Luke 18 What To Do When Your Prayers Aren't Answered?
The Parable of the Persistent Widow
18 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?”
As we read and interpret this parable it is important to say what this parable is saying and not saying. First, however it is important to note the context of the story. This was most likely a Gentile judge, because widows who were Jewish brought their grievances before the Jewish elders. There were specific laws in the Old Testament that protected widows from unfair treatment in a patriarchal society. So this poor widow is being taken advantage of, and she is seeking justice from a civil judge.
As the parable says the unjust judge really was not interested in seeing justice served. The widow was more of a hassle to him than anything else. Finally, only because he could not take her incessant pleas anymore, he granted her justice. Now let's turn to the spiritual meaning Jesus is trying to get across.
First, we see the purpose Jesus told this story was to teach the disciples how to persist in prayer when they weren't getting what they asked for. The first big mistake we can make interpreting this parable is to take it literally. God doesn't answer our prayers only because he is tired of hearing from us. God doesn't bring justice to get us off of his case. God the just judge not only CARES for the woman in her situation, but also cares for JUSTICE.
Jesus knew the disciples would pray for things and not see the immediate answers, especially as they faced persecution. And this is in fact is what he would experience in the garden when he prayed for God to take the cup of suffering from him. But justice was served on the cross, as our sin was paid for by Jesus even though he did nothing to deserve it. It was God's great love for us that allowed Him to send His only son to the cross to take our place and pay for the guilty verdict we deserved.
So how can you apply this in your life?
1. Know that God cares for you and unlike the unjust judge wants to listen to your case through prayer.
2. Though our prayers may not be answered right away, or in the way we think they should be, it does not mean God doesn't care about us or will not eventually answer our prayer.
3. By persisting in prayer it builds our character and trust in God, and in the long run it draws us closer to him and others.
Prayer is not always easy work. It is a conscious willful choice in obedience to trusting in God. When we choose to pray we choose to trust God, and God honors that in ways we often will never see!
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