “I Ain’t Praying for That.” He starts it off by saying, “Have you ever had someone ask you to pray for something so wild and crazy that you think, ‘Nope, I’m not praying for that?’” Some examples he cites include the following: pray that I pass my drug test tomorrow, my kid has tendonitis in his thumbs from holding his iPad for 14 hours at a time, winning an MMA fight… “Lord let me beat the ever-loving fool out of this other person made in your image, in Jesus name…”
I have seen and heard a few questionable prayers myself. I was asked to pray for someone’s love life by laying hands on their Christian Mingle app on the phone. I remember in high school, back in Kentucky, the guy who owned an adult store found Jesus and made it a Bible store because he got arrested for a few indecency misdemeanors. A church we visited started praying over his wallet to bless him in his new, allegedly, faithful endeavor. Sadly, God said no. The man made a fortune in the adult store business and went broke selling Bibles. I think that situation needed more prayer than folks realized.
There is, though, power in prayer and in speaking the concerns and hopes on your heart and soul. In our Gospel, Jesus talks about a judge with little regard for God or people. A widow asks him repeatedly for justice in her dispute with an enemy. Eventually he grants it to her. Growing up, this story was always presented as if the judge came to his senses and did what was right, it just took a while. But nothing like that happens. The only reason this woman gets justice is because she drove him crazy, and the irritated judge gave her justice just so she would go away, not at all because it was right.
Another pitfall, or misreading, is that the woman is given what she wants. I remember hearing, growing up, that we should keep asking God over and over for what we want because eventually God will listen like this unjust judge. But the Gospel says that God will grant justice to God’s people and swiftly. It says nothing about getting what you want. Perhaps in some ways we misunderstand prayer. It’s not creating a giant wish list for Santa or a heavenly genie who grants us all that we desire in life.
Prayer is about calling on God for divine intervention in terms of healing, justice, mercy, and comfort. Too often folks see prayer as a Janice Joplin-esque way of asking, “O Lord, won’t you send me a Mercedes-Benz?” Prayer, however, is about the power of God to intervene in this world to right the wrongs of evil and corruption and harm to God’s people. In our world today, we’ve lost our way with prayer because we are too simple and short sighted with our prayers.
Now, there is nothing wrong with praying over small and simple things—for a good day, for a friend, for illness in those around us, for our church, and so on. But how often do we then expand and pray that God’s justice would be done on this earth, that we would be voices and agents of God’s Word and God’s justice in this world? How often do we pray that God’s peace and mercy would end wars, heal divisions, bind up wounds, and teach us how to better love God and neighbor in this world. But here’s the real question. If we do pray it, how much do we actually believe it…or live it?
Several years ago, people became captivated by a small book on the prayer of Jabez, a somewhat obscure short prayer in I Chronicles. His prayer to God was this: “Oh, that you would bless me and expand my territory! Please be with me in all that I do and keep me from all trouble and pain!” While there is specific prayer for his own needs, it’s that first part that is powerful. Expand my territory is the phrase he used. It could mean that he wanted more land, more influence, more work with God.
One commentator said this about the prayer of Jabez, “God blessed Jabez, not with prosperity in return for his prayers, but with provision for the will God wished to execute through his life. With Jabez, we must not read his prayer as a request for personal blessing, but as a cry for God to bless him as a part of God’s covenant people.” The prayer he made was one to empower him as God’s representative in this world. His name means pain or sorrow, but he knew God had the ability to bless him in way that he could live for God and work for God’s justice in the world in any circumstance.
The crux of this story of the unjust judge is that if someone as corrupt and terrible as the judge can somehow find a way to justice when pestered endlessly, God who is the author of justice and redemption, will give it in the right time and in the right way, if we ask and have faith. But the question in the Gospel remains, “When the Son of Man returns, how many will he find on the earth who have faith?” Let me ask the question this way. What does it say about our faith when we wind up surprised that our prayers actually worked?
God’s timing and God’s no to our prayers are not a reason to lose faith. If our faith takes a nosedive every time God says no or makes us wait, we don’t have an investment in faith, we have a rental. God is not the genie obligated to grant every wish. God is the Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer of all life, and God has plan and calling for us and our lives.
But God also expects us to follow where we are guided or sent. God expects us to speak for what is right, to live in a way that shows Jesus, to stand up for justice and mercy in a world that is often filled with corrupt judges. At the end of the day, if we are comfortable with this story of how the widow finally received justice, then we are not living with enough faith and urgency in the will and work of God. That is why Jesus asks how many will be found faithful.
At the end of the day, no matter what level of injustice, impropriety, and possibly straight up evil reigns on this earth, God’s power and presence are with us. The Psalm reminds us of this. “I look to the hills, does my help come from there? My help comes from the Lord who made heaven and earth.” That is one of the most definitive statements of faith and trust we can have. A friend of mine says her morning devotion is reciting that every day. She gets up and says, “Today may be easy. Today may be hard. I may have to search for help in different places. But always the help I need comes from the Lord, who made heaven, earth, and even me. And God will watch over me wherever I go, now and forever.”
How we pray is incredibly important to our faith. If we pray too simply, too specifically, or too shortsightedly, we may often find disappointment in God’s no’s. But maybe we can pray like the prophet Amos, who in the midst of the people’s selfishness and wickedness, cried out, “Let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream!” Maybe we can call on God and pray that God’s will would be done instead of asking God to do what we think God should do. That’s wishing, not praying. Our help comes from God, and we must remember that, always.
Prayer can be a bit hard for us. We might be asked to pray for some strange things. I’m with John Crist. There are some things I’m not praying for. I’m not anointing your dating app. I’m not praying over your drug test. If it’s that questionable whether you can pass, you’re on your own with God’s good graces. But there are times we must pray—for God’s justice, for God’s healing, for God’s presence to guide us, for God’s wisdom to inspire us. Prayer expresses the hopes and concerns on our hearts, but it also is a time when we respond to God’s call: how can I live for God in this world. The Gospel wraps up by questioning whether many will have the faith needed. My prayer today is that our faith is overflowing and the Son of Man finds all of us faithful.
Worship Service Video https://www.facebook.com/fccmacon/videos/1490775198918154/