Shall He Not Avenge Us?

"And He spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray and not to faint; Saying, There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man: And there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary.  And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, 'Though I fear not God, nor regard man; Yet because this widow troubleth me,I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me. And the Lord said, hear what the unjust judge saith. And shall not God avenge His Own elect, which cry day and night unto Him, though He bear long with them? I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of Man cometh, shall He find faith in the earth? Luke 18:1-8.  First of all, what exactly does avenge mean? Well, the root word is vengeance, so it means to bring about justice. So this judge did not deliver this widow from her adversary, because he cared for her, but because he knew that the woman would keep pestering him, so he decided to get it over with.  He also was worried that his reputation as a judge would be ruined. So he did it out of pure self-interest.  So if a worldly judge delivered a needy one, how much more will our Heavenly Father who loves more than we could ever understand, deliver His people from their enemies, and problems!
    One thing that struck me when I read this passage today, is that if we have a heavy burden, or struggle, or affliction of any kind, Jesus wants us to bring that petition to Him every day and night!  Sometimes I tend to think,'Well, doesn't God already know what I want?' Of course He does know what we want, but He wants us to let Him know how serious we are in trusting Him. And sometimes if we don't trust Him, He might delay the gratification of your want, to 'wake' us up. Psalm 72:12 says, "For He shall deliver the needy when he crieth; the poor also and him that hath no helper. He shall spare the poor and the needy, and shall save the souls of the needy. He shall redeem their soul from deceit and violence: and precious shall their blood be in his sight." So God will deliver us when we cry to Him for it.  Jeremiah 29:12,13 says,"Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart."  What a promise! Let's claim it today!