Gospel of Luke chapter 18, verse 1. Now he was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart, saying, In a certain city there was a judge who did not fear God, did not respect man. There was a widow in that city, and she kept coming to him, saying, Give me legal protection from my opponent. For a while, he was unwilling. But afterward, he said to himself, Even though I do not fear God nor respect man, yet because this widow bothers me, I will give her legal protection. Otherwise, by continually coming, she will wear me out. The Lord said then, Hear what the unrighteous judge said. Now, will not God vindicate His elect who cry out to Him day and night, though He delay long with them? I tell you that He will bring about vengeance for them quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth? Lord, we thank You that You have condescended to speak to us in Your Word, that You've sent Your Son, that He would personally speak to us. Lord, we see in this passage again that divine truths are being spoken to men who have not the capacity to fully understand them. so we give you thanks that you've accommodated yourself to us, that we might know the things you want us to know. And Lord, we cry out for understanding. We pray that you will speak this word into our minds and our hearts in power, in the power of your Spirit. That we may gain not only knowledge in our minds, but that we may be transformed by this Word. That You may impact us for Your glory. That You may make us more useful servants. In Christ's name, Amen. This has not been an easy passage to look at the last few days. for a number of reasons. Some of them translation issues. And some of them, the fact that Jesus seems to be addressing two different things. And yet, at the same time, He's put them together. He speaks about the persistence that He calls us to in prayer. To be persistent in prayer. To pray without ceasing, as Paul wrote it. And at the end, He says, when He comes back, will He find faith on the earth? I'll tell you at the outset, I believe what he's saying to us is that prayer, persistent prayer, is an expression of faith. You hear me say all the time, our lives are the expression of what we truly believe. And I believe our Lord is saying to us this morning that our prayer life is a manifestation of our faith. Do we have great faith? We'll pray often. We'll pray persistently. Do we have little faith? We won't pray much. In our passage last Lord's Day, wonderful passage, Jesus assured us of His return in glory and judgment. He said He will come just as the flood came. Just as fire and brimstone rained down on Sodom and Gomorrah. Suddenly, without warning. So he said, every man must be ready at all times. All men must repent of their sin, must believe in the gospel, must believe in Him, and receive forgiveness, cleansing of our sin. That's the preparation that every man must make for his return. If you haven't done those things, if you haven't believed in Him, if you're not trusting in Him, you're not ready. Because when Christ returns, He said, all men will be divided into two groups, separated into two groups for all eternity. Matthew 25, 31. When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And He will put the sheep on His right, the goats on His left. The King will say to those on His right, Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom that has been prepared for you from the foundation of the world. God's not just winging it, folks. And then, verse 41, He will say to those on His left, Depart from Me, O cursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels. And we look to John 5, 28. Jesus said, For an hour is coming in which all who are in the tombs will hear His voice and will come forth. Those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life. Those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment. And Acts 10 teaches us that Jesus, Son of God, Son of Man, has been appointed to judge the living and the dead. So Jesus said, I am coming back. Be ready. Be ready. In that passage, provides context as we now look into chapter 18. Where Jesus spoke two parables to them, both addressing now the subject of prayer. And this morning we look at the first of those two parables. Now He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and to not lose heart. Now look at the words. Now He was telling them. These words would indicate Jesus was still speaking to the same people identified back in chapter 17, verse 22. His disciples. And that He was at the same place on His way to Jerusalem, passing between Samaria and Galilee. Now sometimes Jesus would speak a parable. And then at the end, maybe He would be asked by His disciples, what did you mean by that? Or maybe He would just go ahead and explain the meaning of the parable. But this time, Luke begins by telling his readers the point of the parable. By this parable, Jesus was showing His listeners from then and today that we ought to be always praying. We should never lose heart that our prayers are being heard. So if you're a believer in Christ, you ought to be praying regularly. When Christ was on the earth, did He pray? Yes. Prayer was a very important part of His life on earth. Gospels teach us that Jesus often went off alone to pray to His Father. To be in intimate communion with His Father because that's what prayer