Luke 18:1-8

Since I was a kid, I was always told that I was stubborn, which is usually associated with a negative connotation. Until someone came along and told me that I was not stubborn, but rather tenacious and persistent, which is good! After that even the word stubborn stopped bothering me. Jesus tells a story about a prayer hero who was nothing less than stubborn, and persistent.

The parable of the widow and the judge is an illustration Jesus 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.” (v. 1)

The parable of the persistent widow (to better describe it) demonstrates that effective prayer requires tenacity and faithfulness. When we pray we do not always get immediate results. Our definition of swift justice is not the same as God’s! Yet we keep asking! Jesus teaches his disciples that prayer never gives up and is based on persistent faith.

Tomorrow we explore further the theme of prayer as we expound this parable in our bible study. I hope to see many of you there.

Prayer: When I finally tire and tend to give up, give me one more bit of courage and one more bit of persistent faith. Amen.