Second-Hand Faith

Posted on by Betsy

Have you ever felt like your provisions have run out? Have you run out of patience, out of luck, out of energy, out of hope, or out of strength? Has something depleted your jar? 

Some of us feel drained because of addiction, a bad marriage, a rebellious teenager, a financial worry, etc. If this is you, listen up: This Scripture from 1 Kings is a reminder that when you put your trust in God, your jar will be filled to overflowing and you will never run out again. 

 Elijah’s story is set against the backdrop of the reign of the evil Ahab, king of the northern Israel. King Ahab was an idolater who worshiped false gods. God sent Elijah to Ahab to tell him that a drought was coming because of Ahab’s sin. Indeed, the drought that came lasted over three years.

 It was during this time that Elijah approached a widow for a meal, and she responded that she has nothing baked, and only enough meal and oil for one last supper. You see, she was so focused on her scarcity that she could not see the abundance that was standing right before her. She could not see that this Man of God had been sent directly to her for some purpose:

1 Kings 17: 8-16

8 The Lord’s word came to Elijah: 9 Get up and go to Zarephath near Sidon and stay there. I have ordered a widow there to take care of you. 10 Elijah left and went to Zarephath. As he came to the town gate, he saw a widow collecting sticks. He called out to her, “Please get a little water for me in this cup so I can drink.” 11 She went to get some water. He then said to her, “Please get me a piece of bread.”

12 “As surely as the Lord your God lives,” she replied, “I don’t have any food; only a handful of flour in a jar and a bit of oil in a bottle. Look at me. I’m collecting two sticks so that I can make some food for myself and my son. We’ll eat the last of the food and then die.”

13 Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid! Go and do what you said. Only make a little loaf of bread for me first. Then bring it to me. You can make something for yourself and your son after that. 14 This is what Israel’s God, the Lord, says: The jar of flour won’t decrease and the bottle of oil won’t run out until the day the Lord sends rain on the earth.” 15 The widow went and did what Elijah said. So the widow, Elijah, and the widow’s household ate for many days. 16 The jar of flour didn’t decrease nor did the bottle of oil run out, just as the Lord spoke through Elijah.

Do you ever find yourself focusing on what you lack, rather than what God provides? When any kind of loss comes into our lives, it is easy to focus on what we don’t have, rather than what God will provide. The widow discovered that God provides for us in ways that we might never expect, and God uses ordinary people and ordinary things. 

 I think part of the widow’s struggle was based on the fact that she had a second-hand faith. Did you notice her response when Elijah asked for a piece of bread? Look at verse 12:  “She said, “I swear, as surely as your God lives, I don’t have so much as a biscuit.” As surely as your God lives. Not as my God lives, not as our God lives but as your God lives.

 She gives an intellectual assent to the existence of God, but has no personal relationship with God, calling him Elijah’s God. This is second-hand faith … God exists, but I don’t know him personally. There are people in our pews who don’t own their faith. They attend because of family pressure, societal expectations, or simply habit. But they haven’t made that crucial step of accepting Christ as their personal Savior.

Have you?

 No one should settle for a spiritual life that is a second-hand reflection of what someone else believes. When we give ourselves wholly to Jesus, we receive first-hand faith. God fills us up with grace that never runs out!

God Provides by Michelle Robertson

P.E.D.

Posted on by Betsy

I have a clergy friend who used to dread the week after Easter. He works primarily in music and drama ministries and has coined the phrase P.E.D. He feels that the worst part of Easter is the Post Easter Depression that falls on church folks. All the preparation and excitement of musicals, dramas, Easter egg hunts, special children’s sermons, the rush of Holy Week activities, etc. amp us up into a high frenzy of spiritual energy. When it is finally all over, a kind of confetti-scattered, chocolate-smeared, post-party-clean-up lethargy comes over us and we just want to sit still for a moment.

But when we catch our breath, we realize that Easter isn’t just a day. Indeed, Easter is a state of mind. It is an attitude. It is a lifestyle.

