Pastor’s Thoughts – 07/26/2026

In 1st Thessalonians 5:17 we are admonished to pray without ceasing. God’s people exercise their faith and show their relationship to God by continual interaction with Him. This means that we must have God on our mind all the time. He must be at the center of our thinking and decision making, and we are to be thankful for each of the day’s encounters and situations. This same truth goes all the way back to Deuteronomy 6:6-8 where God commands parents to do the following: “These words, (the Word of God), which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. And you shall repeat them diligently to your sons and speak of them when you sit in your house, when you walk on the road, when you lie down, and when you get up. You shall also tie them as a sign to your hand, and they shall be as frontlets on your forehead.” The idea is that God is foremost in our thinking, planning, activities, hope, and constant realization. This will be visible to others close to us. Therefore, we are people who are continually conversing with God, even to continually say, “Thank you Lord,” as we proceed on our daily journeys. If this communion is not taking place, we are not exercising the faith found in Scripture.

The Lord spoke the following special words in a context of emphasis on exercising consistent prayer with the idea of never giving up hope on any troubling matter. He introduced this question, “When the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:8). Christ had just given the example of an unjust judge who was being called upon continually by a woman who was being treated unjustly, and the judge had no concern for her. But because she kept on calling upon the uncaring judge for help, he finally did so, not out of compassion or care, but only because she was consistent and unrelenting in her cries to him. Then our Lord makes the comparison of this uncaring judge with our caring God, the All-knowing and just Judge by stating, “Will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry to Him day and night, and will He delay long over them?” (Luke 18:7). This is the blessed context of, “However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:8).

We know that God tests our faith. “Consider it all joy, my brothers, 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” (James 1:2-4). His testing has this glorious purpose. It is commanded along life’s journey when the encumbrance of difficulties become too much and too great that those without faith will crumble under the strain, but those with faith will endure with a righteous Christian attitude, a supernatural mindset that lives above upsetting situations, problems, and concerns. If we belong to God, we can be confident that there is a powerful purpose in what is occurring in our lives. Things such as illness, a fractured relationship, the death of a loved one, etc. All events are part of the tapestry of life in God’s sovereign, nurturing, purposeful care over His children. This overcoming mindset is essential to our faith and will be exemplified through these circumstances by our continual prayers. We will converse with and lean upon our Lord for all things.

We self-impose many of our problems by our poor decisions. Our Lord is not addressing these, but he is referring to the providential trials brought by God for our ultimate benefit. Our Lord is the great sanctifier of our lives, and difficulties are part of His love and concern for us, so that we are to live out our faith to become more like Christ. The issue is always the greater good in whatever we are facing. James says we need endurance or constancy. It is a faith that is marked by patient continuance. That is the kind of the faith found in Scripture that is exemplified in a relationship to God. God Himself is enduring. Christ endured more than anyone. In His enduring, He was constantly seen in prayer. It is no wonder then that Christ asks this essential question in the context of instruction on prayer, “When the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth” (Luke 18:8)?

The question made by the Lord Himself displays His knowledge of the rarity of true faith in the last days, or the days leading up to His second coming. By this, He is revealing to us that many people’s faith will not last. He is advising us that it will be a characteristic of the last days, and before Christ’s second coming that true faith will become increasingly difficult to find. This is therefore a challenge to us in these last days. Will we be among those who continue to persevere in the faith right up until our Lord returns? Or will we allow ourselves under the weight of the difficulties, trials, and pressures to see our faith diminish? Will we continue to trust God and wait upon Him as seen by a vital prayer life? This is the essential in relation to our Lord’s revealing question. Brethren, once again God has told us what will occur before it happens (John 14:29), and it is indeed occurring around us. May God give us the faith and understanding to pursue an active life of prayer, and move through the hardships of life in God’s strength waiting upon Him. He is with us, He has warned us, and He is coming again! Come, Lord Jesus!