Frank Retief was pastor at St James Church Cape Town for 31 years, having planted the church in 1968 with his wife Beulah. He became the Presiding Bishop of the Church of England in South Africa until he retired in 2010. Frank remains active in ministry through preaching, teaching , pastoral work & writing, and has authored a number of books.
No Answer
Luke 18 v 1. “Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up”.
For many believers it is a mystery why there are times when God just does not appear to hear their prayers, or to deliver them out of some great need. It can be very discouraging and spiritually frustrating when the Father who sustains the world and has promised to care for His own children, seems to bring no breakthrough for us. What is this all about?
In the bible passage alluded to today, Jesus tells a parable about a woman who needed some help against an adversary. She turned to the law, but the law let her down because the very one who should have protected her was unjust.
What did this woman do?
The answer is she persisted. The judge said “this widow keeps bothering me.” So finally he granted her request. I do not know why God does not seem to answer us immediately in our time of need. But what we all know is that our Father is not unjust, but just and caring. Listen to Jesus’ words in Luke 18 v 7. “Will He keep putting them off?” The answer is of course, no, he won’t. He will see that they get justice. Our problem is that we have the way God should answer our prayers, all worked out in our minds. But God has His own sovereign will, and according to verse 1 “We should always pray and NOT give up.” Keep trusting Him, even when there are no apparent answers from Heaven. He hears us. He is our Heavenly Father.
Prayer:
“O God my strength is exhausted. I feel discouraged and very low. Still I will trust you. You know me and you know my need. Amen”.
Purchase books to help grow your prayer life from our online shopping cart,
Email orders@christianbooks.co.za or
Visit one of our stores