Shall He Find Faith
Luke 18:8
“I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?”
The fact that Jesus asked, “…when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?” shows that He was concerned that He would have a hard time finding faith on the Earth. Why was Jesus so concerned with finding faith? He was concerned about finding faith because it takes faith for God to move the mountains of life. It is not that God cannot move the mountains of life without man’s faith, but it is the fact that He chooses to show His power through man’s faith.
The question about finding faith comes from Jesus’ parable of the persistent widow who would not stop asking the judge to avenge her of her adversary. When the judge would not listen to her or even give her a hearing, it her persistence caused him to listen and answer her request.
My friend, what is your adversary? Is your adversary a health issue or financial hardships? Is your adversary a need for God to build your ministry or to get through to the heart of an individual who seems to be hardened by rebellion? What is your adversary? Whatever your adversary in life may be, God has the power to avenge you of your adversary if you have the faith of this widow. So, what is this faith that God is looking for?
First, God is looking for the faith to pray. It takes faith for you to pray. The fact that you are asking God in prayer reveals that you have faith. God needs an army of believers to have the faith just to pray. God is not asking you to pray “great” prayers; He is asking you to pray. God cannot answer the prayer that is not prayed. You need to have the faith that God can answer prayers. You will never be faithful to your time of prayer until you have the faith just to pray.
Second, God is looking for faith to believe that He can answer prayer. This widow believed that the judge had the power to avenge her of her adversary, and God wants you to have the faith to believe that He can answer your prayer if you will pray. Why would you spend time in prayer if you don’t believe He will answer your prayer? Don’t be guilty of praying for the sake of praying, but have faith that when you pray, God will answer your prayer. You are wasting God’s time and yours if you pray in doubt. God not only wants you to have faith to pray, but He also wants you to have faith that He is capable of answering your prayers.
Third, God is looking for faith to continue praying when He doesn’t answer your prayer. This parable’s emphasis is that the widow persistently prayed until she got the answer for which she was asking. The faith that God is looking for is the faith that you will persistently ask God for your needs until He grants your request. Whatever you do, don’t lose faith just because you didn’t get your prayer answered immediately. You must have the faith to continue praying because it is that type of faith that moves God to answer your request.
My friend, if God is going to find faith on the Earth, you are going to have to be the one who prays until He answers your prayer. Let me ask you, can God find faith on the Earth because of your prayer life? Let me encourage you not to give up on your needs. Let God find you having the faith to pray, but more importantly, the faith to continue praying until He answers your request.