Jump Start # 1842

Luke 18:1 “Now He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart.”

Just pray about it, that seems to be the thought of Jesus. Pray rather than lose heart. Pray instead of getting discouraged. Prayer is better than worry.

There are three thoughts here:

First, the losing heart. It is an expression for discouragement. When our heart is not in something, we don’t feel like doing it. We go through the motions because we have to.

• It’s hard to get up and go to work when our heart is not in it. When we dread work, work becomes work. It’s hard. It’s hard when we don’t like the people we work with, or we hate what we do, or, we are just bored with what we do. The week is long when we have lost our hearts about our jobs.

• When a person’s heart is no longer in their marriage, they will exist but not thrive as God wants. The bills will be paid, and the house will be cleaned, but the emotion, love and desire to be home is missing. It won’t take much of this for one or both to start thinking about leaving.

• Getting down to the church house is hard when our hearts are not there. When we must force ourselves to assemble. We can manage to mumble a few words, but there is a huge disconnect between our world and what is going on spiritually. We tend to see faults more when our hearts are not in it. We complain more than we thank. We feel burdened more than blessed when our hearts are not in it.

Losing heart—discouraged– not wanting to do things. It’s easy to get that way. The world tends to beat up those who are trying to follow God. We become weary. There is also the strain of doing so much. Demands at home. Demands at work. Demands at church. Stretched so thin, we just lose heart.

Have you noticed the eyes of someone who is discouraged? Their spirit seems to drag them down. They look and seem sad. They are tired. The world seems to be heavier than they can handle. There is a clinical depression in which a person may need medication to help him. But here, Jesus tells the multitudes to turn to prayer and not lose heart. Not losing heart seems to be a choice. It seems to be something that they were able to do something about. It wasn’t beyond them. They didn’t need extra help other than God through prayer.

God doesn’t want us to be discouraged. Satan does. Satan knows that discouraged people quit. They quit their jobs. They quit the team. They quit the marriage. They quit God. Eventually, they quit life. Satan will throw all kinds of bad news, fears and worries our way. He wants us to focus on those things. He wants us to be so overwhelmed that we lose heart. Give up, is what Satan screams. There is no hope, is his message. But here stands Jesus saying, “Do not lose heart.”

Second, Jesus tells the crowd to prayer. The counter to losing heart is prayer. Our problems are big. They are bigger than we are. They are enough to cause us to lose heart. However, God is bigger than the problems. God is bigger than we are. We may not see a solution, but God can. We may feel that our boat is sinking, but God can help. God can send help.

Don’t be overwhelmed by the day, Pray! What does a person pray about? Pray for strength to keep going. Pray about what is making you lose heart. Pray for better solutions. Pray for help. Pray that you will keep walking with God and that through this you will glorify God.

The value of prayer is that you are inviting God into your world. You are calling upon Him to help you. The spies of Israel were helped by Rahab. Paul was helped by brethren who allowed him to escape in a basket over the city wall. Titus was a form of help to a discouraged apostle. The Thessalonians who were upset and saddened by the loss of loved ones were comforted by God’s word. All of these are times and ways God has helped His people.

Prayer admits that we need help. Prayer invites greater insight, greater power, and greater hope than we can ever have among ourselves. Don’t give up, pray. Don’t get discouraged, pray.

Thirdly, the Lord says, “at all times pray.” Prayer always fits. Pray before the meeting at work. If others won’t pray with you, then you say a prayer silently. Pray before you eat. Pray before you make a decision. Pray before you travel. Pray after things, to thank the Lord. Pray before and after the surgery. Pray before and after the wedding. Pray often. Pray everywhere. Pray at all times.

Pray has a way of reminding us who we are and what we are supposed to do. We tend to forget. Pray has a way of getting our order back in order. Priorities get scrambled up and sometimes the important things are left off the list. Prayer helps with that. Prayer helps us to be spiritual. Being spiritual keeps our eyes on things above. Being spiritual helps us make the right choices. Being spiritual reminds us of our walk with the Lord.

At all times pray.

Not just good advice, essential for one who is walking with the Lord. Without prayer, you’ll likely lose heart. But with prayer, you’ll keep marching on to Zion, beautiful, beautiful Zion.

Roger