"And He spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint."
Luke 18:1-8
Part 5
Yesterday: God Tells Us to Help Widows and Orphans
“A Widow in that city.”
“Avenge me of mine adversary.”
Today: With this Ungodly, Unjust Judge Persistence Paid Off
The widow has been steadfast in her pestering of the unjust judge. Will he help her?
“He would not for a while…”
Can you imagine anyone not helping a “widow indeed?” How long did he wait to help her? We don’t know. But it was long enough for him to say, “lest by her continual coming she weary me.” An interesting choice of words.
Her “continual coming,” her “coming forever!”[1] (JFB).
“She weary me!” that is, “Stun me. A metaphor taken from boxers, who bruise each other, and by beating each other about the face blacken the eyes”[2] (Clarke).
Finally, when he had had enough, the unjust judge helped her. Not for her sake but for his own selfish reasons, he assisted. This is so unlike our God! We need to pay attention to Jesus’ words as He ends His parable:
“And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith. And shall not God avenge His own elect, which cries day and night unto Him, though He bears long with them? I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of man cometh, shall He find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:6-8).
We need to pay attention to what this judge said. He did not know this woman. To him, she was just a pest. But he finally helped her to get her off his back. This is where we believers have the advantage when we pray. In contrast to the unjust judge, our loving Heavenly Father hears us when we come night and day with requests. We may not understand our Lord’s timing in His answering us, but we can rest assured that His response is always for our good and His glory. For God’s child, this is part of “living by faith.”
The question Jesus asks at the end of the parable makes us wonder if, by the time He returns, there will still be those who pray persistently by faith left on the earth? So when we pray and think we aren’t hearing from God as quickly we would like, let’s remember the words of these verses of scripture God has put into His Word for us.
“As for me, I will call upon God; and the LORD shall save me. Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice” (Psalm 55:16-17).
“Be merciful unto me, O Lord: for I cry unto thee daily” (Psalm 86:3).
“He will regard the prayer of the destitute, and not despise their prayer” (Psalm 102:17).
“I cried unto thee, O LORD: I said, Thou art my refuge and my portion in the land of the living. Attend unto my cry; for I am brought very low: deliver me from my persecutors; for they are stronger than I. Bring my soul out of prison, that I may praise thy name: the righteous shall compass me about; for thou shalt deal bountifully with me” (Psalm 142:5-7).
“Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving” (Colossians 4:2).
“Pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17).
Thank you, Lord, for listening to my prayer!
Quote: “The value of persistent prayer is not that He will hear us but that we will finally hear Him”[3] (William McGill).
[1] JFB, ibid.
[2] Adam Clarke, Adam Clarke’s Commentary on the Bible, the electronic version in eSword.
[3] McGill’s quote Downloaded: Friday, June 11, 2021. From: https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/3318945.William_McGill. William McGill (December 29, 1814 – November 9, 1883) was a politician in Ontario, Canada.