Summary
Persistence in Prayer
In Luke 18:1-8, Jesus frames a parable with two pointed concerns: His people's "need to pray always and not to lose heart," and the searching question, "When the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on earth?" The verbs for praying and not losing heart stand in the continuous present tense—pray continually, keep heart, do not give up. Jesus tells this parable on the way to Jerusalem, knowing the cross awaits Him, and He is preparing His disciples to live in the long stretch between His ascension and His return.
The parable itself involves two characters who could not be more unequal. A widow, the most vulnerable person in ancient society, has no standing, no resources, and no rightful claim to bring her case. Yet God's law had always commanded special protection for widows and orphans (see Exodus 22:22-24 and Isaiah 1:17). She comes before an unjust judge who fears neither God nor man—not merely a crooked official, but one shameless across the board. She has no chance. And yet she goes. When refused, she goes again. And again. The Greek behind "wear me out" carries the sense of "give me a black eye." She is pertinacious—holding firmly to her course—and finally the judge relents, not from compassion but from sheer exhaustion.
Then comes the turn. If even an ungodly judge will yield to persistence, "will not God grant justice to His chosen ones who cry to Him day and night?" The parable works by contrast, not comparison. Unlike the widow, we have no innate standing before our Judge—we come bearing the sin we were born into and the sins we daily commit, condemned under the law for muttered curses, murderous thoughts, and grasping hearts. But God does not leave us condemned. Jesus is on His way to Jerusalem precisely to bear that wrath Himself, to give His own flesh and blood so that we might stand clothed in His righteousness. As Romans 8:31-34 declares, "It is God who justifies"—and the empty tomb is the seal that our sins are fully and completely forgiven.
This changes everything about prayer. We do not approach a reluctant tyrant who must be badgered into hearing us. We come before a Judge who is just, kind, and generous, who knows us better than we know ourselves, who has called us as His own through the waters of Baptism and sealed us with His Holy Spirit. More than that, He intercedes with us. Romans 8:26-27 promises that "the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words." God answers our prayers because God is praying for us through us.
Why, then, does Jesus call us to persistent prayer? Not to twist God's arm, but because persistence keeps us tethered to Him. Martin Luther once described his dog fixated on a piece of meat—wherever the meat moved, the dog's eyes followed, wholly attentive to the prize. We are called to be pertinacious prayers in just that way: eyes fixed on Christ, attention fixed on His kingdom. As the "Persistence" sermon puts it, persistent prayer and faith go together. The more we pray, the more our prayers come into line with God's will rather than our own timetable; the more we pray, the deeper we are rooted in the faith God has graciously given.
So Jesus' closing question—"will He find faith on earth?"—is not a threat hanging over anxious souls who fear they have not prayed enough. It is an invitation to trust the One who has already claimed us. Because we are His, secured by His blood and kept by His Spirit, the answer can only be a resounding yes and amen.
Video citations
- “Persistence” 10-29-23 — If you would please open your Bibles to the Gospel of Luke the 18th chapter, if you're using a Pue edition of the Bible, you can find this on page 70 in the New Testament, where in Luke the 18th…