Will He Find Faith on the Earth?

Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up... And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”

Luke 18:1, 7-8

Above we read the introduction and conclusion of Jesus' parable of the importunate widow. She managed to secure justice from a wicked and uninterested judge simply by persevering in making her request day after day without fail. Take note of the question Jesus asks at the end.

"When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?"

By asking if he will find "faith on the earth" Jesus is asking whether or not He will still find people praying. You see faith and doubt are at war in all of us, and nowhere is this clearer than in our prayer lives. Hebrews 11:6 says, "Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him." Certainly the idea of "coming" to God includes prayer. Prayer itself is an act of faith and is a victory over the doubt the remains in us. Faith presses on when doubt gives up. So that means when we give up on prayer it is because we lack faith. Doubt has won.

So if we are to persevere in faith until the Lord returns, then we must persevere in prayer. Consider this example from the life of George Muller. Muller is considered by many to be the quintessential example of Christian prayer. In his personal journals he recorded more than 50,000 specific answers to prayer he had received, thirty thousand of which were answered the same day he made his request to God. ("What George Muller Can Teach Us about Prayer" by Donald S. Whitney) Yet, even this giant had to learn to persevere in prayer. In George's own words:

"In November 1844, I began to pray for the conversion of five individuals. I prayed every day without one single intermission, whether sick or in health, on the land or on the sea, and whatever the pressure of my engagements might be. Eighteen months elapsed before the first of the five was converted. I thanked God, and prayed on for the others. Five years elapsed, and then the second was converted. I thanked God, and prayed on for the other three. Day by day I continued to pray for them, and six years more passed before the third was converted. I thanked God for the three, and went on praying for the other two. These two remain unconverted [though I have] been praying day by day for nearly thirty-six years for [their] conversion." (George Muller: Delighted in God. p193)

One of Muller's biographers notes. "Of the two individuals still unconverted at the time of this sermon, one became a Christian before Muller's death and the other a few years later" (ibid. p194). Muller died in March of 1898 meaning he likely prayed for more than fifty-three years for these two men before he finally received the answer to his prayer. Will Jesus find you exercising your faith in prayer like this when He returns? 

O Lord, teach us to pray without ceasing, without doubting and without giving up that we may be found faithful at your return.