Persevering in Prayer for paper
“Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared about men. And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’ “For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care about men, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually wear me out with her coming!’” And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly.” Luke 18:1–8
If you have ever been in a similar situation, it is a blessing to be able to read this text. Jesus has a word for you. In Luke’s narrative, Jesus sees that his disciples are about to lose heart. Discipleship has been difficult for them—and it’s about to get harder. Jesus has begun to predict his crucifixion, and the disciples don’t comprehend. They have watched as the religious leaders have challenged Jesus. Jesus has called for forgiveness so radical that they fear they cannot do it. And so Jesus pauses to tell them a parable.
As we listen to the parable, it is easy for us to identify with the woman. Perhaps we, like her, having struggled with injustice, having fought to have a voice, having been denied a seat at the table, understand what it is like to be overlooked. It would be easy for us to think that Jesus was giving us an example of a woman who had nothing and yet used everything to continue fighting. It would be easy to look at this parable and to conclude that Jesus was telling us, “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.” It would be easy to do that. But it would be wrong.
Notice how Jesus does not ask us to focus on the widow. Even though we are interested in her situation, we don’t hear about her case. We don’t hear some secret about how she found the strength to carry on. Instead, Jesus tells us to focus on the judge. In fact, Jesus explicitly says, “Hear what the unrighteous judge says”
Why on earth would we want to listen to the judge? The judge is arrogant. He does not care about God or about people. The judge is selfish. The only reason he grants the widow justice is to keep her from bothering him anymore. What good could come from listening to an unrighteous, arrogant, selfish person?
A great deal. You see, Jesus is making a lesser-to-greater argument. He knows that the judge is about the worst person you could encounter. But he wants you to know that if you get justice when you come persistently before an unrighteous judge like that, imagine what will happen when you come before a righteous judge like Jesus’ Father. Jesus wants us to look at the unrighteous judge so that we treasure all the more fully the righteous judge that God has revealed himself to be. God truly desires to bring about justice. God cares about people. God not only invites people to pray, but he also promises to listen to their prayers. Jesus knows that what motivates us for prayer is not a command that we should pray ever more fervently, but rather a promise that God has brought us into his kingdom, where he promises to hear our prayers and to answer them.
The unrighteous judge was selfish. He didn’t want to be given a black eye by the widow’s constant complaining. Jesus Christ is selfless. He not only wants to bear our burdens, but he also is willing to be crucified that he might carry our sins to the grave and rise to rule over any suffering that afflicts us. In the death and resurrection of Jesus, God has shown himself to be loving and faithful. He forgives your sin and promises you life in his kingdom.
And if Jesus is willing to bear your sins, if Jesus desires to be your Savior, what burden could possibly be too much for him to bear? What prayer would be too great for him to hear?
This Jesus comes today to you in this place. This Jesus calls you through this parable and encourages you never to lose heart. If you have a prayer request that you are getting tired of making, if you have a burden that you are tired of carrying, if you have a battle that you are tired of fighting, do not give up. Jesus is coming, and he encourages you to carry on and not give up. He holds the entire world in his hands, and he is working all things together for your good, for the good of those who love him.
Blessing