“Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.”

Luke 18:1 NIV

Persistent prayer is powerful.

In today’s verse, Jesus gave the disciples two qualities of this kind of prayer:

1. Persistent prayer happens continually
2. Persistent prayer never gives up

In the following verses, Luke 18:2–8, Jesus shared a parable to illustrate these qualities.

The Parable of the Persistent Widow

Once there was a widow who was wronged by someone. So she went to a judge for justice.

However, this judge was a callous man. He neither feared God nor cared about what people thought of him.

This meant that social pressures wouldn’t move him to rule in the widow’s favor. And neither would any moral compass.

Every day, the widow brought her case to him. Every day, he refused to help.

But finally, he relented. She wore him down with her persistence!

Jesus finished the parable by applying its meaning to everyday life.

If even an unjust judge will grant this woman justice because of her persistence, how much more will our Good Father?

Then he said, “I tell you, [God] will see that they get justice, and quickly” (Luke 18:8a).

Two Qualities of Persistent Prayer

A closer look shows us two keys to powerfully persistent prayer.

First, our continual prayers should be specific.

The widow pled her case every day. She had a target she was unwilling to stop aiming for!

Second, pray specifically and continually.

It’s simple: don’t stop praying.

Bring the same request to God until he grants it, or answers you.

Consider these questions today:

1. What specific needs do you have?
2. Have you asked God to meet them?
3. Are you willing to be persistent?

My wife is amazing at this.

She uses a prayer journal every day—and I’m going to start this practice, too!

She writes her specific requests and keeps praying until they’re answered.

Then, as each request is answered, she’s able to record that in a faith-building section. It’s amazing to see God’s hand working in your life. Especially in seasons of difficulty or doubt.

Let’s pray like the persistent widow, specifically, continually, and expectantly, that God will answer!

She’s sweet as pie, cute as a button, and — well — gross at times.

In fact, a little episode in my office one morning reminded me of today’s verse:

Like a dog that returns to his vomit is a fool who repeats his folly.

Proverbs 26:11 ESV

My son and Mojo having some bonding time.

Like the Proverb says, she lost her lunch and immediately wanted to scarf it back up.

I held her back. But she was furiously trying to get at it.

What We Do With Our Sin

This moment is a vivid picture of our lives with sin.

Sin is the root cause of every evil. It’s the source of our suffering. It’s the opposite of God’s nature. Yet somehow, we still clamor back to habitual sins and vices.

As rotten, nasty, and yucky as sin is, its true nature hides behind a facade of sickly sweetness. In fact, dog’s return to their vomit because their noses tell them it’s a tasty food source.

For us, we pursue sin because it’s appealing—when the reality is anything but.

How Peter Applied Proverbs 26:11

In 2 Peter 2:22, Peter quotes Proverbs 26:11 and takes its meaning even further. He wrote to combat false prophets and teachers who were leading people astray. He explained in 2 Peter 2 that they were:

• Denying Jesus with “destructive heresies”
• Following sensuality
• Greedy and exploiting the church
• Promise freedom but are slaves
• Bringing destruction upon themselves and those who follow them

The craziest part is these false teachers knew the truth, and even followed Jesus faithfully at one time (2 Peter 2:20–21).

For us, Proverbs 26:11 has two big applications:

1. We should see our sin like we see a dog’s vomit—gross!
2. We should be wary of false teaching that leads us away from the truth to embrace lies.

Where do you need to change your view of sin and wandering from the truth, today?

I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.

Ezekiel 36:26 NIV

When God saves us, he exchanges a “heart of flesh” in for our “heart of stone.”

Instead of dying, we live.

When you think about it, it’s a lot like an organ transplant. This happens when a sick person with a non-functioning organ gets a new one to replace it.

Everything from hearts to kidneys to corneas get transplanted.

It’s a medical miracle that saves thousands each year. But, it’s not without its risks.

A big complication is called transplant rejection. This happens when the recipient’s body sees the new organ as a foreign invader.

Ironically, the old tissue attacks the very thing meant to bring it life.

When God saves us, the “old man” — as Paul so often calls it — rebels against this life-saving transplant, too.

Where has the “old man” been getting the upper hand?

In Colossians 3:5, Paul calls this what is “earthly” in us, saying:

“Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.”

Submit these areas to God right now by first confessing them. As David said in Psalm 51:4, “Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight…”

When we specifically confess our sin, we put a target on it. This is the first step to putting it to death.
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This year, what sin do you need to confess and kill? As John Owen famously said, “Be killing sin or sin will be killing you.”

Don’t let your spiritual organ transplant get rejected (or continually attacked) by your old nature.

Today’s devotion by Jordan Loftis, bestselling author of Today We Win and editor of Short Daily Devotions.

