The Whiner

Luke 18:2-3 – In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared about men. And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, "Grant me justice against my adversary." (NIV)

Would you like some cheese with that whine, Hoss? Whine, whine, whine. How I get fed up some days with listening to that dog whine. In fact, I get so sick of hearing him whine that he often ends up getting exactly what he wants just to shut him up. Talk about enabling him to continue in a negative behaviour pattern! Shame on me!

At the same time, however, Hoss's whining has reminded me of Christ's positive command to His disciples to pray always and not give up. The parable of the persistent widow reveals that consistency in prayer does work. The unjust judge, simply to get rid of the woman and not wear himself out, finally gave her justice.

Luke 18:7-8a – And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. (NIV)

So, as cheesy as it may sound, I am not going to give up whining, sending up a plaintive, mournful cry before God in regards to the many unjust situations facing our world today. I know for myself that I find it easy to forget about the terrible dilemma many of our Christian brothers and sisters face each and every day in third world countries: beatings, torture, death, alienation, poverty, and the like, all because of their faith in Christ Jesus. How they need the consistency of our prayers for justice!

Now when Hoss whines, instead of being annoyed and fed up, I allow it to be a godly reminder to me to be consistent in prayer for justice, that the whole world might live in freedom and peace.

Prayer: Father God, thank You for this scriptural reminder always to pray for justice and not give up. Our world situation, from a human perspective, is overwhelming and seemingly hopeless. But with You, all things are possible. Raise up, worldwide, in the hearts of Your children today, the desire and motivation to pray and not to give up until Your justice for all peoples reigns on earth. In Christ's name, we ask. Amen.

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