Later Jesus uses another story to instruct the people about God and prayer.
This time he tells them of a widow who has received unfair treatment. She goes to the judge seeking justice. But the unscrupulous judge ignores her appeals for help. Despite him dismissing her, she keeps coming before him, over and over. She’s so intense that he begins to fear for his safety.
Eventually, she wears him down.
Even though he cares nothing about her plight or doing what’s right, he decides to help her just so she’ll stop bugging him. In the end, he makes sure she receives the ruling she sought all along.
This, Jesus says, is an illustration to keep praying for what we need. If an unjust judge will answer a woman’s pleas, how much more will a just God answer ours?
Do we ask God once and stop, or are we persistent when we pray?
[Discover more about the persistent widow in Luke 18:1–8.]
Learn about other biblical women in Women of the Bible, available in audiobook, e-book, paperback, and hardcover.
A lifelong student of the Bible, Peter DeHaan, PhD, wrote the 1,000-page website ABibleADay.com to encourage people to explore the Bible. His main blog and many books urge Christians to push past the status quo and reconsider how they practice their faith in every area of their lives.