How interesting it is, then, to look back at the people who were present at the Resurrection. What effect did the Resurrection have on the culture of their time? How did Jesus’ followers react? What happened to them?

In the 4th chapter of Acts, Luke describes a radical, new Easter People:

Acts 4 (The Message)

32-33 The whole congregation of believers was united as one—one heart, one mind! They didn’t even claim ownership of their own possessions. No one said, “That’s mine; you can’t have it.” They shared everything. The apostles gave powerful witness to the resurrection of the Master Jesus, and grace was on all of them.

If Easter is meant to do one thing, it is to unite believers. Easter calls us to be of one heart and one mind. Even more challenging, Easter calls us to share what we have with those who have not. That is our witness to the power of the resurrection. Easter People realize that it’s not about them, but rather it is about grace poured out unconditionally to everyone.

34-35 And so it turned out that not a person among them was needy. Those who owned fields or houses sold them and brought the price of the sale to the apostles and made an offering of it. The apostles then distributed it according to each person’s need.

Are you one of the Easter People? Where is God calling you to sacrifice and share with someone who is needy? What exactly does the resurrection mean to you? Are there needy people in your community who could experience grace through your generosity?

Let us strive to celebrate Easter all year by being the one-heart, one-mind kind of believers. Maybe this year we can turn our Post Easter Depression into People Eastering Deliberately.

He Is Risen in Me by Michelle Robertson

Be Reckless

Posted on by Betsy

The first time I heard Reckless Love by Cory Asbury was at a Youth Sunday worship service several years ago. Three teenage girls sang it, and I thought it was one of the most wonderful things I had heard in a long time. Those sincere young voices are in my heart today as we consider the reckless love of Good Friday.

Here are the lyrics to the chorus:

Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God
Oh, it chases me down, fights ’til I’m found, leaves the ninety-nine
I couldn’t earn it, and I don’t deserve it, still, You give Yourself away
Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God.

Our Scripture today describes Jesus’ act of reckless love as he faced his final days on earth. He was speaking to a crowd of people as his death was drawing near, and explained reckless love like a grain of wheat, which must be buried in order for it to bring forth life and multiply:

John 12 (The Message)

24-25 “Listen carefully: Unless a grain of wheat is buried in the ground, dead to the world, it is never any more than a grain of wheat. But if it is buried, it sprouts and reproduces itself many times over. In the same way, anyone who holds on to life just as it is destroys that life. But if you let it go, reckless in your love, you’ll have it forever, real and eternal.

Truly his love for us is reckless. It is never-ending and overwhelming. Here he was in his final week, feeling storm-tossed about what was about to happen. But did he think of himself? No, he thought of you. He would not ask his father to get him out of it. Instead, he invited God to use his death to display his glory.

27-28 “Right now I am storm-tossed. And what am I going to say? ‘Father, get me out of this’? No, this is why I came in the first place. I’ll say, ‘Father, put your glory on display.’”

”Father, put your glory on display.”

Jesus is committing to following through. He, who was present at the creation of the world, was willing to be falsely tried, spit upon, ridiculed, beaten, scorned, pierced, and nailed to a tree for us.

How can we possibly respond to this kind of reckless love? How can we honor Jesus’ death with our lives? This is a love that you can’t earn or deserve. This is a love that chases you down. This is a love that brings the gift of eternal life.

Are you ready to stop running?

26 “If any of you wants to serve me, then follow me. Then you’ll be where I am, ready to serve at a moment’s notice. The Father will honor and reward anyone who serves me.”

Then follow him.

Reckless Love by Kitty Hawk United Methodist Church

The Power of Broken Things

Posted on by Betsy

Have you ever heard the old saying that in order to make an omelette, you have to break a few eggs? People say this to comfort us when we are feeling broken by life. It suggests that in our breaking, we can become something new … a more refined version of ourselves, if you will. But breaking is hard work, and recovering is even harder. Good omelettes take time to perfect.

