Then Jesus told them a parable about their need to pray always and not to lose heart.  He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor had respect for people.  In that city there was a widow who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Grant me justice against my opponent.’  For a while he refused; but later he said to himself, ‘Though I have no fear of God and no respect for anyone,  yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will grant her justice, so that she may not wear me out by continually coming.’”  And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says.  And will not God grant justice to his chosen ones who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long in helping them?  I tell you, he will quickly grant justice to them. And yet, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”

POINTERS FOR PRAYER

1. The purpose of prayer is not to change God’s mind, but to change ourselves and we can be slow to move. When have you found that persistence in prayer strengthened your faith in the presence of God with you in that struggle?

2. The context of the story may be a concern about the delay in the final coming of the Lord. Have there been times when your persistence in prayer, or action, was eventually rewarded after a period when you had doubts about the outcome? What were the fruits of your persistent prayer?

3. Behind the story lies the final question of Jesus: Who does have faith? Who have been models of faith and trust in God for you? How has that trust been shown in their lives? How is it shown in yours?

There can be no “part-time” discipleship. Likewise, there can be no part time prayer. The deep reason behind this is that God loves my whole person and desires all that I am. Constancy in discipleship demands constancy in prayer; and constancy in prayer builds discipleship. In other words, they can be no separation of life and prayer— the goal is the same, the integration of my whole self into the Christian project. However, the relationship is primary. It is not that practical action is more important and prayer helps, but that prayer is more important and how I live is the test of my prayer.

This is a parable, which means that the details cannot be pressed too hard. Usually a parable has a main point to make. In this passage, Luke gives the parable a heading which points us clearly to the message: Then Jesus told them a parable about their need to pray always and not to lose heart.