Prayer, Persistence, Justice
Then Jesus told them a parable about their need to pray always and not to lose heart. He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor had respect for people. In that city there was a widow who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Grant me justice against my opponent.’ For a while he refused; but later he said to himself, ‘Though I have no fear of God and no respect for anyone, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will grant her justice, so that she may not wear me out by continually coming.’” And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God grant justice to his chosen ones who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long in helping them? I tell you, he will quickly grant justice to them. And yet, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”
-Luke 18:1-8 (NRSV)
Prayer, Persistence, Justice. I hear people talk about the link between prayer and persistence a lot. Especially when it comes to asking for our own needs as well as the needs of others. But adding the component of Justice, puts into the equation a needed content corrective that we often lack. What is the content of our prayer? The Lord’s prayer does not neglect our personal supplications – “give us this day our daily bread”. So, we are not playing down personal needs. What is needed is putting our personal needs in the wider context of God entering a world gone wrong and setting it right again. For those actively engaged in this kind of work—whether in social concern or social advocacy—it’s tempting to look at people who talk about prayer and complain that they don’t do anything. For those who call themselves prayer warriors or intercessors, it’s easy to look at the activists and accuse them of not trusting in God and instead relying on human strength. Both have missed the point, as polarities often do.
Prayer, Persistence, Justice. These three words bring those who are in the field as well as those in the prayer ministry together before the God who is working both in the visible and the invisible. Anything less than that impoverishes us from the resources and wisdom He offers us as his agents of change in this crazy, crazy world. With these three components in place, we then are on the road to demonstrate an integrated Christianity which I believe brings genuine hope to the future. How we pray and what we pray for come in true synergy and focus.
Prayer. Persistence. Justice.
Sivin Kit is the lead pastor of Bangsar Lutheran Church, Husband of one wife, and Father of three kids, he enjoys cultivating his imaginary garden at http://sivinkit.net/ and is addicted to potato chips!
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