Don't Give Up on Prayer - Luke 18

Pastor Dan Walker, PhD, MDiv

Introduction: Persevering When Answers Seem Delayed

Today’s message is entitled “Don’t Give Up on Prayer.” We often give up on prayer too soon, and we pray earnestly for a season. It might be for a child who is drifting from faith, a financial burden or for physical healing.

But when the answer seems to be delayed, our hearts and prayers begin to shrink. We begin to doubt that God is going to answer our prayer, and as that doubt creeps in, our prayers begin to fade. And when prayer fades, anxiety rises, discouragement grows.

Other aspects of our lives and faith begin to be affected. Yet God desires to meet us with grace in our difficulty, and through Christ, persistent prayer is not about convincing God to act. Persistent prayer is about staying close to a faithful Father.

He invites us to keep on coming, trusting that He is at work even when we cannot yet see it. In the early 1900s, a man named R.U. Darby and his uncle invested everything they had in a Colorado gold mine. At first, they found enough ore to convince them the gold was real.

So they borrowed money, bought equipment and started digging. Then the gold vein seemed to disappear, and they kept drilling day after day, but nothing changed. Discouragement set and the pressure mounted.

Eventually they decided to quit, sold their equipment and walked away. The man who bought their equipment did something that Darby did not do, and he hired a mining engineer to survey the land. The engineer told him that Darby had stopped drilling just a few feet from the main gold vein.

The new owner drilled a little deeper and struck gold. What Darby needed was not a new mine, but perseverance, and he did not fail because there was no gold. He failed because he quit too soon.

That story mirrors how many of us approach prayer. We pray faithfully for a while, but when answers do not come quickly, we assume nothing is happening. So, we stop praying, not because the need disappeared, but because our hope grew tired.

We decided our prayers weren’t working, so we quit. But what if we stopped just short of what God was doing, and what if God was working all the time through our prayers, even though we couldn’t see it. What if we stopped just short of reaching the gold of our prayer answer?

Colossians 4:2 (ESV) Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving.

This verse calls believers to remain devoted to prayer. As we pray, we are to be watchful, alert to God’s voice and discerning of the enemy. Thanksgiving is an important part of prayer.

We are to be thankful for what God has done in the past and for what He is doing and will do in the future. Certainly prayer is part of our doing good for the Lord. We must be on our guard against growing weary, for weariness leads to giving up.

Galatians 6:9 (ESV) And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.

But if we persevere in prayer, in God’s timing, we will receive the answers and blessings that God has for us. The characteristic that we as believers need is endurance, and endurance is keeping on doing God’s will. And when we endure, we will receive God’s promises for our lives.

Hebrews 10:36 (ESV) For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised.

Because God is faithful and His timing is perfect, we must not give up on prayer. So, let’s look at what Jesus has to say about not giving up on prayer.

Refuse to Quit Praying When God Feels Silent

Luke 18:1 (ESV) And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart.

Before telling the parable, Jesus gives us what we should learn from it. We ought to always pray, we must pray continuously, and it should be as natural to us as breathing. The opposite of praying always is to lose heart.

To lose heart is to become discouraged, to grow weary, to give up because of exhaustion or disappointment. We are tempted to lose heart when our prayers are not answered yet and we don’t seem to see God doing anything. Yet, we are going to learn that prayers are never worthless.

God is always working in response to our prayers, even though we may not see it. This truth anchors us when silence tempts us to quit. Persistence in prayer keeps us aligned with God’s ongoing work.

Luke 18:2 (ESV) He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected man.”

This corrupt judge represents authority without compassion or accountability to the law. Judges should fear God and respect people and their problems. Their rulings should be in keeping with God’s Word and for the good of people and society.

As we’ll see, God is not like this corrupt judge at all. The contrast Jesus is building is intentional and important. God’s character is altogether different from this judge’s indifference.

