Do you find yourself annoyed at those who ask for the same thing over and over? Well yes, we all do. Jesus used this very human characteristic in the Parable of the Persistent Widow (Luke 18:1-8) to show us a picture of prayer.
It sometimes appears that the Widow was using the old adage-the squeaking wheel gets the grease-to her advantage. Meaning the one who complains the longest and loudest gets what they want. That wasn’t Jesus’ intent. If you look closely at verse 1 Jesus says (my words) pray, pray, pray. Although the widow knew the only way to get the desired result was to seek justice, she also knew she needed God to lend a hand. She was persistent in her quest.
In 1 Corinthians 15:58 Paul tells us to stand firm and let nothing move us in our work for the Lord. This kind of persistence leads to having no doubt that our work for the Lord matters.
Galatians 6:9 says do not become weary in doing good. We are to be persistent in every opportunity to be the ‘light in the darkness’ to both those who believe and those who don’t.
If Paul McCartney had not persisted we might have a song called “Scrambled Eggs, oh my baby how I love your legs”. Instead through rewrite after rewrite. We got, “Yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far away”. “Yesterday” has been played on the radio more than 6 million times, more than any other record in history. It is also McCartney’s favorite song.
The difference between failure and success-between the widow and the judge-between “Yesterday” and “Scrambled Eggs”- is persistence.
Heavenly Father, let us persist in all the ways that will show the world that You will always answer. Let others see Jesus in us. Make it so!
A Satisfied Spirit 
We unbelievably considered purchasing tickets to the tune of hundreds of dollars then remembered who we were and what rests in our bank account. 🙂 He is a great performer however (actually my favorite from earlier days) and I once read a neat write titled “the Beatles and the Bible” that gave me much optimism about him and the others regarding their faith. Praise the Lord, God is in the saving business, and us?… we are only in the proclaiming line of work. Let God be God and we will be those who proclaim His glory in His Son, Jesus!
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Amen and amen!
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A great message Marie, I enjoy scrambled eggs but perhaps not so much when they are referring to legs, especially mine.
I hope to do a Post about perseverance in the near future, Wow I have sure come close to giving up but I continue even with the problems, in my heart I know it is what God wants me to do, He keeps reassuring me, He gave me Isaiah 41 to hold onto.
Christian Love from us both – Anne
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Heavenly Father I’m lifting Anne to the Throne in the precious name of Jesus. Give her strength, courage, and reassurance that she is doing exactly what You want her too! Bless her and Ron throughout their lives. Make it so!
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Heavenly Father, I am lifting Anne to the Throne in the Precious Name of Jesus. Give her strength and courage for each day. Let her know Your constant presence and love. Give her great reassurance that Your plan for her is moving forward. Make it so Lord!
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Loved your sense of humor here, Marie! Blessings.
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I popped over to your blog to see what you were writing about today! Your dog picture was so precious. I had to smile because ‘being’ is exactly what is supposed to be happening right now. 🙂
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This is very important and necessary to live as Christ wants us to live, and it’s important for us to share with others, as well!
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You’re right on! Persistent prayer is to be part of every life. We are also to be constantly sharing and modeling His Message to our world. Blessings to you and yours Lorie!
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Love the Paul McCartney analogy… he’s coming to Jax by the way. 🙂
It is interesting that Jesus used the persistent woman illustration to challenge His to be a people who refuse to quit praying. It will be the one with much wisdom of course who prays without ceasing for the right stuff. A great word today good friend. Blessings
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The right stuff…yes… It’s hard to pray for the right stuff when some don’t know what that means. I believe to be praying for what is in line with the Word and the truths contained in it. Praying without ceasing and for everything is what it’s about! Are you going to see McCartney? That would be an interesting concert. I’d like to hear him speak on his life and thoughts some time. Keep on keeping on!
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