To Whom Should I Go?

One day Jesus told his disciples a story to show that they should always pray and never give up.

Luke 18:1

Luke records a parable that Jesus told with the express purpose of teaching this one lesson: pray and never give up. All wrapped up in that instruction is the promise that prayer works. All the time.

Why would Jesus tell a parable with such a specific focus and goal? Obviously he knew that his disciples would have experiences in prayer that would make them want to give up. He knew times would come when prayer felt like knocking on a door that no one was answering.

Look at the characters Jesus created: two people from the extreme opposite ends of society’s order—a judge and a widow. The judge had absolute power. He answered to no one. He made decisions about people’s lives. A widow was one of society’s most defenseless beings. A widow in the Palestine of Jesus’ day had no voice. She could cry out day and night, and no one had to pay any attention to her. She had no way to stand up for herself.

This widow had a need, and she knew that only the judge had the power to do what she needed to have done. So she kept knocking on his door. She was not dissuaded by the fact that he did not care about her. She did not give up, because she had nowhere else to go. She didn’t keep trying to do battle with her adversaries. She didn’t keep trying to manipulate the situation until she got what she wanted. She knew where her answer could be found.

The judge is the opposite of God. If this judge, loathsome as he was, gave the widow what she needed, surely the Father, who loves you, will give you what you need.

Sometimes in prayer, you will feel like the widow. You will feel as if you are being ignored. If, like the widow, you keep knocking in spite of how discouraged you feel, you will find that your Father has indeed heard and has been responding from the very first knock.

Lord, you are our hope and our salvation. We come to you because you have the words that give eternal life.

Prayer is not overcoming God’s reluctance, but laying hold of His willingness.

Martin Luther(1483–1546), German theologian and reformer