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.”
Matthew 5:6

Think about real hunger. Not the kind where you skip lunch. The kind where your stomach hurts. Where food is all you can think about. That’s how Jesus says we should want righteousness.

Here’s the truth: Righteousness is not a matter of will. It’s a matter of want.

You can’t force yourself to be good. Trust me, you’ve tried. We all have. We make promises. We try harder. We fail again. Why? Because we’re using the wrong tool. We’re using willpower when we need desire.

A hungry man doesn’t need to be told to eat. He wants to eat. He looks for food. He thinks about food. Nothing else matters until he eats.

That’s what Jesus is saying. When you really want to be right with God, you’ll find a way. When you crave His presence like water in the desert, you’ll seek Him. Not because you have to. Because you want to.

The problem is we’re full. Full of ourselves. Full of our plans. Full of the world’s junk food. No wonder we don’t hunger for God. We’re already stuffed.

Want to know if you’re hungry for righteousness? Look at what you chase. Look at what you think about. Look at what you can’t live without. That’s your real hunger.

The good news? Jesus promises satisfaction. Not to those who try hard. Not to those who are already good. But to those who are hungry. To those who know they’re empty and want to be filled.

Stop trying to be good enough. Start getting hungry for God. Because when you really want Him, you’ll find Him. And He will satisfy you.

That’s not willpower. That’s a promise.

“Then he said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.’ Thomas said to him, ‘My Lord and my God!'”
John 20:27-28 (NIV)

Thomas asked to see and feel the wounds on Jesus’ hands. He wanted proof. Look what Jesus did. He didn’t send Thomas away, instead, He met him right in his doubt. He gave him the proof he needed.

We can bring our doubts to God. He’s not afraid of them. He left us proof. We have history. We have changed lives. We have His Word.

Thomas later took the Gospel to India. The doubter became so sure that he died for his faith there. That’s what happens when honest questions meet truth. It turns into strong faith.

But here’s a warning. Remember the rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16:19–31? Some people will never have enough proof. The rich man learned, “If Moses and the Prophets were not enough for your family, nothing will be.” Sometimes the problem isn’t in the head. It’s in the heart.

Don’t mix up real questions with making excuses.

Listen to what the famous athiest, Aldous Huxley, said. He admitted: “I had motives for not wanting the world to have a meaning… For myself, the philosophy of meaninglessness was essentially an instrument of liberation from a certain system of morality. We objected to the morality because it interfered with our sexual freedom.”

So ask yourself: Are you using doubt to live how you want? Or do you really want Jesus to grow your faith? Do you want truth? Or are you running from it?

Your response shows what’s in your heart. Jesus still shows His scars to people who really want to see.

Look straight ahead,
and fix your eyes on what lies before you.
Proverbs 4:25

Your attention is worth more than gold in today’s economy.

Advertizers claw and scratch for it. Social media platforms are psychologically engineered to hook you and keep you coming back for more. Simply put, this is the highest level of competition for our attention the world has ever seen.

What keeps your attention over time will win your heart in the long haul. So what are you giving it to? Undoubtedly a lot of it is good stuff. But you and I both know, when good stuff becomes God stuff, our life starts to fall apart.

• Relaxation is a gift—until it turns into laziness.
• Work is godly—until it becomes your identity.
• Sports are awesome—until they become a constant escape.
• Money is a good tool—until it becomes the measuring stick of your worth.

. . . and if you don’t see your thing on there, feel free to add it. Because we all have ‘em.

I don’t think there’s a better passage to turn us back to wonder, awe, and excitement at God’s presence than what C.S. Lewis said about our desires:

“If we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.”

What has your attention?

“. . . these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God.”
1 Corinthians 2:10

I’ll never forget my first visit to Alaska. Mountains were stacked upon mountains as far as I could see. It’s hard to describe just how big that backcountry is until you’ve been there. The ocean feels the same way. An endless expanse of something so jaw-droppingly massive and untamed it humbles you.

It reminds me of what it’s like to genuinely experience God. You understand, however imperfectly, just how strong and glorious he is. Trouble is, that feeling simply doesn’t seem to last forever, does it?

I’ve spent a lot of my life with those moments of connection as the exception, not the rule. So, if you’ve ever felt bored in a church service, you’re not alone. Here’s the thing, though. Just because church services get boring sometimes doesn’t mean God is boring.

In fact, if you feel like God’s boring, it’s probably been awhile since your last connection with the Father. Or, perhaps you’ve never truly met him.

Either way, I’m pumped to share today’s verse with you. Because it is *wild* when you dig deeper. So pause and read it again.

Word.
By.
Word.