Now think about the broken bread that we receive at communion. There is such power in watching the loaf being torn in half! I bet you have received communion in many places and in many forms, from the casual retreat setting to the most formal of presentations in a church. I once took communion at Notre Dame cathedral in Paris, which may count as the most elaborate setting for communion. But probably the most profound communion experiences I have had were the day I was confirmed in my childhood church in Gibbsboro, N.J., the first time I served it as a newly ordained pastor at my church in Peachtree City, GA, and the communion settings of the Walk to Emmaus retreats. Communion is one of two sacraments in the United Methodist Church and truly is the place where God meets us right where we are. I hope you feel the power and the presence of the Holy Spirit every time you receive the body and blood of Christ, given for you.

Our passage today marks the moment when the Last Supper became the Lord’s Supper for all eternity. Read it and feast:

Mark 14 (New International Version)

12 On the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread, when it was customary to sacrifice the Passover lamb, Jesus’ disciples asked him, “Where do you want us to go and make preparations for you to eat the Passover?”

13 So he sent two of his disciples, telling them, “Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him. 14 Say to the owner of the house he enters, ‘The Teacher asks: Where is my guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’ 15 He will show you a large room upstairs, furnished and ready. Make preparations for us there.”

16 The disciples left, went into the city and found things just as Jesus had told them. So they prepared the Passover.

17 When evening came, Jesus arrived with the Twelve. 18 While they were reclining at the table eating, he said, “Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me—one who is eating with me.”

19 They were saddened, and one by one they said to him, “Surely you don’t mean me?”

20 “It is one of the Twelve,” he replied, “one who dips bread into the bowl with me. 21 The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him. But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born.”

22 While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take it; this is my body.”

23 Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, and they all drank from it.

24 “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many,” he said to them. 25 “Truly I tell you, I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”

26 When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

Amidst the disciples’ confusion, Judas’ betrayal, the ritual remembrance of the Passover (when God delivered his children from death at the last plague in Egypt),and the gathering of friends for one last meal, Jesus abruptly broke the bread and raised the cup, instituting the new covenant and the Eucharist. When we gather in our churches tomorrow night for Maundy Thursday services, we will remember this exact moment. “Maundy” comes from the Latin word for “mandate, command” and refers to the new commandment that followed this evening’s actions, as recorded in John 13:34-35 “34 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

How well do we follow that new commandment? Do we live up to our communion invitation to participate in Christ by loving as he loved?

I hope you are able to attend a Maundy Thursday service. When you receive that broken body and shed blood, remember the new covenant.

Then go out and be the new covenant for the world. It is your mandate.

Take and Eat by Becca Ziegler

Missed Opportunities

Posted on by Betsy

Have you ever regretted a missed opportunity? Listen to this story of a huge missed opportunity.

When the popular streaming service Netflix began in 1997, they weren’t a website yet. Do you remember how Netflix began? They mailed DVDs to their subscribers in red envelopes, hoping to encroach on the popular business model known as Blockbuster. For you youngins, Blockbuster was a chain of stores where you could go to rent a video tape to watch at home. I have fond memories of our every Friday night trip to our local Blockbuster where the kids would choose two videos to watch over the weekend. When Netflix started, Blockbuster had over 9,000 stores. As Netflix was moving from their DVD mailing service into the unknown territory of starting up a “dot-com” business, they made an offer to sell their operation to Blockbuster. The Blockbuster executives laughed at the notion and rejected the deal. Now Netflix is a $150 billion dollar industry and as for Blockbuster? Busted.

Some would say that this was one of the greatest missed opportunities in recent history.

In our Scripture today, the great prophet Jeremiah wept over Israel’s greatest missed opportunity. God had established them as the chosen people, had given them the fertile Promised Land, and had established them as a strong and formidable nation against their adversaries. Yet in no time at all, they turned their hearts away from God and worshipped the false idols of their neighbors. Thus God allowed Babylon to conquer them and carry them away into exile.

