Jesus told his disciples a parable, to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart.Our Lord tells a parable about a certain judge who had no fear of God. In fact, he had no regard for anyone. As Christ paints the picture of this judge, he appears to be hard-hearted, and he probably takes bribes. If someone is coming before the judge in this parable, it’s probably best if that person is as dishonest as the judge.
- St. Luke 18:1
Into this picture comes a widow looking for justice. The judge refuses, most likely because the widow doesn’t offer him anything that would make it worthwhile to him. She comes back; again justice is refused. But she won’t stop, and her persistence is so great that finally the widow gets what she had come for – not because the judge had a change of heart, but because the persistent widow just wore him out. He gave her what she asked for, just to get rid of her. And with that, Jesus brings the parable to a conclusion: if this judge rendered justice to this widow, whom he didn’t even like, because she was wearing him out, how much more likely is it that God will hear the prayers of His children, whom He loves, and that He will give them justice, even though it might seem as though He is delaying.
It does seem, doesn’t it, that there are times when God delays so much in answering our requests that He seems to be deaf to our words. In fact, it seems sometimes that He even gives the opposite of what we ask. And try as we might, it is difficult to understand. In fact, our Lord asks a question in the Gospel, “Will he delay long over them?” He wants us to understand that what we ask for isn’t always obtained immediately, nor does the answer to prayer always come in the way we might expect. And He gives no explanation for that. He simply says that we must pray without ceasing, and we must accept those delays which are willed by God. It is because of those very delays in receiving answers to our prayers, which we all experience and which we all find difficult, that leads to Christ’s question: “When the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on earth?”
Our Lord knows that as we wait for answers to our prayers it is not always easy for us to persevere. That’s why we need to look at the widow in the parable. She never gives up. She is confident that eventually she will get an answer, so she perseveres. She remains humble; she remains faithful to her request; she keeps appealing to the judge until he answers.
That’s part of the lesson for us in our prayers: perseverance, humility, and faithfulness. And when it comes to our prayers it means that we must be willing to accept the answer we get.
We cannot approach God with a shopping list, and there is no reason why we should expect to get whatever we pray for in exactly the way we ask for it. Often a father must refuse the request of a child, because he knows that what the child asks would hurt rather than help. God, as our loving father, is like that, too. We don’t know what will happen in the next hour, let alone in the next week, or month, or year. Only God sees time whole, and so only God knows what is truly good for us in the long run. That’s why Jesus said we must never be discouraged in prayer. That’s why He asks if men's faith would stand the long delays before the Son of Man should come. We will never grow weary in prayer and our faith will never falter if, after we have offered to God our prayers and requests, we add the perfect prayer, “Thy will be done.”
That is the ultimate model of prayer for us – our Lord in Gethsemane on the night in which He was betrayed, when He asked His heavenly Father if the difficult cup could pass from Him. He finished His request by praying, “nevertheless not My Will, but Thine be done.” Be persistent, yes. But then, be accepting of God’s answer to prayer. He loves us with a love which is beyond measure and beyond comprehension. So when our prayer is concluded with “Thy Will be done” we can know that He will answer our prayers perfectly, in the way that truly is best for us.
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Image: "The Unjust Judge and the Importunate Widow"
by Sir John Everett Millais, Bt (1829–1896)