Luke 18 And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart.

Ecclesiastes 3:11

¹¹ He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man's heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.

That men always ought to pray: Man is created with a spiritual instinct (Ecclesiastes 3:11), so prayer often comes naturally. Yet obstacles come in the way of effective and constant prayer, so Jesus knew we needed to be both taught and encouraged always… to pray.

Jesus did not mean that we should always have our knees bent and eyes closed in prayer; but we must always be in what is sometimes called the spirit of prayer. Paul mentioned this idea in 1 Thessalonians 5:17 when he wrote, pray without ceasing. It’s hard to measure how much good such constant prayer would do, and how much bad it would keep us from.

And not lose heart: Often we fail in praying because we lose heart. We become discouraged, and then no longer pray as we should.

It is easy to lose heart in prayer because prayer is hard work that we too often approach lightly. In Colossians 4:12, Paul praised a man named Epaphras because he was always laboring fervently… in prayers. Paul knew that prayer was hard work that required fervent labor.

It is easy to lose heart in prayer because the Devil hates prayer. If prayer were powerless, it would be easy.

It is easy to lose heart in prayer because we are not always convinced of the reality of the power of prayer. Too often, prayer becomes a last resort instead of a first resource.

Remember that Jesus lived a prayerful life, and He ever lives to pray for His people (Hebrews 7:25). We must therefore not lose heart in prayer.

Remain steadfast in prayer, remain fervent in prayer, remember who your intercessor is, and never loose heart in prayer.