Marcus Orr

While studying for this past week’s sermon on the spiritual discipline of prayer, I became fixated on these words of Jesus:

“When the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:8)

Nothing strange here. It seems like a typical question Jesus would ask. It follows in the same thought as when he says:

“Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me ye that work iniquity.” (Matthew 7:21-23)

What is unusual is the context that he poses this question. In the passage in Luke, Jesus has just finished delivering a parable about a widow who has been petitioning a corrupt judge to hear her case. The judge doesn’t want to help her, but does anyway because she annoys him with her persistence. Jesus tells this parable to contrast the corrupt judge with a gracious God. The point is that if a corrupt judge will respond to persistent requests for help, certainly God will respond to the prayers of his children. Before the parable, Jesus purpose in teaching it is recorded, “that men ought always to pray, and not to faint.” (Luke 18:8) It is immediately following this parable that Jesus asks, “when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth.” This question highlights the link between true faith and a life of prayer. It also establishes a sense of urgency for us to be prepared for Christ’s return.

I can imagine that, as Jesus asks this question, he asks with a certain measure of grief and disappointment as he envisions his second coming. The vision in his mind is one that has been revealed to us elsewhere in Scripture; and it’s not a pretty picture:

I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called the Word of God. And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS. And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God; That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great. And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army. And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh. (Revelation 19:11-21)

Not the sort of image that we put on our stained glass windows or hang in our living rooms. But, it is reality. The Jesus who delivered the Sermon on the mount, healed the sick, ministered to the poor and sacrificed his life for man’s sin is the same Jesus who will one day return in judgment to execute God’s wrath on the earth. While Jesus has this image in his mind, I believe he grieves because he knows that true faith is much rarer than we want to believe. Here’s another account of what Jesus’ return will be like:

But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark. And he knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall the coming of the Son of man be. (Matthew 24:37-39)

Jesus’ return to judge the earth will be like when God destroyed the earth by flooding. Do you know how many people God found faithful then? Eight. Eight people – Noah and his family – out of all the earth.

It’s a striking passage that Luke records. We could summarize it like this: You need to pray. Pray all the time. It’s a mark of true faith. Unfortunately, many people won’t be found faithful when Christ returns.

This is not just a simple prayer that we learned as children. This is God’s instruction for how we should approach him in prayer. If Jesus were to appear to you today, in person, and you asked him how you should pray. This is what his answer would be. This is a prayer designed to build your faith. It acknowledges God’s holiness and sovereignty, declares submission to His divine will, petitions Him to provide for our physical needs, confesses our sinfulness, and expresses a repentent heart. These are the elements that God desires in our prayers to him.

Satan wants nothing more than to destroy our faith and our prayer lives are prime targets for spiritual warfare. I believe that C.S. Lewis paints an accurate description of the ways in which our prayer life is attacked in his book, The Screwtape Letters. If you’re not familiar with this book, get your hands on a copy. I picked mine up a used copy for just $1 on half.com. The book is composed of fictional mentoring letters from an experienced demon named Screwtape to an inexperience demon named Wormwood. Screwtape teaches Wormwood how to attack the Christian, whom he refers to as the “patient”, and hinder his relationship with God. Here is some excerpts dealing with prayer:

My Dear Wormwood,

It is high time for me to write to you fully on the painful subject of prayer…The best thing, when it is possible, is to keep the patient from the serious intention of praying altogether…Encourage him to remember the parrot-like nature of his prayers in childhood. In reaction against that, he may be persuaded to aim at something entirely spontaneous, inward, informal and unregularized…an effort to produce in him a vaguely devotional mood in which real concentration of will and intelligence have no part.

He goes on to describe how man’s dependence on feelings and emotions are one of Satan’s greatest tools. Satan wants us to focus on ourselves – our feelings and emotions – not God. Screwtape advises Wormwood:

when they are praying for forgiveness, let them be trying to feel forgiven. Teach them to estimate the value of each prayer by their success in producing the desired feeling; and never let them suspect how much success or failure of that kind depends on whether they are well or ill, fresh or tired, at the moment.

Our feelings are fickle. They are affected by how much we’ve eaten, worked, slept or any number of other things. They can’t be trusted as a gauge of our relationship with God – or of the effectiveness of our prayer life. Satan wants to distract us from God’s way of doing things. He wants to make it seem more complicated and turn the focus away from God and onto ourselves.

God calls us to a childlike faith. Nothing complex. He wants us to depend on him. He wants to hear from us. He wants us to pray – often. He wants to know how we are and how we need him. It’s an expression of love. We do the same thing in our relationships with the folks we love. I can’t count how many times I take a short break out of my day to call, email or text message family and friends – sometimes to ask for something, but most of the time, just to check in and see how things are going. That’s what God wants from us – prayer that actively seeks to grow in relationship with him.

When Jesus comes, will he find you faithful?

Here are some links to the books I mentioned in this post:

Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life By Donald S. Whitney / NAV Press It’s not uncommon for an accomplished musician to be able to sit down in front of a new piece of music and play it through without a hitch. To make it seem easy, as if it required no effort. Yet the “freedom” to play with such skill comes only after years of disciplined practice. In the same way, the freedom to grow in godliness—to naturally express Christ’s character through your own personality—is in large part dependent on a deliberate cultivation of the spiritual disciplines. Far from being legalistic, restrictive, or binding, as they are often perceived, the spiritual disciplines are actually the means to unparalleled spiritual liberty. So if you’d like to embark on a lifelong quest for godliness, Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life will help you on your way. Based on the rich heritage left us by the early church fathers, the Puritan writers, and Jesus Christ Himself, Whitney takes you through a carefully selected array of disciplines that includes Scripture reading, prayer, worship, Scripture meditation, evangelism, serving, stewardship, Scripture application, fasting, silence and solitude, journaling, and learning. By illustrating why the disciplines are important, showing how each one will help you grow in godliness, and offering practical suggestions for cultivating them on a long-term basis, Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life will provide you with a refreshing opportunity to embrace life’s greatest pursuit—the pursuit of holiness—through a lifelong delight in the disciplines.

Screwtape Letters By HarperOne Wormwood, a demon apprentice, has been given his first earthly assignment—secure the damnation of a young man who’s just become a Christian. He seeks the advice of an experienced devil—his uncle Screwtape. Their correspondence discloses the psychology of temptation from the other side. Invaluable insights on temptation, pride, the power of prayer, and the ultimate victory of faith over the forces evil. 160 pages, softcover from Zondervan.

Technorati Tags: Prayer, Faith, Second Coming, C.S. Lewis, Screwtape Letters, Donald Whitney, Spiritual Disciplines, Lord’s Prayer

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