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

Luke 18:1-17 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

Now He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and not become discouraged, ² saying, “In a certain city there was a judge who did not fear God and did not respect any person. ³ Now there was a widow in that city, and she kept coming to him, saying, ‘Give me justice against my opponent.’ ⁴ For a while he was unwilling; but later he said to himself, ‘Even though I do not fear God nor respect any person, ⁵ yet because this widow is bothering me, I will give her justice; otherwise by continually coming she will wear me out.’” ⁶ And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unrighteous judge said; ⁷ now, will God not bring about justice for His elect who cry out to Him day and night, and will He delay long for them? ⁸ I tell you that He will bring about justice for them quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?”

⁹ Now He also told this parable to some people who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and viewed others with contempt: ¹⁰ “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. ¹¹ The Pharisee stood and began praying this in regard to himself: ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, crooked, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. ¹² I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get.’ ¹³ But the tax collector, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to raise his eyes toward heaven, but was beating his chest, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, the sinner!’ ¹⁴ I tell you, this man went to his house justified rather than the other one; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

¹⁵ Now they were bringing even their babies to Him so that He would touch them; but when the disciples saw it, they began rebuking them. ¹⁶ But Jesus called for the little ones, saying, “Allow the children to come to Me, and do not forbid them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. ¹⁷ Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all.”

Today’s text says: Now He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and not become discouraged, saying, “In a certain city there was a judge who did not fear God and did respect any person. Now there was a widow in that city, and she kept coming to him, saying, ‘Give me justice against my opponent.’ For a while he was unwilling; but later he said to himself, ‘Even though I do not fear God nor respect any  person, yet because this widow is bothering me, I will give her justice; otherwise by continually coming she will wear me out.’” And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unrighteous judge said; now, will God not bring about justice for His elect who cry out to Him day and night, and will He delay long for them? I tell you that He will bring about justice for them quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?”  Our faith, the faith that Jesus will seek when He returns, will be revealed in our faithfulness. Are we willing to persist in prayer and to persevere in trials?  James 1:2-4;12  says: Consider it all joy, my brothers and sisters, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing… Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. The testing of our faith, by the trials that we experience produces endurance. In Matthew 24:9-13 Jesus says: “Then they will hand you over to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name. And at that time many will fall away, and they will betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will rise up and mislead many people. And because lawlessness is increased, most people’s love will become cold. But the one who endures to the end is the one who will be saved.”  We need endurance. Our trials also perfect us. Romans 8:28-30 says: And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters; and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified. Through our perseverance, we are perfected, conformed to the image of Christ, glorified in Him.

Our persistent praying though is not like the woman in the parable in that we do not pray to wear God out. In Matthew 6:8 Jesus says: “Your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.”  We pray persistently because regardless of the circumstance or situation, we need to focus on God. Psalm 37:4 says: Delight yourself in the Lord; And He will give you the desires of your heart. When we focus on God, when we delight in Him, our hearts become aligned with His. We want what He wants. We want His perfect will for our lives. We lack nothing, not because He gives us whatever we want, but because He is all that we could ever need. The true key to our praying is not that we would change God’s mind and convince Him of what we need. It is that we would believe and receive all that He has already done. In John 19:30, on the cross, Jesus said “It is finished!” Our Father knows what we need and Jesus has already fully accomplished it on the cross. “In this manner, therefore, pray:

Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.