The Parable of the Persistent Widow
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!’”
And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. 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? 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?” Luke 18 :1-8
The parable of the praying widow teaches that men always ought to pray and not lose heart. The parable pictures an unrighteous judge who was ordinarily quite unmoved by fear of God or regard for fellow man. The widow came to the judge persistently, asking him for justice. The unjust judge was unmoved by the validity of her case the fact that she was being treated unjustly did not move him to action. However, the regularity with which she came before him prompted him to act and brought a decision in her favor.
When an unjust judge would act in behalf of a poor widow because of her persistence, how much more will the just God intervene in behalf of His own people. Do not give up, but continue in prayer until you see the deliverance.
