When my son Ben was 6 years old, he had a playground adversary. According to Ben, this fellow had gone too far, and he thought the only solution was to fight it out. So I talked to him about the Christlike way to handle the situation.

I asked him, “Did you pray to the Lord for understanding and help to avoid a fight?” He didn’t answer, so I asked him again. This time with childish candor he blurted out, “No, I don’t want to pray. I’d rather beat him up.”

How revealing! The problem was that he didn’t feel weak enough to seek God’s help.

We often hesitate to pray for the Lord’s guidance in a tough situation because we think we can work it out ourselves. But if that’s our attitude, we are not yet in the place where God will come to our assistance. He wants us to sense that we really are helpless.

Jesus told the parable of the widow and the unjust judge to encourage us to continue bringing our concerns to the Father. If we are not persistent in seeking His help, we may “lose heart” (Lk. 18:1) because our own efforts are inadequate. And God, unlike an unjust judge, longs to come to our aid.

What problems are facing you? Are you going to fight or pray?

  — Mart De Haan