is. Intimate communion with God. So this parable involves a widow. Somebody was taking advantage of her. And so she goes to this judge who's an unjust judge, who's a godless man, who doesn't like people, and doesn't care one whit about her. And she wants protection from this one who's taking advantage of her. She's a widow. And Scripture often records God's instruction with respect to the care of widows. God calls us to show kindness to widows and orphans. Exodus 22, 22, you shall not afflict any widow or orphan. New Testament as well. James 1, 27, pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this, to visit orphans and widows in their distress. Now this widow had been unjustly treated. We don't know exactly what the nature of that treatment was. Someone may have taken something she had. Someone may have taken what was due her. Someone may have received some service from her and didn't pay her. So she goes to this judge and she's seeking protection from this opponent. And this ungodly judge When she first came to him, he was unwilling to help her. Unwilling to simply dispense justice. She goes home disappointed. So how is she supposed to get through to such a man? How do you get through to somebody who cares not for any of the things that ought to move him to act? who didn't think and act in light of the fear of the judgment of God, which is coming, who had no love for her or anybody else apparently. Neither of those things moved him to act in a manner that was just. But there was a way. There was a way to get through to him. I don't know that she knew that way. But she must have suspected it because she was persistent. He would give her justice if he saw that giving her justice would somehow be to his benefit, to his advantage. So when he first saw her, he refused her, not seeing any benefit to himself. What do I care, he thought. Then she came to him again and again. And she kept coming to this wicked judge. Now the parable tells us what? He became annoyed by her repeatedly coming to him. Now I don't think any of us like to live in a state of annoyance or irritation or aggravation. But she accomplished it with this judge. And he wanted to be rid of this annoyance. And so because he saw some benefit to himself. That he acted in his own self-interest. I can be rid of this woman if I just give her what she wants. And he did. So for a while he was unwilling. After a while he said to himself, even though I don't fear God and I don't respect man, yet because this widow bothers me, I will give her legal protection. Otherwise she's going to keep coming. She's going to wear me out. So he wouldn't grant her a request in order to effect justice, but he would grant her a request in order to end this annoyance of her coming to him. Now we talked about this same thing when Paul was teaching on giving in 2 Corinthians the last two weeks. This isn't unlike the person who, when somebody keeps coming to the door and coming to the door wanting money, it may be a cause we don't want to support. Maybe we just don't have the funds to support at that time. But somebody keeps coming and coming. And finally we make a donation. Why? To get them to stop coming and bothering us. This is the mindset, the motivation through which this judge acted. Not from the heart, not from a desire for justice. but because he saw himself getting a benefit. And that's why he acted and gave her legal protection. Now the lesson here is not to become a person who relentlessly badgers other people to get what you want. That's not the lesson. No. The lesson for us is that God is nothing like this wicked judge that he gives to his people because he loves us And therefore, Christ says to us, you be persistent in prayer. You keep coming to your heavenly Father. He's going to act out of a different motive. But He's showing a picture of the persistence He wants to see in us, in this widow. Here's what He says, verse 6, The Lord said, Hear what the unrighteous judge said. Well, He said, she's bothering me. I won't do this to help her, but I'll do it to get her to stop bothering me. Hear what he said, and then he posed a question, a rhetorical question, one which implies its own answer. And the question is this, now, if this judge will help this woman, will not God vindicate His elect? Will He not avenge His elect who cry to Him day and night? So what's Jesus teaching us by this comparison? He's teaching us that we must follow this woman's example in her persistence in our prayer life. When we don't receive what we've asked for, we're going to see there's a reason, a good reason. But yet we must persist in prayer. God wants us to come to Him. He has invited His adopted children to come to Him. knowing we're not coming to an unjust, unloving, unmerciful, fallen human judge who judges according to his own self-interest. We are coming to God, the creator of the universe, who is loving, compassionate, merciful, who has already demonstrated His willingness to give to us His love for us by sending His Son to die on the cross, to be beaten first and spit upon and mocked and ridiculed. have a crown of thorns twisted into His head, have nails driven into His spikes. He has shown His love for us because we were sinners. We were His enemies when He did that to cleanse us of our sin. So won't such a God, if that judge will do what this woman