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1 Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. 2 He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought. 3 And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’ 4 “For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think, 5 yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come and attack me!’ ” 6 And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. 7 And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? 8 I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:1-8 NIV)
The bishop of Smyrna (now modern day Turkey) and for 86 years was a faithful servant of the Lord Jesus. As Rome found out that there were Christian leaders not willing to bow down and worship Caesar, they ordered his arrest. When his captors came to his residence, he asked for an hour to pray before they led him off. He prayed for all the captors by name and touched many with his sincere prayers for each of them. By the time he ended the prayers not all of them were convinced of the need to cart him off; but they did to the arena in Smyrna, where in front of a cheering crowd he was asked to renounce Jesus and worship the emperor. Polycarp refused, saying, ""Eighty and six years I have served Him, and He has done me no wrong. How then can I blaspheme my King and Savior?".This angered the Roman official who ordered him to be burned alive. According to the narrative, when the fire was lit, it miraculously formed an arch around him and did not consume his body; onlookers saw him glowing with a heavenly light. Since the fire did not kill him, an executioner was ordered to stab him. His blood reportedly poured out in such quantity that it extinguished the surrounding flames. His body was later burned. The legacy was forever his; that he was a man of faith and prayer, praying even til his own end.
We come to an older hero in the faith, an unknown, unnamed woman, a widow, who though she lived in a certain town with a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought about him. But his widow who had a need and kept pestering the judge for justice, but he initially refused and she kept coming to him asking the same thing over and over again. Remember this was Jesus trying to teach his disciples they should pray without ceasing.
Yet she keeps coming. Day after day, she appears before this corrupt judge with the same request: "Grant me justice against my adversary." She doesn't have new arguments or better evidence. She just keeps showing up, keeps asking, keeps refusing to accept silence as an answer. And here's what's remarkable—her persistence works. Not because the judge suddenly develops a conscience or discovers compassion, but because her relentless appearing becomes impossible to ignore. He grants her justice simply to get her to stop bothering him.
If an unjust judge will eventually respond to persistent asking, Jesus says, how much more will a loving Father respond to His children who cry out to Him day and night? The parable isn't teaching us that God is like the unjust judge—it's teaching us through contrast. If persistence can move an unrighteous judge who doesn't care, how much more powerful is persistence before a righteous God who does care, who loves us, who longs to give good gifts to His children?
We live in a culture of instant gratification where waiting feels like punishment and delay feels like denial. We're conditioned to expect immediate results, quick fixes, and fast answers. When we pray and nothing seems to happen, our natural response is to assume either God isn't listening or the answer is no. We give up. We stop asking. We convince ourselves that persistence is pointless or that continued prayer reveals a lack of faith.
But Jesus teaches exactly the opposite. He says we should "always pray and not give up." The widow's persistence wasn't a sign of weak faith—it was the expression of unshakeable conviction that justice existed and could be obtained. Her refusal to give up wasn't annoying the judge into submission; it was maintaining faith when circumstances suggested she should abandon hope. Persistent prayer isn't about changing God's mind or manipulating Him into action. It's about refusing to let go of what we know to be true about God's character even when our circumstances seem to contradict it.
The parable ends with a sobering question: "However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?" This isn't a rhetorical flourish or a throwaway line. Jesus has just taught about persistent prayer as the mark of genuine faith, and now He wonders aloud whether He'll find this kind of faith when He returns. The implication is clear: one of the primary ways faith is tested and proven is through perseverance in prayer when answers don't come quickly.
Faith that gives up when prayers aren't answered immediately isn't really faith in God—it's faith in outcomes, faith in timing we can control, faith in getting what we want when we want it. True faith continues to pray not because we see results but because we know the character of the One we're praying to. We persist not to convince God of our seriousness but to demonstrate our trust in His goodness even when we can't see His hand at work.
The answer lies in understanding God's perspective on time and His purposes in waiting. What feels like endless delay to us is often necessary preparation, character development, or strategic timing in God's economy. His "quickly" refers to the certainty and suddenness of His action when the appointed time arrives, not necessarily the shortness of the wait. When God moves, He moves decisively. When He answers, He answers completely. When He brings justice, He brings it thoroughly.
This means our persistent prayer is never wasted. Every prayer, every cry, every time we show up before God matters. He's not ignoring us—He's listening intently. He's not indifferent—He cares deeply. He's not powerless—He will act. Our job is to keep praying, keep believing, keep showing up, keep refusing to let circumstances convince us that God has forgotten or stopped caring.
The widow's story invites us into a different kind of faith—one that persists through silence, that keeps asking through apparent inaction, that maintains hope through delay.
PRAYER: Loving Father, give us the faith to keep praying when answers seem delayed, to keep crying out when heaven seems silent, and to keep trusting Your goodness even when we can't see Your hand—knowing that You hear every prayer and will bring justice at exactly the right time. Hear our prayer, dear Lord, that we lift up in faith in the strong name of Jesus, Our Lord and Savior, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! OUR CALL TO ACTION: Choose one prayer request you've been tempted to abandon and commit to bringing it before God daily this week, letting your persistence be an act of faith in His character rather than an attempt to change His mind.
I love you and I thank God for you! You matter to God and you matter to me. Share the life God has given you with those who need a blessing.
Pastor Eradio Valverde, Jr.
