Prayer

Before I came to Africa I had begun feeling like some of my long standing prayer requests were a little empty and routine. I knew God heard but was wondering what He was going to do and feeling a bit redundant. In reality I think I was forgetting how much God really cares. Since, I arrived in Africa I have been reading through the gospel of Luke. God has been using it to remind me over and over how He cares for me more then anyone can, how He really does hear me when I call, and how He longs to give me good things. As well, He has reminded me how empty prayer is without faith. Faith in who God is and in His promises. Faith that He is good, that He is powerful, that He is love, and that He cares deeply for us. This is one of the passages I read yesterday that reminded me of these things:

Luke 18

The Parable of the Persistent Widow

¹Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. ²He said: "In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared about men. ³And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, 'Grant me justice against my adversary.'

⁴"For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, 'Even though I don't fear God or care about men, ⁵yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won't eventually wear me out with her coming!' "

⁶And the Lord said, "Listen to what the unjust judge says. ⁷And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? ⁸I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?"