A Lifestyle of Persistent Prayer
Discover the transformative power of persistent prayer in this insightful exploration of Luke 18:1-8, The Parable of the Unjust Judge. Discover new depths in your relationship with God by choosing a lifestyle of prayer and finding hope in God’s promises.
Context for the Parable of the Unjust Judge
When we read this parable, it’s important to know that the courtroom setting isn’t like our modern courtrooms. In the Middle East, during Jesus’ time, a courtroom was actually a tent that would move around from place to place as the Judge covered his circuit.
The Judge, not the law, set the agenda, and he sat regally in the tent, surrounded by his assistants. Anyone could watch the proceedings from the outside, but only those approved and accepted could have their cases tried. This usually meant bribing one of the assistants so that he would call the Judge’s attention to the case.
The widow had three obstacles to overcome:
As a woman, she had little standing before the law, and in Middle Eastern society, women did not go to court.
As a widow, she had no husband to stand with her in court.
In Jesus’ day, widows typically had difficulty making ends meet. This woman was poor and couldn’t pay a bribe even if she wanted to.
So, with that context laid out, let’s examine what we can learn from this parable.
What Can We Learn From the Parable of the Unjust Judge
1) Learn a Good Lesson From a Bad Example
JESUS: “In a certain city, there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected man. And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’ For a while, he refused, but afterward, he said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear God nor respect man, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.’” Luke 18:2-5
This Judge doesn’t fear God or respect people. Yet, this widow repeatedly visits him, and as she does, it begins to wear on his nerves. She becomes an irritant to him. At first, he tries to refuse her, but finally, he decides to give her justice so she doesn’t bother him anymore.
If a selfish judge finally meets the needs of a poor widow because she irritates him, how much more will a loving Father respond? If the unjust Judge would give justice, imagine how God, the just Judge, will give justice.
JESUS: “Hear what the unrighteous judge says. And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night?’ Will He delay long over them? I tell you, He will give justice to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on earth?” Luke 18:6-8
We might charge humans with being indifferent to needs, but you cannot charge God with indifference. God is nothing like this Judge!
Advocate: The woman had no advocate, but we have an advocate before the Father in Jesus Christ. Through His ascension, He’s now at the right hand of God, and He’s not twiddling His thumbs. He is actively interceding for you through the fullness of what He completed in His death, burial, and resurrection so that it will be ushered into your life.
Promises: The woman had no promises, but we have a Bible full of God’s promises to His children. Scholars tell us there are more than 7,000 promises in Scripture.
Outsider: The woman was an outsider, but we are not outsiders because, in Christ, we are children of God.
2) Choose a Lifestyle of Prayer
“And He (Jesus) told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart.” Luke 18:1 (emphasis added)
What does it mean always to pray? We have responsibilities, such as work, children, spouses, and so forth, so how do we remain in prayer?
There’s a distinction between crisis-oriented prayer and Christ-oriented prayer. Jesus invites us to pray continuously by proclaiming that we make our prayer life like breathing. It should be as natural as breathing. It’s not rocket science, but our breath is unconscious, and most of the time, we’re completely unaware of it.
When we pray continuously, it becomes a natural part of who we are. It’s the urgency to stop and pray continuously through our day by salt and peppering it into everything we do.
In the previous chapter of the Bible, Luke 17, Luke records several things relevant to setting this parable up. Jesus referenced vultures that gather around a carcass (Luke 17:37). He was communicating that society and our culture are like rotting corpses and that the atmosphere we live in is always polluted. Our world is fallen, and it’s bound to affect our spiritual lives.
However, when we pray, we draw on the pure air of Heaven. So, when we pray something like “Thy Kingdom come” from the Lord’s Prayer, that’s radical prayer. It’s praying for the purity and power of Heaven as the source to be manifested on Earth. It’s in that context that Jesus proclaims we must always pray.
Prayer is also much more than the words of our lips; it’s the desires of our hearts, and our hearts are constantly “desiring” before Him, even if we never speak a word. So, when Jesus says, “We ought always to pray,” He means that we would seek to be in constant and loving communion with the Father, petitioning Him for His blessing.
This isn’t isolated, either. See how it’s repeatedly referenced in Scripture.
“Pray without ceasing…” 1 Thessalonians 5:17
“And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.” Ephesians 6:18 (emphasis added)
“Watch you, therefore, and pray always, that you may be accounted worthy …” Luke 21:36 (emphasis added)
“Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer;” Romans 12:12 (emphasis added)
“Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit…” Ephesians 6:18 (emphasis added)
“Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving;” Colossians 4:2 (emphasis added)
We also see this in Jesus’ life and in His lifestyle as He’d pray. He’d pray in the garden. He would pray on the mountain. He’d pray in the lonely place. He’d pray all night. Jesus knew that He was dependent on prayer and communion with God, just like we are.
