Here’s How to Pray to Jesus!

22nd Sunday after Pentecost, 10/16/16
Luke 18:1-8a


Here’s How to Pray to Jesus!
I. With persistence
II. With confidence


Do you appreciate directions on how to accomplish something? That’s depends, doesn’t it? Let’s say you have your heart set on tackling a minor remodeling job at your home, but you’ve never done anything like it before. If that’s your situation, you likely welcome input from someone who has done a similar project, especially if they’ve done it many times. You consider them to be an expert and you welcome their input.

But that’s not always the case. Let’s say you’re in the midst of a project, one you’ve done at least a few times before, and you’re content with the way things are proceeding. In fact, you’re experiencing some satisfaction with your efforts when someone walks up and interrupts your contentment by proclaiming, “There’s a better way to do that. Here, let me show you how.” As well-meaning as that person might be, their intrusion into your project isn’t welcome. It’s annoying and it ruins the moment for you.

But what if that person offering the advice were Jesus himself? Would you be a little more receptive? In fact, wouldn’t you be over-the-top eager to receive his loving instruction? I’d like to think we all would.

Your Savior does that very thing regarding an activity that every Christian engages in—our conversations with him. I’m talking about our prayers to him. On this day in the life of Jesus as Luke describes it for us, Jesus was offering his advice to his disciples on how to pray to him. His advice is still timely and appropriate for us, his modern disciples. So let’s be all ears this morning and listen as Jesus instructs us, “Here’s how to pray to me.”

Part I.

There are many things in the Bible that amaze me, and one of them is the number of times Jesus brings home his point by arguing from the lesser to the greater. We had an example of it a few weeks ago when the Gospel reading for the day was Luke 11. In that section of his word, Jesus makes the point that no loving father would give his little son a snake if he had asked for a fish. A snake could be dangerous to him, while a fish would be something good for him to eat. We all know that, even though our knowledge is limited and we’re sinful. How much more will our Father in heaven who is all-knowing and holy give good things to those who ask him! Jesus made his point by moving from the lesser to the greater.

Now, back to our text from Luke 18. If this parable is unfamiliar to you, or, even if you’ve heard it before, you might be wondering what in the world Jesus is trying to tell us. And some of that is due to the fact that we don’t understand why Jesus would create the characters in this parable that he did. On the one hand, we have a judge who is low-down scum. The last thing this man should be responsible for is administering justice. By his own admission he doesn’t care that there’s a holy God who will call him to account, and, just as bad, he cares nothing for the people whom he serves.He’s a selfish, self-centered, crooked character. He’s only suitable for organized crime, not social justice.

The other character in the parable is a widow. Much more so than in our modern world, widows in Bible times were often victims. They had no one to protect them from the vicious attacks of powerful, crooked, greedy men. It’s likely that’s what had happened to this widow. Her adversary had likely either defrauded her or was using might to make right in order to rob her. She needed protection under the law, but she wasn’t rich and powerful, so the wicked judge wasn’t interested in helping her at all.

But one thing she did possess—persistence. She kept coming to the judge with her plea, “Grant me justice against my adversary.” Imagine her showing up at his court day after day after day. While the judge could have been dealing with cases that would have benefitted himself, he was constantly being interrupted by this persistent widow.

Finally, he had had enough. “He said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care about men, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually wear me out.’” That’s a despicably low reason for granting a legitimate request. In fact, it was his sworn duty as a judge to act justly. But remember, as far as morality goes, this guy was at the bottom of a pond of scum.

Back to my point from a minute ago. Jesus often makes his point by moving from the lesser to the greater. Are you ready for it? “Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly.” In other words, if a low-life judge will grant a request because of persistence, won’t your all-loving, holy, righteous, merciful and gracious God do so? Of course he will! Especially in the context of this portion of our Savior’s word. Jesus had just instructed his disciples on the sufferings his people would face especially as the end of the world draws near. It’s going to be unbearable in some situations. Jesus instructs us not to sulk and despair when we face those sufferings, but to pray. And not just one or twice, but persistently.

Here’s how to pray to Jesus—with persistence.

When life gets difficult, when you face one disappointment after the other, when your loved ones forsake you, when your world attacks you, when you’re trying your hardest to make things better but they just keep getting worse, when you do the right thing and you suffer for it, when you put the Lord first in your life but you come in dead last again—when those things slam into your life, what’s your likely response? Are you more likely to complain or…pray? Be honest now. It’s time for some personal confession—my own. Like so many of you, I am thoroughly and completely disgusted with the presidential campaign. I’m beyond weary of the vicious banter and the immoral allegations. I’m sick and tired. So what’s been my response? I’m ashamed to say I’ve done far more complaining than praying. How about you? And that’s just the national issue at hand. How about issues you’re facing personally? And let’s not offer the excuse, “Well, I prayed about it but nothing changed.” Jesus didn’t tell us simply to pray. He told us to pray persistently. What a powerful tool we have at our Christian disposal, but what pitiful use we make of it! Faced with the certainty of nothing less than his crucifixion, Jesus dropped to his knees in prayer to his heavenly Father. He prayed so persistently his sweat was like drops of blood. He did that for us—his perfect prayer persistence for our less than stellar prayer life. And then he got back on his feet to face his death on Calvary’s cross where he won our forgiveness and unlimited access to our all-powerful and all-loving God. So, pray to Jesus! Pray to him with persistence!

Part II.

As many of you know, Martin Luther wrote explanations to each of the Ten Commandments and each of the three Articles of the Apostles’ Creed. They’re theological gems. Read them in your Catechism once again. He also wrote explanations to the nine parts of the Lord’s Prayer. His explanation to the Address—Our Father who art in heaven—states, “With these words God tenderly invites us to believe that he is our true Father and that we are his true children, so that we may pray to him as boldly and confidently as dear children ask their dear father.” Precious, isn’t it?

Our God wants us to pray to him confidently. Confident of what? Not that he will grant us what we ask him for, at least not immediately. If you pray to God for a new Mercedes, or 10 million dollars, or to win the lottery, or for international fame, or for a life of ease, don’t bother being confident that you will receive it. Our God knows that people—even Christians—have a terrible propensity to make such things into their little idols. None of us needs a new Mercedes or 10 million dollars. So he doesn’t grant those requests.

So why should we pray to Jesus with confidence? Because he will always and only give us what is best for us. That’s due to his omniscience. He always knows what’s best for us. He knows better than we do, infinitely so. In fact, he even knows when suffering is going to be good for us because it will draw us closer to him.

Again, Jesus spoke these words to his disciples in the context of the increased suffering that God’s people will face as the end of the world draws near. He made it perfectly clear in his word that things in this world will get worse, not better, just before he returns. So, what are you facing in your life that‘s bringing you trouble, pain, or heartache? Are you praying about it confidently—knowing that Jesus will answer your prayer in the way that is best for you? That might mean he will remove whatever is causing you to suffer. But it also might mean that he will allow it to linger and, as it lingers, we’ll yearn all the more for the day of our Lord’s return when he’ll end all our suffering and usher us into glory with him forever.

So, keep praying confidently until Jesus returns. Confess your doubts about his wisdom and power and be confident of his forgiveness. Jesus prayed confident that his Father’s will was the best will for us. And that meant sacrificing Jesus for our sins. There’s no greater act of love than that. His heart glows with love for you. So here’s how to pray to Jesus—with confidence because your God loves you with an everlasting love. Amen.