The widow…in our story…realizes that she cannot resolve her situation on her own.
- She has nowhere to turn but to the judge.
- To him she pours out her heart and pleads her case.
In the parable…the judge has the authority to act…to effect change.
- But he is self-centered and lacks compassion.
- And so…the point of the parable is that Jesus compares the worst in people to the best in God.
- Fortunately for us…God is a righteous…compassionate Judge… willing to “step in” and help us.
Courtrooms in the Middle East were not in buildings but in the city gate.
- And the judge…not the law…set the agenda.
- Only those who were approved and accepted could have their cases tried.
- This usually meant paying off the judge to get a case heard.
The widow had several obstacles:
- She was a woman…with little standing before the law.
- And she had no husband or male relative to stand with her in court.
- And because she was poor…
- She could not pay a bribe.
Jesus tells this story to contrast our status before God.
- The widow was poor…we are spiritually rich.
- The widow had limited access…we have an open door any time.
- The widow had to beg…plead…or offer a bribe…we have free access.
- The widow was a stranger…we are members of God’s family.
- God is attentive…never bothered or annoyed by our prayers.
- He is our Advocate.
Why do we need to pray over-and-over for the same thing?
- God only needs to hear our prayer once…does He not?
- Yet prayer changes us…it causes us to keep on…keeping on.
- To consistently submit our needs in faith.
- Even after long periods of waiting.
- Even when God appears silent.
We don’t like being put on hold.
- Patience in prayer does not come easy.
- I will be the first to admit there are things I am tired of praying for.
- Yet I am compelled to continue.
- Not knowing the outcome.
- God is telling me…don’t give up.
The unjust judge grants the widow’s request in order to get rid of her.
- But God does not want our relationship with Him to end.
- Unlike the judge in the parable…
- God does not get worn out by our asking.
The point of the parable is not:
- “If you pray hard enough… I’ll grant your request.”
- The point is:
- Just “keep on praying” … not knowing what will happen.
- Keep in mind that God alone knows the best possible outcome.
- His answers are wiser than our prayers.
Jesus touches on an important Old Testament theme here:
- That of waiting patiently for God to vindicate the suffering of His people.
- Justice will come.
- Maybe not according to our timetable.
- But according to God’s perfectly timed…providential plan.
- In the meantime…we pray.
- Not my will but Thine be done.
A friend of mine…a journalist for a religious magazine…assigned to Jerusalem…was living in an apartment overlooking the West Wall…or Wailing Wall.
- Every day she saw the same Jewish man praying.
- One day she went down and introduced herself to the man.
- She asked him how long he had been coming to the wall.
- He told her that he had been praying there every day for 35 years.
- The reporter asked him how it felt to pray for such a long time.
- The man answered:
- “Like I’m talking to a wall.”
- If we are honest…we will admit that sometimes prayer seems like we’re talking to a wall.
- Yet the parable encourages us to not give up.
An Israeli internet company offers this:
- Simply email your prayers to them and they will stuff them in the crevices of the Wailing Wall.
- It’s like sending an email to God!
- During a recent visit…the Pope prayed at the wall and placed a written prayer in a crevice.
- I prayed at the wall during my visit to Israel and stuck my own prayer into the wall (illustrate this).
In Isaiah God says:
- “Before you call…I will answer…while you are still speaking…I will hear” (65:24).
Someone said to me:
- “I prayed and God didn’t answer.”
- I replied:
- “Yes…He did…He said NO.”
Sometimes God’s answer is “no.”
- If God gave us the reason for saying no…
- There is no assurance we would be able to understand it.
- God’s ways are above our ways.
- And His thoughts are infinitely more complicated.
For God to explain His purpose might be like someone attempting to explain chemistry to a 4-year-old.
- Sometimes God’s “no” seems unjust.
- At times like these…we have to trust that his “no” comes from a compassionate understanding of what is best.
In the meantime…St. Paul said:
- “For now…we see only a reflection…as in a mirror…but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part…then I will know fully…even as I have been fully known. And now faith…hope and love remain…these three and the greatest of these is love.
Why pray?
- For God prays for us even when we do not know how to pray (Romans 8:26).
- Prayer is a humbling act.
- It says that we don’t have all the answers.
- That we need outside help.
- This is difficult for me to admit.
- Like when I am lost and refuse to ask for directions.
- Pride…self-reliance keeps a lot of people from praying.
- Prayer is an act of submission to God’s will.
- Not an attempt to force His hand.
St. Augustine said:
“He who sings once prays twice.”
So…we will sing.