Pastor and author Daniel Henderson said, “Prayerlessness is our declaration of independence from God.” Let that not ring true among us. The famous song “What a Friend We Have in Jesus” declares, “Oh what peace we often forfeit, oh what needless pain we bear, all because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.”
[READ MORE: Three Keys to a Better Prayer Life]
3) Choose to Pray Rather Than Fainting and Losing Heart
“And He (Jesus) told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart.” Luke 18:1 (emphasis added)
Losing heart is a symptom of prayerlessness. The phrase “losing heart” or “fainting” describes a believer who has lost heart and gets so discouraged that they want to quit.
When I was in sixth grade, I got the flu and became so weak that I fainted. It was the most helpless feeling I’ve ever experienced. I could feel myself going down, but I couldn’t do anything about it. So, what Jesus is saying is if you don’t pray, you’re going to grow weak and faint. The only way to remain strong in the Lord’s power and might is to remain in Jesus. In John 15:5, Jesus told us that apart from Him, we can do nothing; Prayer is not optional.
Jesus invites us to move out of isolation and into a lifestyle of prayer. John Wesley believed that God does nothing except in answer to prayer, so if we’re to accomplish anything of eternal value, we must do it out of prayer. Wesley called prayer “the grand means of drawing near to God.” When we pray, we have supernatural enabling.
If you begin practicing a lifestyle, a rhythm of communicating with Him in prayer, within your Christianity, you’ll discover a new dimension of walking with Him in prayer. You’ll know Him.
How to Pray
On multiple occasions, I’ve had someone tell me that when they try to pray, their mind wanders, which is probably true for all of us. I know I’ve experienced that vulnerability as well. However, I encourage you to follow The Lord’s Prayer as your outline.
Our Father in Heaven, hallowed be your name
You begin in a posture of adoration and gratitude. Exalt Him!
Your kingdom come, your will be done.
You acknowledge God’s Kingdom is alive and active. How can I better align with His Kingdom? Pray for God’s will in the lives of your spouse, children, family, friends, coworkers, etc.
Your will be done on Earth as it is Heaven,
God, what is your will in my life? If you have a problem at work, a family member causing disruptions, or a looming conversation, allow God’s will to fuse with the circumstance.
Give us this day our daily bread,
The recognition of our physical, spiritual, and emotional needs. In the Greek, the word used for bread there means provisions. We’re asking God to meet our needs. He’s good to supply His children with their needs according to His riches and glory in Christ.
Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors,
Confess your sins and think of who you need to forgive. We have countless daily opportunities to offend others, so we must forgive quickly. If we fail to do so, it clogs up the flowing channel of grace in our lives. When we hold unforgiveness, it shuts down God’s mercy in our lives.
Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
Help me to avoid being led astray. In a fallen world, trials and tribulations are inevitable. We’ll be tempted to do the wrong thing, so we ought to pray for a posture of humility and ask the Lord to protect us from the Evil One.
[READ MORE: The Lord’s Prayer Explained]
There’s only one way to learn how to pray, and it’s as simple as just start praying. Begin to practice and start where you are. You can do it because the Savior who designed you knows you’re designed for communion with Him.
This parable is for all of us: new believers, those just test-driving Christianity, and even those who’ve been believers for decades. The Lord gave us His Word, the Holy Scriptures so that we can be equipped to live in the possibilities and realities that we’re designed for. We have the pattern God gave us in Christ, and it’s available to us so that we’re effective in God’s glory through the name of Jesus.
No one earns the status of being a child of God. He doesn’t look at our life and approve or disapprove of us because we pray or don’t pray. These are gifts He’s given us. It’s by grace that you become a child of God. It’s never by works because God is gracious and merciful. Through His son, who took our sins to the cross, we can know Him and be birthed into eternity. Through Him, our communion with Jesus, our advocate, we can access and enjoy every resource of God Himself in our lives.
TL;DR
The Parable of the Unjust Judge teaches us the importance of persistent prayer. Despite facing obstacles, the widow’s perseverance moves the Judge to grant her justice.
Through this parable, Jesus encourages us to:
Learn a good lesson from a bad example
Choose a lifestyle of prayer
Avoiding growing faint in our faith
By continuously seeking God in prayer, we draw closer to Him and experience His faithfulness.
Related Reading
What is Prayer by William Merriman
Why Doesn’t God Answer My Prayer by Rev. Paul Lawler
Three Keys to a Better Prayer Life by Rev. Paul Lawler
How to Move Mountains with Prayer by Rev. Paul Lawler