PERSISTENT PRAYER

On a cold windy day in the Yorkshire Dales, a patient persistent teacher was helping one of her pupils to put on his prized American cowboy boots. She pushed and he pulled until finally the boots were on. At that moment the little boy cried out, “Miss, they are on the wrong feet.” Looking down, she saw that indeed they were on the wrong feet. Once again the pushing and pulling began, to remove and replace the boots. At the last push of the second boot, the child cried out again, “Miss, these are not my boots.” Without stopping to think they began the war of removing the boots. Yes, you guessed it, boots off the boy cried out, “These are my brother’s boots,” and in a softer voice he said, “my mother made me wear them.” Swallowing the desire to shout out “Why didn’t you tell me?” the tired but persistent teacher helped the little boy into the boots once again. Then she helped him into his coat and quietly asked, “James, where are your mittens?” James said with too much joy, “Oh Miss, they are safe, in the toes of my boots.”

I don’t know the source of this teacher’s persistence and patience but Jesus, in the Luke passage tells us to persist in prayer. Never give up, he tells us. Then Jesus relates a parable of the persistent widow and the unjust judge. Let’s remind ourselves of the meaning and purpose of a parable. Literally, it means, ‘a placing beside.’
Placing one thing beside another sometimes with a view to comparison.

Message, Meaning and Miracle
So let us now look into the message, it’s meaning and pray for the miracle of understanding.

MESSAGE

The first of two characters are introduced to us, the judge ‘who neither feared God nor cared about men.’ We can safely say this is the bad guy. Next we meet the widow. A widow in Biblical times was in a low and desperate social position. Since she kept coming to the judge it is probable that she had no male relative to act as her advocate in legal matters. This made her very vulnerable.

The judge initially responds to her by ignoring her pleas for justice. After all she is only a woman and a widow at that, she has no power or position and thus is easily dismissed.

Does this attitude from the judge discourage her, as we say in America, ‘no way, Jose`!’
The jaded judge decides that the widow’s persistence will not cease so he grants her justice so he can have some peace.

At this point Jesus lays beside the story of the unjust judge the truth about God who, unlike the unjust judge, hears the cries of his children and responds.

MEANING

What does it mean, this parable, this comparison, with God as the final focus?

We are told at the beginning of the passage in Luke that Jesus told this parable to his disciples ‘to show them that they should always pray and not give up.’ It seems rather, straightforward, and fits in comfortably with the parable of the persistent widow, or does it?

At the end of the parable Jesus says listen to what the judge says and then compare that to God. The judge says he will give in to the widow so she will stop bothering him. Is that what God does? I suggest that there are times and people who do believe if we ask God often enough, He finally, grudgingly will give what is requested.

A famous theologian once said, “The most important thing about you is what you believe about God.” What do we believe about God? What do we know of his character? Jesus, the express visible image of the invisible God is teaching his disciples and now us that God hears our cries for justice, our persistent prayers and in a timely way answers them. He is the good guy.

C.S. Lewis once said, referring to a quote by Soren Kieregaard, it wasn’t so much that prayer changes circumstances but that prayer changed him. Prayer is direct access to God; a conversation with the One who knows us intimately and loves us anyway. If we learn to listen when we pray we may just hear God whisper our name and more; change does occur as our intimacy with God inspires a greater level of trust in Him.

In the Luke passage the issue for the widow was justice. This was emphasized in Jesus explanation that followed; but remember when we put this teaching in context with all of Jesus previous words on prayer we come once again to the reality that the focus comes blazingly back to God, and God alone.

Praying implies someone is listening and that answers will come from this someone who has the power and the will to act. Could it be that what we know and believe about God could affect our prayers, our willingness to persist? If I believe God is cold, distant, and unapproachable; will I even go to him in prayer? How often have you heard someone say, “Oh, I can’t bother God with my little need, he’s so busy with other bigger things.” I am reminded of a book written in the 1960’s, entitled, with the question, “How Big Is Your God?” The author encouraged the reader that God is big enough to handle our individual ‘little things.’ Through out the gospels Jesus says repeatedly, come to me for rest, let me carry your burdens, seek me and I will be found, ask and it shall be given.

God is persistently pursuing us with His grace waiting for us to receive his justice, love, compassion and generosity. We are valuable to God remember, he gave us his son, Jesus Christ. With this reality of God’s love and care, firmly in our hearts, let us persist in our prayers through Christ who lives within us by his Holy Spirit. More than answers, we will receive grace to know and love God through His word, through our worship, through His creation and even through each other. Amen

Kathleen Langridge

St John the Evangelist, Pevensey Rd, St Leonards on Sea