asks, will not our God hear us and answer us? Now here we come to our translation issue, and I'm going to try and be as brief as I can. The word that I have read to you as avenge or vindicate appears in some translations as, will he not bring justice to his elect? Now what's the problem with God bringing justice to us? Well, if any of us were to receive justice from God on the basis of our own merit, of our own works, we would all justly be cast into eternal fire. Word here. Echdikesis speaks of vindication, vengeance. And yet, I know the NAS and a couple of other translations translate it justice. But this word actually speaks of vindication. Will not God vindicate? Will not God avenge His elect who cry out to Him day and night? Why do we need vindicated? Well, we're going to see. The glory of the gospel. is that we who believe, sinners all, are judged, not on the basis of our own merit, but on the basis of the merits and the work of Christ, our sinless Savior. And those who are in Christ, who have been eternally joined to Him through faith, have already been acquitted of our sins. We've received the justice that matters most. But we're acquitted of our sins on the basis of Christ's righteousness, which is credited to every true believer. But in this life, I think we all know by now, His people will face hostility. Sit down and read Paul's epistles and you'll see hostility toward those who bring the gospel. Look to Canada and you will see hostility toward those who bring the gospel. Look to Europe. Look to Finland. And you will see hostility, persecution, people thrown in jail for bringing the gospel. In this life, His people will face hostility. Remember what Paul says, God comforts us though in all our afflictions. And never forget that. Jesus says, I know about your afflictions. but God will avenge His elect who cry out to Him day and night." And Jesus added some concluding words here in verse 7. He says, will He delay long over them? Where is this avenging? Where is this vindication? The King James actually renders these last words in verse 7 as a declarative statement. I tend, in this case, toward the King James version. Will God not vindicate His elect, though He bear long with them? It's taking a while. And Ivy says, Will He keep putting them off? But the sense is this. God seems to be delaying in avenging His people. Why are we still living in a godless world? Why are preachers of the gospel being persecuted still all over the world? How long will it be until He avenges His people, until He vindicates us? Jesus as well, remember what He said to His apostles on the night before He died. The world will hate us. The world will oppose us. We're now living in it in America to a greater degree than at any time since this nation's founding. His words, the world will hate you, came to pass in that week. And they remain true to this day. So we, what do we do? We ask God to avenge us. Stop this ungodliness, Lord. Jesus is saying, though God may not grant us the justice we request in the time we desire, let us know that He does so. He delays with fatherly care for us. He does so for our good. He does so to test and strengthen our faith, to help us on the road to sanctification, to conformity to the image of Christ, to train us to patience. You know, patience is one of those fruits of the Spirit that we don't focus on as much as we do love, peace, joy, and kindness. Patience is sitting right there with them. It's a godly attribute. And Christ says again, in His time, God will vindicate His people. The delay in His vengeance is part of His gracious purpose. Whether for strengthening His elect or for giving the opportunity for sinners to repent. We have to remember we're not God and He always has the right answer. His plan is perfect. His plan is what saved us. So Jesus tells us we must always know, always trust that God will aid us who are in Christ at the right time, in His time. And that His temporary overlooking of crimes against us in this life doesn't mean that He's going to allow them to go unpunished forever. Will God not vindicate His elect who cry out to Him day and night? Absolutely He will. If that wicked judge gave justice to that widow, that's why Jesus used this illustration to show us the certainty of this. Our loving God will vindicate His people. Yes, it does seem to us to be a long time coming sometimes. But Jesus says with great authority, I tell you that He will avenge them quickly, speedily, swiftly. These first words of verse 8 really are a response to Jesus' last words in verse 7. Probably ought to be in the same verse together. I tell you, He will avenge them quickly, speedily, swiftly. Justice will come. Not the justice we deserve. No, no. We're going to be judged according to His grace, mercy, and compassion. According to the merits of Christ. Judge of all men has been appointed. The day's been set, though only God knows it. But there will be a day of God's vengeance. We read about it in Isaiah. Both the Old Testament and the New Testament, by the way, teach us not to seek our own vengeance. Deuteronomy 32, 35. Vengeance is mine in retribution. In due time their foot will slip, for the day of their calamity is near. and the impending things are hastening upon them. And Deuteronomy 32, 36, For the Lord will vindicate His people. Where have we heard that before? He will