by Rev. Canon David B. Tabo-oy
in God. ”
v1Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to teach them that they should always pray and never become discouraged. v2″In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected people. v3And there was a widow in that same town who kept coming to him and pleading for her rights, saying, ‘Help me against my opponent!’ v4For a long time the judge refused to act, but at last he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or respect people, v5yet because of all the trouble this widow is giving me, I will see to it that she gets her rights. If I don’t, she will keep on coming and finally wear me out!’” v6And the Lord continued, “Listen to what that corrupt judge said. v7Now, will God not judge in favor of his own people who cry to him day and night for help? Will he be slow to help them? v8I tell you, he will judge in their favor and do it quickly. But will the Son of Man find faith on earth when he comes?”
Jesus uses a widow and a judge, who is no respecter of God or people, to demonstrate the power of persistence in prayer. The widow, like a pesky gnat, demonstrate the power of persistence in prayer. The widow harasses the judge to hear her case until, sufficiently tired by her doggedness, tries and decides the case in her favor. Just so, Jesus says, God will answer our prayers if we persist like the determined widow. Luke makes sure that we know what the parable is all about. He introduces it by saying this: He spoke to them in a parable to show that they should keep on praying and never lose heart. This parable means be patient, don’t lose heart, don’t give up, keep on trusting, because you can count on God… and God will come through for you.
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The purpose of the parable is to encourage Christians to persevere in their faith against all odds. But it also has two applications for those who work in positions of leadership. First, the juxtaposition of a corrupt judge with a just God implies that God’s will is at work even in a corrupt world. The judge’s job is to do justice, and by God, he will do justice by the time the widow is finished with him. Elsewhere, the Bible teaches that the civil authorities serve by God’s authorization, whether they acknowledge it or not (John 19:11; Romans 13:1; 1 Peter 2:13). So there is hope that even in the midst of systemic injustice, justice may be done. A Christian leader’s job is always to work toward that hope. We cannot right every wrong in the world in our lifetimes. But we must never give up hope, and never stop working for the greater good amid the imperfect systems where our work occurs. Legislators, for example, seldom have a choice of voting for a good bill versus a bad bill. Usually the best they can do is to vote for bills that do more good than bad. But they must continually look for opportunities to bring bills to a vote that do even less harm and even more good.
The second point is that only God can bring about justice in a corrupt world. That is why we must pray and not give up in our work. God can bring miraculous justice in a corrupt world, just as God can bring miraculous healing in a sick world. In this parable, God does not intervene. The widow’s persistence alone leads the judge to act justly. But Jesus indicates that God is the unseen actor. “Will not God grant justice for his chosen ones who cry to him day and night?” (Luke 18:7).
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Jesus urges us to pray continually and never to grow discouraged. He encourages us with the assurance that our prayer will be answered and that we will not be disappointed. The widow, with her dogged determination to gain justice from the careless judge, is put before us as an example of perseverance in prayer. Persistence is her strong point and she exercises it relentlessly without losing heart. Despite the odds, she keeps up her petition and wears the judge down until he eventually grants her justice for the sake of his own health.
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In an age where we have become accustomed to instant results and are impatient with endless delays, Christ’s message is to keep on praying, to keep on knocking and not to give up easily because the values we cherish are not instantly available and take time to establish. Making prayer a daily habit means that we appreciate its importance and are prepared to make room for it in a busy routine. When something becomes precious to us we don’t leave it to chance. We pursue it doggedly like the widow in the parable. Continual prayer somehow, like breathing, is a necessity if we are to avail of God’s help and strength in getting safely through this life to heaven. God offers opportunities to learn the spiritual and emotional power of ceaseless prayer. Praying at all times moves God and changes us. God delights in hearing our insistent pleas of assistance. They touch the divine heart and deepen our own character and resourcefulness. Persistent prayer expresses our faith in God.
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Prayer is talking to God, and when we pray, we are to speak our hearts in a real human way, making use of the style which suits us best. We need be under no pressure to be other than what we are and what we feel at that moment. It doesn’t matter whether we are joyful, depressed, angry or frustrated. There is no reason to be ashamed because we are in the presence of a friend who understands. We pray because there is confusion in our lives and because we need guidance to make proper decisions. There are our wrong-doings for which we need forgiveness, and our successes for which we ought to give thanks. One pressing problem is that, while we expect immediate results, God seems to remain silent and inattentive to our requests. It is good to remember that we are not telling God anything that he doesn’t know, so we can be assured that he hears our every prayer. He will not refuse what is for our benefit and will grant us what we ask in his own good time and as he sees it fit. If we get our praying right, the rest of life will fall into place. Prayer is the oil that keeps the lamp of faith burning brightly, drawing us closer to God and enabling us to produce good works. (Desmond Knowles)
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This parable also speaks to the divinely rooted call to pursue justice, while also grounding it in the context of living a faithful life. It urges us to resist the tendency to think about prayer in a simplified one-way traffic, as merely words we offer to God in a transactional and hierarchical manner (in other words, the idea of praying to God the “Father” up in the sky). It also makes a clear, intimate, and inseparable connection, in my view, between prayer and justice. This parable invites all who would receive it to think of prayer as an active, dynamic, relational, and even mystical enterprise between us and God.
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v2Be persistent in prayer, and keep alert as you pray, giving thanks to God. (Colossians 4:2)
v18Do all this in prayer, asking for God’s help. Pray on every occasion, as the Spirit leads. For this reason keep alert and never give up; pray always for all God’s people. (Ephesians 6:18)
Let us pray.
Heavenly Father, we entrust our needs to you. Show us the way to pray continually so that we may always be united to you. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
