Over the course of time I have discovered that things I undertake out of a sense of guilt are things I do not do well nor find real enjoyment in accomplishing. Guilt might prove to be a capable motivator to get something going, but it cannot sustain that which it began. On the other hand, encouragement is a far better motivator and sustainer, and no place is this truer than prayer. This teaching finds us in Luke 18:1-8 where we meet an unrighteous judge and a persistent widow, and receive a remarkably simple lesson on prayer. By God’s grace, in this parable we will learn for ourselves what it is to pray from encouragement rather than guilt.
Parable of the Persistent Widow