Jeremiah 8 (Common English Bible)

No healing,
    only grief;
        my heart is broken.
19 Listen to the weeping of my people
        all across the land:
    “Isn’t the Lord in Zion?
        Is her king no longer there?”
Why then did they anger me with their images,
    with pointless foreign gods?
20 “The harvest is past,
    the summer has ended,
        yet we aren’t saved.”
21 Because my people are crushed,
    I am crushed;
    darkness and despair overwhelm me.

Their rejection of God resulted in what Jeremiah poetically called an empty harvest and a dry summer, leaving them with nothing to sustain themselves. There would be nothing coming to heal them of their self-inflicted wounds: No healing balm would be made available as they suffered the consequences of their actions. God had offered them multiple opportunities to return, and they missed every one.

22 Is there no balm in Gilead?
    Is there no physician there?
Why then have my people
    not been restored to health?

Are you missing out on an opportunity to be saved? Is God offering you a way out that you are refusing to take? God’s saving action plans often come in the hardship of giving things up, walking away from toxic relationships, stopping behaviors that are detrimental to your life, and choosing God above all things. These are hard things to do. But if the opportunity is from God, don’t miss it. It may be your only way out.

There’s Always a Way Out by Kathy Schumacher

Unridden

Posted on by Betsy

Sometimes I wish I had named this blog “Things I Never Noticed Before”. I realize that is a clunky and uninspiring name, but it would have been a very accurate description of what happens every time I sit down to write a devotional. I start to read the Scripture and some small and often obscure thing jumps up and presents itself, forcing me to take notice. I have discovered over the many years of reading and writing that it is often the case that previously unnoticed things are full of rich meaning.

Today’s passage tells the familiar story of Jesus’ triumphal entry in to Jerusalem just days before his capture and crucifixion. We celebrate this story on Palm Sunday, as the people who gathered to welcome him waved palm branches and shouted “Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.” Their jubilation was short lived, as this event was the catalyst for everything that happened leading up to his death.

The thing that caught my eye with the reading is the mention of the colt that was chosen for Jesus to ride. Notice that Jesus specified that the colt must be one that no one has ever ridden:

Luke 19 (Common English Bible)

29 As Jesus came to Bethphage and Bethany on the Mount of Olives, he gave two disciples a task. 30 He said, “Go into the village over there. When you enter it, you will find tied up there a colt that no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. 31 If anyone asks, ‘Why are you untying it?’ just say, ‘Its master needs it.’” 32 Those who had been sent found it exactly as he had said.

33 As they were untying the colt, its owners said to them, “Why are you untying the colt?”

34 They replied, “Its master needs it.” 35 They brought it to Jesus, threw their clothes on the colt, and lifted Jesus onto it. 36 As Jesus rode along, they spread their clothes on the road.

This tiny detail and the few verses afforded to the colt are curious to me. The fact that Jesus instructed the disciples to respond “Its master needs it” was not too strange, as it was common for colts to be rented or borrowed. This suggests that an arrangement had been made ahead of time and Jesus was now just collecting his Uber. The fact that Jesus selected a colt over a horse is also not surprising. Kings arrived on war horses with a great flourish of trumpets and fuss. Jesus arrived in the manner of a man of peace, like a merchant or priest would have. He chose to humble himself in this moment even though the crowd recognized him for the king that he was. He was fulfilling the prophecy in Zechariah 9:9 which reads:

Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion.
        Sing aloud, Daughter Jerusalem.
Look, your king will come to you.
        He is righteous and victorious.
        He is humble and riding on an ass,
            on a colt, the offspring of a donkey.

