Objection: Jesus Literally Said to “Keep On Asking.” Therefore, We Should Bug God Like the Widow in Jesus’ Parable.
This is based on a misunderstanding of passages in Matthew 7:7-11 and Luke 11:9-13. It is usually based upon a study of the Greek verb tenses used. The conclusion is that Jesus said to “Keep on asking,” “Keep on seeking,” and “Keep on knocking.” Actually, I’ve looked into this and I have no problem with the statement that these verbs can denote ongoing action. However, Jesus contradicted Himself in the same sermon if He meant that you should keep asking for the SAME THING over and over! Earlier in His discourse, Jesus had already told His disciples not to use vain repetitions as the heathen do (Matthew 6:7)! (He then offered an example of an unpretentious prayer without vain repetitions, so what do religious people do with that prayer today? They repeat it over and over verbatim! Obviously, people are missing His point.)
So although Jesus said to keep on asking, He did not say to keep on asking about the same thing over and over! He said not to do that. You should keep asking for different things and keep receiving different things. You should seek more things and knock on more doors so that they will be opened to you. After all, Jesus said that it would be given to you when you asked. If you have to pray again for the same thing, Jesus lied. You would only have to pray again for the same thing if God were not willing to give you what you asked for the first time. Jesus said that God is willing to give you good things (in Matthew 7:11) and the Holy Spirit (in Luke 11:13). That was the point. Just as you wouldn’t give your children something bad when they ask for something good, your heavenly Father gives you something good when you ask for something good. Ask and you shall receive. Then ask for something else. Don’t treat God as if He’s deaf – His ears are OPEN to the cries of the righteous (Psalm 34:15, 1 Peter 3:12).
In Luke 11:9-13, the statements about asking, seeking and knocking are preceded by an example of a friend going to another at midnight brashly and getting what he wants. This is about boldness in prayer, not about God withholding anything from you. God doesn’t spend any “down time” in bed anyway, so you can’t relate the friend in the house to God. The point is that you should be bold when you ask God for things. We are to come boldly to His throne of grace to receive help when we need it (Hebrews 4:16).
Now let’s talk about that parable of the widow in Luke 18:1-8. A widow goes to an unjust judge who fears not God nor regards man. He is called unjust a second time. Why is he unjust? He won’t do what he should for the widow. That is not a picture of God, who is never unjust. You cannot say that God is the unjust judge in this parable. The unjust judge had to be badgered into doing something and he moved slowly. Jesus said that God would avenge His elect speedily. So, this says that God is speedy, not slow, when it comes to answering prayers. He doesn’t have to be nagged into things as an unjust judge might.
Furthermore, this is not talking about the prayer of faith to receive something that meets a personal need. There are many different kinds of prayer in the Bible, and the prayer of faith is only one of them. That isn’t the subject here. In the cases of the widow and the believers who are praying here, they are not out to receive something already offered by God. They are looking for justice against an adversary. You shouldn’t take things into your own hands against an adversary – “Vengeance is mine,” saith the Lord (Romans 12:19). If you take vengeance, you’re stealing something that is God’s! That is a completely different situation than someone looking to receive something from God. God is not giving anything to the believers here. He is avenging them. This is most likely a reference to the prayers of persecuted believers. You cannot just “believe-and-receive away” persecution or bad government. That is why Paul could not pray away his “thorn in the flesh,” which was a demonic entity that kept stirring people to beat him up.
Paul said that anyone who wants to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. If you are not being persecuted, you are not living godly in Christ Jesus, because all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution (2 Timothy 3:12). That’s sobering! Maybe you need to be bolder about your faith if this is the case. A persecuted believer may pray for justice from God. No doubt, this was happening in many countries that used to outlaw Christianity but now embrace it more than many “Christian” countries do. Prayer does make a difference, and that’s why God commands us to pray for those in authority (1 Timothy 2:1-2). The point, according to Luke, is that men should always pray and not lose heart. However, Jesus did NOT teach that you should “always pray” about the same personal need over and over in the same way.
Don’t stop praying because of persecution, and don’t stop praying that your country will see change for the better. Expect God to avenge His elect speedily. Prayer for your country is ongoing, but you still should not use vain repetitions. When it comes to the prayer of faith, that’s only prayed once for a given matter. That’s different from praying for the leaders of your nation. With the “prayer of faith,” you believe that you receive when you pray. Every prayer after that is a prayer of praise and thanksgiving. You KNOW that you have the petition that you desired because you prayed according to God’s will as it is revealed in His Word (1 John 5:14-15).
If you slug a ball out of the premises by fifty feet, are you a great athlete? It depends. I’ve done it many times myself – playing GOLF. There is a penalty for doing that while golfing. But if I were on a baseball field, I could be a hero if I hit the ball out of the park. The rules are different for different sports; it’s not “one size fits all.” The rules are different for different kinds of prayer, too. The type of prayer that’s a “winner” in one situation can be a “loser” in another. Trying to believe that you receive turnaround ONCE for your country “in faith” is like playing golf by baseball rules. So is petitioning God on and on about the same healing need in your body. We need to understand the right way to pray in these different situations rather than thinking that one kind of prayer fits every situation.
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