Luke 18:3 (ESV) And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’

Now we are introduced to a widow, who is powerless, vulnerable and helpless. In Jesus’ day widows had very limited ways to support themselves. In this case, this widow had an adversary, someone who was seeking to harm her or take something from her or who already has harmed her.

The only strategy of the widow was her persistence. She didn’t just go before the judge once, she kept coming to him over and over. She had no other hope in getting justice and protection, so she did not lose heart or give up.

Every return to the judge was an act of faith that refused to accept injustice as final. Her example shows us that persistence often arises from desperation and helplessness. This persistence becomes the central lesson of the parable.

Persevere When You Feel Powerless

In this story, we are to identify with this widow. We also are to acknowledge that we are powerless to defend ourselves. We are to come to God as our righteous judge with our requests.

Even when the answer does not come immediately, we are to persevere in our prayer requests. We must not get discouraged or lose heart if the answer seems to be delayed. God is always working, our prayers are always heard even when we don’t see anything happening.

Now, I’ll just add a caveat here regarding our prayer requests. The widow’s request was a genuine need that required the judge’s help. In the same way, our prayers must be in keeping with God’s will.

Prayer is not a blank check to get anything we may want when we want it. Sometimes, the lack of an answer is God saying no to us, for what we are asking is not His will. How do we discern God’s will regarding our prayers?

Our prayers need to be keeping with the truth of God’s Word. Our prayers must be birthed through the voice of the Holy Spirit. Our prayers should often be validated or joined with other believers.

When we are praying in keeping with God’s will, we must persevere and not lose heart, as Jesus is teaching us. Persistent prayer keeps us dependent and attentive to God’s purposes. Faithful endurance honors God even in the waiting.

Trust God’s Character When Timing Tests Your Faith

Luke 18:4 (ESV) For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear God nor respect man,’

This corrupt judge was giving the widow an automatic no every time she came and presented her case to him. He had no respect of God, the law or this widow. Yet, now he was beginning to think, not about the widow, but about himself.

His motivation was selfish and self-protective. The judge’s internal reasoning exposes his lack of integrity. This sets up the contrast Jesus wants us to see clearly.

Luke 18:5 (ESV) yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.

The corrupt judge now decided to give the widow what she was asking for. She was asking for justice, a correct judgement in keeping with the law. The judge was just getting tired of her repeated requests, so he gave in to her.

So, the widow’s persistence caused the corrupt judge to change his mind and finally to rule in her favor. This outcome highlights the power of perseverance even in unjust systems. Jesus uses this to elevate our confidence in God.

Luke 18:7 (ESV) And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them?

Jesus is saying if persistence worked with this corrupt judge, how much more will prayer with a loving Father work. Notice that prayer to God is for justice to His elect, those who believe in Jesus and are part of His family. Justice implies a prayer in keeping with God’s will.

How are our prayers contrasted with the widow’s? Jesus says that our prayers are to be crying out to him day and night. That is intense prayer, isn’t it.

So the first question Jesus asks in this verse is “will not God give justice to His elect who cry out to him day and night?” The answer Jesus implies is yes, God will give justice to His children who persevere in calling out to Him. Jesus then answers His second question, “will He delay long over them?”

Luke 18:8 (ESV) I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?

Jesus tells us that He will not withhold answers to prayer like the corrupt judge did. Jesus speaks of prayer answers as justice, referring back to the widow. But also referring to Himself as the righteous judge.

When we pray, we are praying to God, the righteous judge. He will give answers in keeping with His just and righteous will. When will final justice and God’s kingdom come in power?

At Jesus’ return to the earth. Some of our prayers now will only be answered fully when Jesus returns. Jesus ends this parable with another question, will He find faith on the earth when He returns.

What causes a person to persevere in prayer, even when the answer doesn’t seem to be coming? It is faith, faith that God hears our prayers, faith that God answers our prayers in His perfect timing. Faith sustains endurance until fulfillment comes.