So, what can we make of the fact that Jesus requested a colt that had never been ridden? One scholar suggests that our Lord was looking for a seat of authority that was his and his alone. He wanted the undivided loyalty of this beast of burden as he rode into the cheering crowds and for all intents and purposes was riding to his death. I wonder if it is a nod to his mother’s purity. He was born of the Virgin Mary and so this critical mode of transportation and presentation needed to be alike with her. One would think that a colt that hadn’t been broken might have bucked and kicked but having the Prince of Peace as its first rider prevented that from happening.

37 As Jesus approached the road leading down from the Mount of Olives, the whole throng of his disciples began rejoicing. They praised God with a loud voice because of all the mighty things they had seen. 38 They said,

“Blessings on the king who comes in the name of the Lord.
    Peace in heaven and glory in the highest heavens.”

39 Some of the Pharisees from the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, scold your disciples! Tell them to stop!”

40 He answered, “I tell you, if they were silent, the stones would shout.”

In any case, this passage invites us to offer our King a humble and pure act of service. This one single act of this little colt remains part of Jesus’ story for eternity. Is God calling you to a single act of humble obedience? Where can you be part of our Lord’s story? May we find our way today!

Hosanna Tree by Becca Ziegler



Fill the House

Posted on by Betsy

If your life was a fragrance, what would it smell like? Would it be scented with florals of joy and contentment? Would it be like the salt air rushing through a car window going at high speed? Would it be a calming botanical? Would it smell like fear and stress? We all carry a ‘scent of being’ that is perceived by others … not an actual “smell” but an experience of presence. I have a colleague whose ‘scent’ might be described as steady sandalwood. His smooth and unhurried approach to life makes people relax in his presence. What is your life fragrance?

Today’s passage takes us to a time when the scent of a fragrant offering filled an entire house. The physical smell came from a jar of expensive perfume. But look to see the other scents that arose from the compassion of Mary and the treachery of Judas:

John 12 ( Common English Bible)

12 Six days before Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, home of Lazarus, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. 2 Lazarus and his sisters hosted a dinner for him. Martha served and Lazarus was among those who joined him at the table. 3 Then Mary took an extraordinary amount, almost three-quarters of a pound, of very expensive perfume made of pure nard. She anointed Jesus’ feet with it, then wiped his feet dry with her hair. The house was filled with the aroma of the perfume. 4 Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (the one who was about to betray him), complained,5 “This perfume was worth a year’s wages! Why wasn’t it sold and the money given to the poor?” (6 He said this not because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief. He carried the money bag and would take what was in it.)

Mary’s love for Jesus was expressed in this extraordinarily expensive gift of pure nard. Both John and Mark use the adjective pistikos to describe this, suggesting that the oil had been extracted from the exotic pistachio nut. Perfumes and oils served as currency due to their value and portability. Mary’s act was a humble expression of her devotion to Jesus. When a guest arrived in a home, their feet were usually washed in water by a servant or slave. The head was then dabbed with a tiny portion of perfume. Mary’s extreme gift was given without any sense of self-consciousness: Jewish women never let their hair down in public, so her decision to use her hair as a towel was a true mark of her unabashed love for her Savior.

Judas, on the other hand, stunk of greed and deception. John carefully explained to us that Judas didn’t care for the poor but objected to the lovely act because he was a thief. The value of the perfume was one year’s worth of wages, 300 denarii, and we can imagine that with his objection he was calculating the cost of the waste and how much he could have skimmed for himself.

7 Then Jesus said, “Leave her alone. This perfume was to be used in preparation for my burial, and this is how she has used it. 8 You will always have the poor among you, but you won’t always have me.”

Jesus reminds them, and us, that we always have an obligation to take care of the poor. There will always be poor people who need our help. But he would not take away from Mary’s prevenient burial anointing. The fragrance of her gift filled the house as a witness and testimony to her adoration.

What fragrance fills your house today? May it be pleasing to God.