have compassion on His servants. Romans 12, 19, Never take your own revenge, beloved. Believe room for the wrath of God, for it is written, Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord. Brethren, we must never doubt this. Never. God is the avenger of all ungodliness. Against us, but far more importantly, against Him. our calling as people who have been blessed with the new birth, with new spiritual life, and who have been joined into an eternal spiritual union with the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. Our calling is to pray for our enemies. See, we can't leave what Jesus said back in these earlier chapters aside. when we talk about vengeance. Our role in God's plan and purpose is to pray for our enemies, to pray even for our persecutors, to pray for those men who wrongly arrested the pastor in Canada. That's our role in God's plan. Our role, Jesus says, is to love our enemies, to seek their good, to pray for their salvation. That's why we must pray for our rulers, our civil rulers. Because that's God's way. Now, none of these attitudes come naturally to us as fallen men. We must pray that God will continue to transform us to Christ's image. That He will continue to rid us of this hatred of those who persecute us. that He will rid us of all that does dishonor to Him, knowing victory is God's in the end. He will vindicate His elect, all those He chose in Christ before the foundation of the world. He's already decreed from the foundation of the world, of His sovereign will. He has elected His people unto service to Him, as well as salvation, all for His glory. Now if He's done that, and He says many times in the New Testament that He has, then He will surely see to it that His people are fully vindicated. You think He's going to just leave us? You think justice will not be done when God consummates all things? If even an unjust judge, Jesus says, will sometimes do justice, much more may we be assured that the righteous God will vindicate His people. So He says, knowing this, let us never cease to cry out to Him day and night. What God demands is that His people persevere in prayer, in opening our hearts to Him in prayer. Because the God who has called us to Himself and given us this new life, He hears our prayers. Don't ever doubt that. He hears our prayers and He will respond to every prayer in such a manner that is for our good. Romans 8, 28, He works all things together for good for those who love Him and who are called according to His purpose. One of the big differences between us and God is that everything He does is right. Everything. We don't have a God who's like us, who has sinful thoughts, who has wrong thoughts, who lacks knowledge. No, no. All He does is right. So what about when He does not answer our prayer by immediately granting our request? When He doesn't respond to our requests in the way we desire? What then? Well, what then is our faith and our trust in Him is tested. Do we truly believe? And this is a question we must ask ourselves. Do we truly believe that His answer has been for our good? For our eternal good? Things we would love to see. There's things we pray for. And the things we ask are not always granted in the way we ask them. Do we still trust Him? Staying persistently in prayer to Him keeps us trusting Him. walking away when He doesn't grant our request, causes our faith to wane. Some people, we all know some of them, they desire a God who will grant their every wish. That's their idea of God. And when He does not, what do they do? They abandon Him? They accuse Him of being unloving? Why would a loving God allow this to happen? Would a loving God really allow this to happen? Stop it. That's blasphemy. That's heresy. They accuse Him of being unloving, of being unmerciful. Some then even deny that the God of Scripture doesn't even exist. I'll bet we all know people who fit that description. There are many who in times of trouble, maybe serious illness, do nothing but murmur against the Lord. who think Him unjust, who allow no place for His eternal plan, for His providence. And such men cannot expect that the Lord will hear them or that He will assist them because they're not really believing in Him. How often have we heard of people who, when God doesn't grant their desire, revile Him, deny Him, curse Him. God's purpose in bringing sinners to Himself, to know and believe in the sacrifice of Christ on the cross, is not to provide us with a life of ease and comfort. That's not His plan. That's not His purpose. His purpose for His people is way better than that. It's eternal life in glory. His purpose for His people is to conform them to be like Jesus Christ, His Son. That's His purpose. We're looking at this little earthly purpose. Romans 8, 29, Those whom he foreknew, he also predestined to become conformed to the image of his Son. And both Jesus and Paul teach us that as Christ has suffered, we too will all suffer. We're all going to encounter grief in this world. Philippians 129, it has been granted to you not only to believe but to suffer. Why? For His sake. In Romans 5.3. Turn there if you would with me. Romans 5.3. Here we see the purpose of God in our suffering. Not only this. But we also exalt, we rejoice in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about what? Perseverance. And perseverance brings proven