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“Pray and Not Lose Heart”
Pray And Not Lose Heart
Wade Webster
The last few weeks, we have been examining prayer. In the first few lessons we noticed prayer and watching, prayer and fasting, prayer and seeking, prayer and confessing, and other things. In this lesson, we are going to notice prayer and one of the NOT connections. We will focus in this lesson on praying and not losing heart.
Perhaps, you recall the Parable of the Persistent Widow. Luke introduces the parable with the following words, “Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart” (Luke 18:1). The Greek word translated as lose heart means “to be utterly spiritless, to be wearied out, exhausted.” The weariness that this widow felt was more than physical. It was emotional. It was not just weariness of body, but also weariness of soul. The Hebrew writer declared, “For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls” (Hebrews 12:3).
Prayer gives us the opportunity to cast that which is wearying us on One who can carry it far better than we can. David wrote, “Cast your burden on the LORD, And He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved” (Psalms 55:22). In like manner, Peter wrote, “Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you” (1 Pet. 5:7).
Prayer also involves trust. It involves waiting on the Lord. Those who wait on the Lord renew their strength. Isaiah declared, “Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the LORD, The Creator of the ends of the earth, Neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the weak, And to those who have no might He increases strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, And the young men shall utterly fall, But those who wait on the LORD Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint” (Isaiah 40:28-31).
If the persistent widow could get what she needed from an unjust judged who didn’t care about men or fear God, surely we can get what we need from a just God who deeply cares about us.
As we get ready to worship this week, let’s pray and not lose heart. Let’s cast our cares upon the Lord and renew our strength by waiting on Him.