Filled with Fragrance by Kathy Schumacher

Do Not Dwell

Posted on by Betsy

I have a friend who is stuck in the past. She dwells over past hurts and injustices and patterns her daily choices based on things that happened to her decades ago. A lot of this behavior is unconscious. I was with her many years ago as she was just about to sabotage a wonderful relationship with a very worthy man. I called her out on it and after a lot of probing and honest reflection, she realized that she would get to a point in a relationship where she broke things off in anticipation of the fellow ending the relationship first. It had happened to her so many times before, so she did it naturally, defensively, and reflexively. She lived in fear of “getting dumped” so she did the dumping. She was able to push through that fear and I am happy to say that they are still together. Once she realized that she was dwelling on her past, she was able to move through it.

Do you ever dwell on your past to the point that it controls your present and prevents any forward motion into your future? I think a lot of us do. When that happens, we completely shut the door to any activity of God that might make things better and right. But God desires to make things new in our lives … if we have the courage to let him.

Isaiah 43 (New International Version)

This is what the Lord says—
    he who made a way through the sea,
    a path through the mighty waters,
17 who drew out the chariots and horses,
    the army and reinforcements together,
and they lay there, never to rise again,
    extinguished, snuffed out like a wick:

I admire how Isaiah establishes God’s credentials before he gives the startling prophecy that everything is about to change. He reminds the people of God’s saving activity in delivering the Hebrews from Pharaoh through the Red Sea. Then he shifts the reader’s attention to what is to come:

18 “Forget the former things;
    do not dwell on the past.
19 See, I am doing a new thing!
    Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the wilderness
    and streams in the wasteland.
20 The wild animals honor me,
    the jackals and the owls,
because I provide water in the wilderness
    and streams in the wasteland,
to give drink to my people, my chosen,
21     the people I formed for myself
    that they may proclaim my praise.

This language is so beautiful. Isaiah’s words came to fruition with the advent of the messiah. When Christ was born, these words came true. But think about how they might apply to any situation you are going through where you are stuck in the past. God is ready to help you get unstuck.

Do you trust him? You don’t need to wander in your wilderness anymore. God always makes a way.

All Things New by Michelle Robertson

Ways to Pray

Posted on by Betsy

I was blessed to be asked to preach a sermon on prayer recently, and I developed this list of different types of prayer for that message. Even though we understand that praying is simply having conversations with God and can be just that, a two way dialogue, I find it helpful in my own life to alter how I pray in order to not get into a prayer rut. I think this list would be especially helpful to you if you are trying to increase your prayer life as a Lenten discipline. Take a look:

THANKSGIVING AND PRAISE PRAYERS: This is always a good place to start any prayer effort. When we articulate the things we are thankful for, it directs our minds to our blessings and allows God a chance to hear our gratitude. Even in the darkest moment, we can find something to praise God for if we start our prayer time with a little “Thank you Jesus” moment and offer these prayers throughout the day. Focusing on our gratitude helps us see what God is doing.

FLASH PRAYERS: These prayers are prompted by interruptions or distractions, like hearing ambulance or firetruck sirens, noticing people in line at Food Lion while you are waiting your turn, or even just by driving past neighbors houses and praying deliberately for them. Usually interruptions are annoying, but let God use them to call you into prayer!

LAMENTATIONS: In deep grief and overwhelming anger, God can feel distant. We may feel abandoned. But that provides fertile ground for prayer. We can feel comfortable telling God exactly how we feel! Trust me, he can handle it. Lamenting is always perfectly appropriate in our relationship with God.  

INTERCESSORY PRAYERS: To intercede means to stand in the gap for others. It is good to keep a list of people who need your prayers and pray through the list daily.

HEARTBEAT PRAYERS: These are simple, repetitive prayers that sound like a heartbeat. My favorite one is “Fix it, Jesus!!” I pray this a lot in the dentist’s chair.

CENTERING PRAYERS: A centering prayer starts with fifteen to twenty minutes of listening in silence. We start with saying “Fill me with your presence, Holy Spirit. Speak to me Lord” and then wait. After centering ourselves in this silence, we can then begin to pray. I confess that as an extrovert, this is especially hard for me.

