Psalms 50:15

50:15 Pray to me when you are in trouble! ¹ 

I will deliver you, and you will honor me!” ² 

Psalms 91:15

91:15 When he calls out to me, I will answer him.

I will be with him when he is in trouble;

I will rescue him and bring him honor.

Micah 7:7

7:7 But I will keep watching for the Lord;

I will wait for the God who delivers me.

My God will hear my lament. ³ 

Habakkuk 3:17-18

3:17 When ⁴  the fig tree does not bud,

and there are no grapes on the vines;

when the olive trees do not produce, ⁵ 

and the fields yield no crops; ⁶ 

when the sheep disappear ⁷  from the pen,

and there are no cattle in the stalls,

3:18 I will rejoice because of ⁸  the Lord;

I will be happy because of the God who delivers me!

Luke 18:1

Prayer and the Parable of the Persistent Widow

18:1 Then ⁹  Jesus ¹⁰  told them a parable to show them they should always ¹¹  pray and not lose heart. ¹² 

Luke 18:7

18:7 Won’t ¹³  God give justice to his chosen ones, who cry out ¹⁴  to him day and night? ¹⁵  Will he delay ¹⁶  long to help them?

Philippians 4:6-7

4:6 Do not be anxious about anything. Instead, in every situation, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, tell your requests to God. 4:7 And the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds ¹⁷  in Christ Jesus.

[50:15]  ¹ tn Heb “call [to] me in a day of trouble.”

[50:15]  ² sn In vv. 7-15 the Lord makes it clear that he was not rebuking Israel because they had failed to offer sacrifices (v. 8a). On the contrary, they had been faithful in doing so (v. 8b). However, their understanding of the essence of their relationship with God was confused. Apparently they believed that he needed/desired such sacrifices and that offering them would ensure their prosperity. But the Lord owns all the animals of the world and did not need Israel’s meager sacrifices (vv. 9-13). Other aspects of the relationship were more important to the Lord. He desired Israel to be thankful for his blessings (v. 14a), to demonstrate gratitude for his intervention by repaying the vows they made to him (v. 14b), and to acknowledge their absolute dependence on him (v. 15a). Rather than viewing their sacrifices as somehow essential to God’s well-being, they needed to understand their dependence on him.

[7:7]  ³ tn Heb “me.” In the interest of clarity the nature of the prophet’s cry has been specified as “my lament” in the translation.

[3:17]  ⁴ tn Or “though.”

[3:17]  ⁵ tn Heb “the produce of the olive disappoints.”

[3:17]  ⁶ tn Heb “food.”

[3:17]  ⁷ tn Or “are cut off.”

[3:18]  ⁸ tn Or “in.”

[18:1]  ⁹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[18:1]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[18:1]  ¹¹ tn Or “should pray at all times” (L&N 67.88).

[18:1]  ¹² sn This is one of the few parables that comes with an explanation at the start: …they should always pray and not lose heart. It is part of Luke’s goal in encouraging Theophilus (1:4).

[18:7]  ¹³ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[18:7]  ¹⁴ sn The prayers have to do with the righteous who cry out to him to receive justice. The context assumes the righteous are persecuted.

[18:7]  ¹⁵ tn The emphatic particles in this sentence indicate that God will indeed give justice to the righteous.

[18:7]  ¹⁶ sn The issue of delay has produced a whole host of views for this verse. (1) Does this assume provision to endure in the meantime? Or (2) does it mean God restricts the level of persecution until he comes? Either view is possible.

[4:7]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “will guard the hearts of you and the minds of you.” To improve the English style, the second occurrence of ὑμῶν (Jumwn, “of you”) has not been translated, since it is somewhat redundant in English.