Pray With Faith Beyond What You Can See

The book of Revelation teaches that all of our prayers are stored in golden bowls until the time for the answers to come. Some of the answers to our prayers we will not see this side of heaven or the return of Christ. We must pray in faith, without faith God does not answer prayer.

Faith is believing that God hears and answers our prayers. Let’s talk about praying for lost people to be saved, might be lost loved ones, neighbors or co-workers. Is it God’s will for people to be saved?

Yes, according to 2 Peter 3:9, God does not desire for any to perish but for all to come to repentance. I believe that if we persevere in prayer with faith for a person’s salvation they will ultimately be saved. The argument that prayer cannot overcome a person’s will is nowhere found in Scripture.

God is sovereign, nothing is impossible for Him. Now, faith is a gift from God, that we must receive and act upon. So not everyone that we pray for is going to be saved.

Why? Because God has not given us the faith to pray for them. Faith is a mystery, both as a gift from God and something we must receive and have. Bottom line, let’s make persistent praying for lost people a priority in our prayer lives.

Approach God with Humility, Not Self-Reliance

Luke 18:9 (ESV) He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt.

This next parable taught by Jesus is also about prayer and our attitudes. Self-trust leads to pride and comparison. Jesus addresses hearts that rely on themselves rather than on God.

Luke 18:10–11 (ESV) Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: “God, I thank you that I am not like other men, … or even like this tax collector.

The prayer of this Pharisee was arrogant and contemptuous to others. He was simply praising himself rather than asking God for anything. Prayer becomes distorted when it is rooted in self-righteousness.

Jesus confronts the heart posture behind ineffective prayer. Pride shifts prayer from dependence to performance. This kind of prayer isolates rather than reconciles.

Luke 18:13–14 (ESV) But the tax collector …saying, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!” I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.

The tax collector’s posture reflects humility and awareness of his need. His prayer is short, honest, and dependent. He does not justify himself or compare himself.

He throws himself fully on God’s mercy. Jesus reveals God’s verdict. Humility receives grace, while pride blocks it.

Justification is God’s gift, not a reward for performance. Persistent prayer must flow from dependent hearts. Humility keeps prayer aligned with grace.

Live Dependent on God Through Prayer

Humility in prayer is so important, as Jesus highlights here for us. One of the biggest causes of prayerlessness is simply pride. If we think we can handle life, if we think we don’t have much to pray about, we are in the grip of pride.

There is no reason for prayer if we’ve got everything covered. But the truth is that none of us have anything under our control without God. God calls us to humble ourselves and to pray continuously throughout the day.

If someone asks us how they can pray for us, how do we respond? Do we say, I don’t need prayer, everything is fine? We may not have a pressing need, but in humility we should accept and even ask for prayer from others.

God’s Word instructs us to pray for one another to build each other up in the Lord. As we humble ourselves before God, He will reveal to us our great need. Our need to grow in our own prayer lives and to grow in giving and receiving prayer from others.

Keep Digging Until God’s Answer Breaks Through

Let’s think back to our story about the miner that failed to reach the gold vein. The miner did not fail because there was no gold. He failed because he stopped digging too soon.

In the same way, many us have stopped praying for something or someone because waiting has worn us down. We have lost heart, the lack of a answer has discouraged us. Jesus calls us to keep praying when the answer seems to be delayed.

We are called to trust God’s character when His timing is longer than we had hoped. God desires to encourage us this morning to grow stronger in our faith. To believe in the power of the prayer of faith and the love of our heavenly Father.

We come before God with humble hearts, acknowledging that He knows everything and we don’t. May God encourage us to grow in our prayer lives, to keep digging until we hit the gold vein of God’s answers.

We must remember that prayer is not just about getting certain needs met, but about building a relationship with a faithful Father. Because God is faithful and His timing is perfect, we must not give up on prayer. Perseverance in prayer is the very place where God is growing our faith stronger and stronger.

Don’t give up on prayer.

📘 Continue the Journey

Reflect deeper and apply this week’s message with the Message Study Guide — perfect for personal devotions, family discussion, or your Life Group.

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