The Persistent Widow and other spiritual videos? The parable of the persistent widow and the unjust judge (Luke 18:1–8) is part of a series of illustrative lessons Jesus Christ used to teach His disciples about prayer. Luke introduces this lesson as a parable meant to show the disciples “that they should always pray and never give up” (verse 1, NLT).
We do not always get immediate results when we pray. Our definition of swift justice is not the same as the Lord’s definition. The parable of the persistent widow demonstrates that effective prayer requires tenacity and faithfulness. A genuine disciple must learn that prayer never gives up and is based on absolute trust and faith in God. We can fully count on the Lord to answer when, where, and how He chooses. God expects us to keep on asking, seeking, knocking, and praying until the answers come (Matthew 7:7–8). Disciples of Jesus are people of persistent faith.
Most have felt that we have been overlooked, neglected, or abused. Most of us have felt rejected a time or two. Of and by themselves, these feelings are not wrong. But, again, we must beware, because these feelings can begin to generate pride. Such a thing fed Helel’s feelings about himself. They simmered in him and made him angry, and he desired to assert his will to control the governance of all that was happening. “I will ascend to heaven,” he said, and he tried to. We see the pattern here; we can see the process involved from beginning to end.
Today’s story is called the parable of the persistent widow. One day, Jesus wanted to tell his disciples how to pray, and he wanted them to know what to pray without giving up. So he told this story, he said in a town, there was a judge who didn’t care about people. And he even didn’t care about God. Also in this town, there was a widow who had been wronged by someone else in the town. She came to the judge to seek justice, but he didn’t give it to her. So she continued to come back to the judge and ask him to grant justice against the person who had done this wrong to her. He said no time and time again. The finally, after some time he thought to himself, even though I don’t care about this problem, this widow is not going to stop bothering me because of this. See even more details with the The Persistent Widow video on YouTube.
The second point is that only God can bring about justice in a corrupt world. That is why we must pray and not give up in our work. God can bring miraculous justice in a corrupt world, just as God can bring miraculous healing in a sick world. Suddenly, the Berlin wall opens, the apartheid regime crumbles, peace breaks out. In the parable of the persistent widow, God does not intervene. The widow’s persistence alone leads the judge to act justly. But Jesus indicates that God is the unseen actor. “Will not God grant justice for his chosen ones who cry to him day and night?” (Luke 18:7).