Jesus tells the parable of the persistent widow to teach his disciples “that they should always pray and not give up.”

The widow has been wronged.

She needs justice, but she has little power to get it. The judge she keeps coming to does not fear God and does not care about people. He is the worst. But she keeps coming. She keeps asking. She does not give up.

Eventually, the judge gives her justice, not because he has become good, but because her persistence has worn him out.

Jesus is not saying that God is like the unjust judge. He is making the opposite point. If even an unjust judge eventually responds to persistent pleading, how much more will God care for his people who cry out to him day and night?

The context matters. Jesus has been talking about his return and the trouble his people will face before that day. He is preparing them for hardship. He is not telling them to be afraid. He is telling them to pray.

Persistent prayer is persistent faith.

When we stop praying, we can begin living as though God has no role in our lives. We may still believe the right things in our heads, but we stop bringing our needs, fears, sins, hopes, and neighbors before God.

Jesus asks a searching question at the end of the parable: “When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”

One way we answer that question is by continuing to pray. We pray when life is calm. We pray when life is hard. We pray for justice. We pray for people who are sick. We pray for our families, our church, our schools, our neighbors, and the people God has placed around us.

We do not pray because we are trying to pressure God into caring. We pray because he does care. He sees what is wrong. He hears his people. And he will make things right.

Table Discussion Questions:

1. What is one area where I have been tempted to stop praying or give up hope?

2. What does my current prayer life reveal about where I am trusting God and where I am trying to carry things on my own?

3. Who is one person, family, or situation that I can commit to praying for this week?

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