they ought always to pray and not lose heart – Luke 18:1

We know that we ought always to pray. We have the privilege of access to our heavenly father: it is a thread that runs right through the New Testament.

In this passage Jesus addresses the intercession: the act of seeking the Lord for an express purpose – to see Him work in our world, our lives. In this it is the losing heart that is the problem. It is easy to pray when we see the immediate results. But prayer is an act of faith. Just as the widow persisted day after day, with no guarantees of success, we must petition day after day with the promise of being heard and of being granted justice.

God will act, because He will always be true to Himself, but when He acts, will He still find us on our knees in faithful, persistent prayer?

We must not lose heart in our intercession for God’s intervention in this world in which He has placed us – this is a part of the role that God has given to us – not just ‘shopping list’ prayers, but seeking Him, and His making right of the wrongs of this earth.

We must not lose heart – that is the goal of the enemy – to give up, to stop. Whe n the Son of Man comes, will He find us faithful?

For as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be in his day. – Luke 17:24

There’s a lot of hype surrounding the concept of the rapture – the idea of the taking of the Lord’s people to be with Him, but Jesus never implies a secret return to claim His own – in fact He specifically states that it will be obvious to all:

And they will say to you, ‘Look, there!’ or ‘Look, here!’ Do not go out or follow them. – Luke 17:23

The day of the Lord is to be sudden, but not secret. Those who say ‘here it is’ are wrong, because when Jesus returns no-one will need to have Him pointed out to them! The logic of Luke’s record in Luke 17:20-37 is inescapable: The Day of the Coming of the Son of Man is going to be as sudden and obvious as a lightening bolt illuminating the entire sky; this coming will burst into every day life for saint and sinner alike; this Day will suddenly change everything. Sinners will be left standing as the saints by their sides are taken to meet the Lord.

This fits perfectly with 1 Thessalonians 4:17

Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.

This speaks of our being caught up to meet Him in the air as He returns! Praise God that we will also be transformed, changed in the twinkling of an eye – as we meet Him, the coming King (1 Corinthians chapter 15)!

Even so, come, Lord Jesus!