LECTIO DIVINA: (Sacred Reading) Rather than pray in your own words, use a prayer book or online prayer resource. Read it several times or pray yourself or someone else into the Scriptures. The Psalms are great for this.  

EMBODYING PRAYERS: This involves actively using your body as you pray. I remember watching the Jewish men ‘dinking’ at the Wailing Wall, bowing from the waist with hands clasped before them. Getting on your knees, lying prostrate on the ground, lifting your arms, or opening hands to receive are ways to practice embodying prayer. Just make sure you can get off the floor when you’re finished!

PRAYING WITH OTHERS: This is probably my favorite way to pray: gather people around for prayer groups, prayer circles, or find one person to be your prayer partner. Remember what Jesus said: “When two or more are gathered in my name, I am there among them.” Matt 18:20   

May your prayer life flourish as you try new ways.

Prayer Rising by Michelle Robertson

Don’t Give Up

Posted on by Betsy

Are you someone who is tenacious and refuses to give up, regardless of the obstacles you encounter? Are you like a dog with a bone? Or is it in your personality to assess a situation and decide to move on if things aren’t going your way? Take a look at today’s Scripture and see what Jesus says about overcoming obstacles with prayer:

Luke 18 (Common English Bible)

18 Jesus was telling them a parable about their need to pray continuously and not to be discouraged. 2 He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected people.3 In that city there was a widow who kept coming to him, asking, ‘Give me justice in this case against my adversary.’ 4 For a while he refused but finally said to himself, I don’t fear God or respect people, 5 but I will give this widow justice because she keeps bothering me. Otherwise, there will be no end to her coming here and embarrassing me.” 

6 The Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. 7 Won’t God provide justice to his chosen people who cry out to him day and night? Will he be slow to help them? 8 I tell you, he will give them justice quickly. But when the Human One comes, will he find faithfulness on earth?”

In this Scripture, Jesus told a parable about what happens when we pray continuously. This story demonstrates the power of persistant prayer and NOT GETTING DISCOURAGED in our prayers. We can be sure that if an unjust judge will acquiesce to the persistence of a widow’s plea, how much more will a God who loves you enough to sacrifice his son for you hear and answer your prayers!

Luke 11: 13 reminds us:13 If you who are evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?”

God is never slow to help us. He hears us immediately when we pray and answers according to his will and what is good for us. Sometimes that can be confusing if we are praying for things that God knows are not good for us. And sometimes his immediate answer is “wait” or “no”. But Scripture is right. Just keep on praying, and when you’re done, pray some more. 

I find it curious that Jesus used an ungodly, non-believing judge who was unjust in his court as his main character. But the instruction to persist in prayer comes through very clearly. “She keeps bothering me!” the judge complains before he gives up and gives in. 

Looking through different translations for this phrase “bothering me” expands our understanding of what happened. Here are a few other ways this has been written: She troubleth me; she keeps annoying me; she keeps pestering me; she keeps driving me crazy … and the judge was ready to give her justice because she was wearing him down and beating him down with her persistence.

Let’s pause there for a moment and think about a cause you feel deeply about. I think God is telling us to fight injustice and oppression by not backing down and being persistent, loud, and steady, especially when you are up against someone who, like the judge, “neither fears God nor respects people.” So perhaps today’s lesson on persistence goes beyond just prayer.

Our United Methodist baptism liturgy includes a vow to “fight evil, injustice, and oppression in whatever form they present themselves.” This is a heavy charge. So often we want to shy away from the task of standing up for justice and helping people find freedom. But the call is clear, and Jesus’ words about persisting can be applied here, too. Whether it is in the local schools, the county boards, or the national governmental authorities, our duty is to fight evil, injustice, and oppression in whatever form they present themselves when we encounter leaders who neither fear God nor respect people.

When you go to your father in prayer today, don’t give up. We all want our Lord to find us faithful on earth when he returns to reign in justice.

Persist by Kathy Schumacher