Let it sink in. Do you see what Paul was saying to the Corinthians?

God is so endlessly fascinating even God is interested in God.

That’s a mind melter. The all-powerful, all-knowing, present-in-all-times God of the Universe is captivated by his own glory.

If you’ve ever wondered what God’s into, there’s your answer. So chuck the boring services or yawn-inducing thoughts about the Bible aside for just a second. Think about what’s dominated your attention in the past week, month, or year.

How does the endlessly-fascinating Creator of the Universe factor in?

I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.

John 15:1 NIV

I love self-improvement.

Or rather, I love *reading* about self-improvement… doing it isn’t usually the fun part, is it?!

The problem is I can get so sucked into finding places to “improve” that I forget to ask God where he’s looking for growth.

What if a branch thought it knew where to find life better than the vine?

• Imagine that branch stretching toward the ground, rather than the sun…
• Imagine that branch getting tangled in nearby distractions, hiding from the Vine Dresser…
• Imagine a branch that ignored pruning because it knew best what it needed…

This branch will wither.

Personal growth is a good thing. But there is a point where self-improvement because self-destruction when we ignore the Gardener’s guidance.

Instead…
→ Pause.
→ Listen.
→ Respond.
→ Repeat.

The branch cannot prune itself.

Self-development literature, podcasts, and motivational YouTube videos cannot replace our Vine Dresser.

Here’s the wild thing…

God is better at challenging, growing, and stretching us than we could ever hope to be.

If you don’t believe me, consider this: can you impact the world like Jesus in your own power?

Do you really know what’s headed your way in the next year, month, or day?

God does—and he’s really good at preparing us for it.

He wants us to BEAR FRUIT!

This won’t mean sitting on the sidelines, motionless, and enjoying the soothing stagnation of entertainment, lost time, and wasted potential.

It will mean the opposite.

We were created to flourish—but we don’t define what flourishing means.

Make sure your pursuit of self-improvement is guided by the one who knows who he created you to become.

When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, “Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades.

Revelation 1:17-18 ESV

Close your eyes and picture Jesus. Don’t keep reading, just close your eyes and form a picture of him… What does he look like? Where is Jesus in your mind’s eye?

Now, you probably saw either a painting of Jesus with pretty hair and a docile expression, or Jesus hanging on a cross, head dipped in despair.

These are the two most popular depictions of King Jesus. The marginalized peasant, and the suffering servant. And Jesus did live his life on earth for the good of others and to the detriment of himself (Mark 10:45).

Do you know where Jesus is right now?
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“Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest. The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength.”

(Revelation 1:12-16)

Jesus took on flesh for a time, but he is no longer suffering on a Roman cross. He is alive. He is ruling and reigning, sovereign over all the universe.

He is King in heaven, King over hell, and King upon the earth. There is no glory like his to be seen by the eyes of men.

What was John’s reaction to seeing King Jesus? “When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead.”

This, too, should be our response to Jesus. If you do not feel awe toward Jesus, maybe you don’t know who he is.

We serve neither the Jesus of pop-culture nor the one depicted by oil paintings and dead relics.
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We serve the risen Jesus, the living God. We serve a most capable King.

Does the majesty of Jesus lead you to worship? Dwell on Jesus as King and Lord today.

it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person.

Matthew 15:11 ESV

Our behavior is a product of our character.

In today’s verse, Jesus explains this to Pharisees. But what’s insane about this is that they were the absolute measure of holiness in Judaism!

Pharisees were incredibly disciplined. Unbelievably dedicated. And honestly, would put many of our lives to shame…

…on the outside, at least.

Jesus reveals something more profound about character — and it should transform the way you see it.

No matter how well you behave, you can’t cheat character. Your life will be a product of who you truly are.

So, we can chip away at modifying our behavior.

We can work super hard at cultivating a daily devotional habit, reading our Bible through every year…

We can develop a rhythm of prayer and fasting…

We can even give large portions of our income…

^^^ Don’t get me wrong, these are all incredible—and expected—activities in a believer’s life. Obedience, holiness, and spiritual disciplines must happen for us to be growing in the image of Jesus.

Rather than starting with behavior, though, Jesus starts with the heart condition. He reveals the underlying motivations, and therefore the real state of their character.

In fact, he would go on to tell them that their actions are actually incongruent with their hearts. They look pristine on the outside, but they’re rotting with death on the inside.

One of my best friends once challenged me this way:

Never let your public anointing exceed your private devotion.
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I believe this is key to transforming the way we see character.

It is from our character that true holiness, love, and Christian action flows. As James said, faith without works is dead. And Jesus shows us that works without faith is pointless.

What is the state of your heart? Have you prioritized character, or tried to cheat it with good-looking actions?