2194 Parable of the Persistent Widow

Luke 18: 1-8

“One day Jesus told his disciples a story to show that they should always pray and never give up.

‘There was a judge in a certain city,’ he said, ‘who neither feared God nor cared about people. A widow of that city came to him repeatedly, saying, ‘Give me justice in this dispute with my enemy.’ The judge ignored her for a while, but finally he said to himself, ‘I don’t fear God or care about people, but this woman is driving me crazy. I’m going to see that she gets justice, because she is wearing me out with her constant requests!’

Then the Lord said, ‘Learn a lesson from this unjust judge. Even he rendered a just decision in the end. So don’t you think God will surely give justice to his chosen people who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will grant justice to them quickly! But when the Son of Man returns, how many will he find on the earth who have faith?’”

What’s the meaning of this story? Thankfully Luke tells us completely in the first verse: “You should always pray and never give up.” Okay, so this circumstance you’re dealing with, this decision you have to make, the situation with this person – what should you do? You should PRAY ABOUT IT! Whatever it is, whoever it is, no matter what, you should always be praying about it.

What exactly does that mean? Really, what would it look like to really pray about what you’re facing or what you’re going through?

We can make prayer overly fussy and complicated. It is just conversation with our Father. It is a continual consideration of his input. It means you don’t just think about it – you talk to God about it.

You have a decision to make? Talk to God about it.

You’re frustrated with someone? Talk to God about it.

You’re worried about what might happen? Talk to God about it.

You don’t know what to do next? Talk to God about it.

And then—and this is the part we sometimes miss—you listen.