Luke 18:1-8 (NIV)
1 Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. 2 He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought. 3 And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’
4 “For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think, 5 yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come and attack me!’”
6 And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. 7 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? 8 I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”
Reflection:
“Prevailing prayer is that which gets an answer” (Charles Finney). It is in this prevailing prayer that we persist and not give up. In this parable of the persistent widow, we find an example of what it looks like to prevail - to pray constantly, bringing our requests continually before God as we live for him day by day, and believing He will answer. This last part is very important and often missed - faith in God as the One who answers prayer is a condition of having our prayers answered. When we live by faith, we are not to give up. Faith is more than an “attitude” and hoping that things will get better. No, faith is action in response to the One who answers our prayers. As we persist in prayer, we will grow in character, in hope, and in faith.
Responding to the Transmission:
As we are learning how to pray, let us persist in lifting our prayers to the Lord. Like the persistent widow, let us approach our Lord in faith, believing that He will hear us and answer our prayers out of His goodness.