Luke 18:1
And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;
In Jesus’ attempt to get people never to give up on praying, He used a parable to teach about a widow lady who asked the judge to avenge her of her adversary. We don't know what the adversary was, but we do know this lady never stopped coming to the judge to ask him to avenge her of it. This lady was so persistent in going to the judge that the judge became weary of her persistent plea for help. This judge finally granted her request, not because he wanted to, but because he got tired of her persistent pleading.
We often say that the squeaky hinge gets the oil, but it should also be said that the squeaky prayer gets the answer. Jesus made it clear that He desires His children to continue praying until they get an answer. He says men ought always to pray, and not to faint. In other words, continue to squeak the same prayer until you get an answer. The word faint means a couple things that can help you in your prayer life.
First, not to faint means don't give up. God is saying that men ought always to pray and don't give up. It is easy to want to give up when you have prayed persistently for a request for a while, but God wants us to understand that we are never to give up on our prayers. Unless you know that God has shut the door to your prayer, you should always pray and never give up until the squeaky prayer gets the answer.
Second, not to faint means don't worry. Stop worrying about being a bother to God and continue to pray. If God is the One who implores us to continue praying, then we should take His challenge as permission that we are not intruding upon Him. I hear people say they don't want to bother God with their continued praying, but God wants to be bothered with your prayers. The fact that you continue to go to God with your prayer shows God that you need Him, and God wants to know that you need Him. It does not bother God for you to need Him; rather, He wants you not to faint in your prayers because He wants to be needed by you.
Third, not to faint means not to let up on your passion to pray for your request. We must be careful that the lack of an answer causes us to lose our intensity for the request. Let me ask, do you still need or desire the answer now that you did when you first asked? If you do, then the passion for praying for that request should be as intense or more intense than it was when you first started asking. In fact, the fact that you do not have an answer yet should make the need for your request more needful today than when you first started praying for it. When God says not to faint, He is saying that if you truly need what you say you are asking for, then you will be as ardent in asking for it as you were at the beginning of the request.
My friend, the squeaky prayer does get the answer. To always pray means never to give up and never lose the desire for what you are asking. What is it that you have given up praying for? What is it that you have become sporadic about praying for? What prayer request has lost its intensity or passion to pray for it? Never let the lack of an answer cause you to quit praying for the need. If Jesus said the judge answered, not because he wanted to, but because she never stopped asking, then He is teaching that there are times that God will answer your prayer because you never stopped asking.
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