character. And proven character, hope, assurance. Hope does not disappoint. Because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us. We must understand that our circumstances in this life are not beyond God's power. He's not without power and He's not without love. Our circumstances in this life are ultimately for the good of those who truly believe in Him and truly trust in Him. The Bible is not a book of happy talk, but it is a book of eternal life in glory. And yes, though it may seem to us that He's delaying long, that He's taking an awful long time to consummate all things. To avenge all the injustice that sin has brought in the world. Jesus says, and I love the way He put it here, I tell you, I tell you, He will avenge His people. If you prefer, He will bring justice. Quickly. Swiftly. This word here, rendered quickly, is actually tachos. It means swiftly. It doesn't mean he's coming in the next three weeks, the next day. Not necessarily soon. Swiftly and speedily. By the word here that's rendered swiftly, Jesus is speaking of the certainty of swift, speedy action, just like in Sodom and Gomorrah. at the day Christ returns in judgment and glory. It's going to be fast. Think about some of the things the Bible says about this. When the day of the Son of Man arrives, He will move very quickly. Vindication will be done speedily. John 5, 28, you don't have to turn. The bodily resurrection of all men and the judgment of all men will be done in a single hour. 1 Corinthians 15, 51 and following. Believers who have not yet died will be changed... In how much time? ...in the twinkling of an eye, bright dawn, in a moment. Turn with me now to 2 Thessalonians chapter 1. There seems much confusion about God's timing here, but it's pretty clear in 2 Thessalonians 1, 6. Because here Paul teaches that the day of God's vengeance is the very same day as the day Christ returns. 2 Thessalonians 1.6. And it's amazing how many of Paul's epistles, by the way, you may have noticed, touch on this little parable in this passage in Luke this morning. For after all, Paul writes, it's only just for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you. Well there's some explanation for what Jesus says in our passage. And to give relief to you who are afflicted, and to us as well, when? When the Lord Jesus will be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire Dealing out retribution, vindication, vengeance to those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of the Lord Jesus. And then he says it again, in case we missed it. These will pay the penalty of eternal destruction. This isn't some little earthly penalty. This is eternal destruction away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power when? When He comes to be glorified in His saints on that day. And to be marveled at among all who have believed. We must understand God exists outside of time. Jesus came into time. Now he's gone back to his father. 2 Peter 3.8, one day for the Lord is as a thousand years. And a thousand years is one day. What he's saying is God is not in time. He's outside of time. It doesn't make any difference. 500 years, 700 years, it's all the same. And while the wait for the day of judgment may seem long to us, 2 Peter 3.9, the Lord isn't slow about His promise, as some count slowness. He's patient toward you. Not wishing for any of you to perish, but for all to come to repentance. Now, here we see the mind of God in verse 8. Because Jesus then asks, however, when the Son of Man comes, will He find, not prayer, will He find faith on the earth? I can confirm at first it's not easy to grasp our Lord's meaning here. Is this a rhetorical question which suggests an answer? If it is, I'm not sure what the answer would be. Or is this a genuine question for us? Will the Lord, the Son of Man, find faith on the earth? Well, the Bible affirms clearly that on the day of Jesus' return, there will be believers, people of faith on the earth. We just read it in 2 Thessalonians 1. We read it in 1 Thessalonians 4, 16 and 17. We read it in Matthew 25, 34. We read it in many places. When He returns, there will be believers. All of them affirm this is the case. So when our Lord says, will He find faith on the earth, what does He mean? Well, some suggest that what He's saying here is, though there will be some believers, that the defining characteristic of the world's people, when He returns, will not be faith in Him. That most of mankind will have turned away from God. Now that's possible, certainly we see the evidence of that. Over 7 billion people in the world, less than 1 billion born-again believers in Christ. Others suggest though that Jesus poses this question to us to cause us, to lead us to examine ourselves. Is He going to find a faith on the earth? And in the context of what Jesus has taught us in the parable, His question here may best be seen as a challenge to all who profess His name. When He returns, will He find the faith that never ceases to cry out to Him day and night? By these words, Jesus is plainly relating prayer to faith. Let's remember what faith is. It's a gift of God, Ephesians 2, 8 and 9. Hebrews 11.1, it teaches that faith is the evidence of things we can't see yet. But God gives us this proof. It enables us, faith does, to know and believe, saving truth. So Jesus' question for us now is, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth? And He leaves the answer to us. We know what He wants of us. Will He find us who call ourselves the people of God? Will He find us living lives that seek to do His will? Will He find us living lives that honor Him in all we do? And more to the point of this passage this morning. Will He find us crying out to Him unceasingly, persistently, night and day, in every circumstance? Is that what he's going to find? Is he going to find people who are persistent in prayer when he comes back? He gave you this gift, new spiritual life. He didn't go somewhere to obtain it. He gave it to you. He justified you. He credited Christ's righteousness, His sinless life to you. He declared you not guilty of all your sins. But in His sovereign will, He did not at that moment decide to bring you home into His glorious presence in heaven. No. He left you here. He left you here. Though He gave you all those gifts. He left you here in this fallen world with a mission. A mission to live a life in which you continually seek His glory and your own sanctification He left you here to share what you have heard and what you believe with the world. And He left you here to pray for the conversion and salvation of people who are lost in sin. This is the mission of every true believer in Christ. Jesus' primary focus in this parable and in the parable that follows is in this last aspect of our mission that we just talked about, prayer. It's part of the answer to the question Francis Schaeffer asked, having received this gift of faith, how then shall we live? What then shall we do with this gift we have? Well, Jesus is showing us here that prayer, a most intimate form of communion with God, is an expression of faith. Prayer is an expression of faith. Why don't you pray? Do you not believe? Prayer is an expression of our faith. We go to God because we believe in His power and His love. Faith, not that God will always do what we want, but faith that God will always hear His adopted children, that He will respond to our prayers in a way that's good for us, whether it seems good to us at the moment or not. And of course, the lesson here is when we do not receive the answer we desire, Jesus tells us what to do. Keep praying. Keep praying. Keep coming back to our Father. Our continuing to pray, trusting that what He does is always right and good for us, will strengthen our faith. When we cease praying, our faith is going to weaken. And sadly, some cease trusting Him. I talked to a man this week. His faith is waning, if not gone, because he didn't get the answer he wanted to a prayer. And such people, unless they repent of that wickedness, are on the road to perdition. It's a manifestation of unbelief that when our prayers at first are not answered in the way we want, that we immediately throw away not only our hope, but our earnestness for prayer. On the other hand, it is clearly evidence of our faith. If when we are disappointed in God's answer, we still do not lose courage. We still do not lose hope. We still do not lose faith. We do not cease trusting our Creator and Redeemer. And so we continue in prayer to Him. That's an evidence of faith. In His power, in His love, in His mercy. And so our Lord exhorts us, all His people, persevere in praying, no matter the result. In the parable, this widow was in no position to move the judge to do what she wanted. All she had was her own persistence. That's it. And the wicked, unloving judge eventually granted her request when he saw that doing so served his own self-interest. So Jesus says, and I want to say it one more time, if a wicked man will sometimes do good, even from bad motives, how much more will God vindicate His people who cry out to Him? If you are in Christ, believing in Him with all your heart, trusting in His offering of Himself on that cross for your sins, then you can be assured He's interceding for you in all your prayers right now. That His Spirit intercedes for you with groanings that we can't even understand. God hears your prayers. And if you're in Christ, you should never doubt that. Jesus is our mediator, our intercessor in heaven. But we come to Him knowing that He does work all things for good. Don't let go of that truth either. For those who love Him, for those called according to His purpose, as the apostle encouraged his readers, let us be people who pray without ceasing, knowing that our Father in heaven works all things for our good. O Lord, we read. We don't know how to pray as we ought. We know we're unworthy to request anything, especially in light of all that You've given us in this life and what lay ahead. That You've given us assurance of the truth that every promise that You have made will be fulfilled. And we know, Lord, that when Christ was on the earth, He taught us to pray. He taught us about praying. He taught us how to pray. To give glory to Your name, to Your holiness. Lord, as people indwelt by Your Spirit, we ask in this hour that by Your Spirit You would move us daily, nightly to prayer. that we would be obedient to the command of Christ in this passage. And Lord, that you would strengthen our faith, especially in those times when the answer is not what we seek. Knowing that all that you're doing is not only for our good, but according to your great and eternal purpose. In Christ's name,