The Response

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 what people thought.  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 what people think, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come and attack me!’”                                                                  Luke 18:1-5

In the book of Luke chapter 18, Jesus told a parable about a “persistent widow” to illustrate God’s response to prayer. In the parable, he told of a judge who was apparently a pretty aloof and uncaring person. In the story, the poor widow hounded him continually to seek justice from an adversary. The judge, tired of her constant pleas, and in order to get rid of her, finally granted her request.

The judge in this story was simply interested in saving himself from a woman who bugged him day and night. He responded to her not because he was interested in right judgment, but because he wanted to be unburdened of her requests. Jesus had told this parable to illustrate to his disciples that they should “pray and not give up”.

The point of this parable is not a comparison between God and the judge. It is a contrast between God and the judge. Jesus was instructing that we should indeed continue to pray and not give up, but the idea is not to somehow change the mind of a reluctant giver. It is to illustrate that we are praying to a God who is willing and able to grant our requests. We are encouraged to continue to seek God in the process.

Does God answer all our requests the way we would like, and when we would like? No, he does not. Does he hear and want to give us what is best for us?

Yes, he does.

Prayer: Lord, we trust in your provision for us, Amen