Persistent Women

Wednesday, October 23, 2013

By Rev Cathy

“Parable: Persistent Widow and the Judge”

Luke 18:1-8

How well are you at waiting? How patient are you when you have to ‘wait your turn’? We live in a time when waiting is necessary but how well do you do this? What about when you are struggling with a relationship or with having to make a difficult decision. How easy is it to just wait? How well do you wait on these things? If you are a person of prayer, that is one who dialogues with God you might even wonder if God has forgotten you and your prayers as you wait for His answer.

Jesus is teaching his disciples about prayer. They would have all been familiar with prayer as this is part of their Jewish tradition. But Jesus is trying to open their hearts and minds to new ways of praying and why it is so important. He does so by encouraging them not to give up as they grow in their relationship with God. To emphasize his point, he tells this story of a judge and a widow.

 This woman has a pending case against another person and even though we are not told what it is, she goes to him with her plea to grant her justice; that is, to be heard. The judge is the epitome of powers. He has much authority and he has no fear about anyone else. He is a hard bitter man and has no sense of accountability to God or even to God’s law. He does not show emotion or compassion and he does whatever he likes.

            The woman is at the opposite end of the spectrum- she is helpless, and weak, no political clout and most likely very poor. She has no advocate or protector since her husband’s death and someone has wronged her and yet she is spunky and a fighter. But before this indifferent judge she is helpless, or so it seems.

The judge refuses to hear the woman but she continues to come to the courthouse. Her only resource is her persistence and so she does not give up. And after a period of time- we do not know how long, the judge says to himself, “This woman keeps bothering me that I may hear her story and so that she will receive justice, I will listen to her. Not because she deserves justice, but because if I settle her case she will leave me alone.” The judge finally hears the woman’s story and responds.

 Jesus wants us to recognize that God- the one to whom we pray is not like this judge. God cares for our needs because He loves us we are God’s chosen ones and are chosen for a purpose. Because we are His children we can pray with confidence.

If a helpless widow who had no resources but her persistence could get her way with a hardhearted, unjust judge, how much more will God’s people receive what they need from a gracious Father?

Who are we in this story? We are the believers who cry out to God through prayer with intensity and urgent appeals for help. This is prayer-- crying out from within those difficulties and failures in life to God who is listening and hearing our voices filled with anything from desperation to hope that He will respond.

Jesus tells this story because he wants us to pray- and not just a little bit but with intensity and expectancy, with a deep hope from within that change will happen—in God’s time and in God’s way and according to God’s will.

The challenge of prayer is this—will you pray persistently? Will you give up if you don’t think God is listening? And will you have faith in the God who made you and loves you unconditionally?

PRAYER:

Holy God, we pray and we wonder if you really hear us. So we pray again- not only for ourselves, but for your will to be done in the lives of others. You provide us with many gifts, but we don’t use them for your kingdom to grow instead we hinder others and hurt others when we just cant’ wait any more. Help us to never give up and to teach others to be persistent in prayer. Hear us in this time of silence as we pray to you Amen.

BLOG QUESTION

Never stop praying. We are called to pray even when things are wonderful and positive and more so when things are requiring change and transformation.  But do we see prayer this way? Or do we offer to God His weekly to-do list and expect it to happen without us? God calls us to be in prayer with him. Are we willing to pray regularly and to hear his voice speaking to us?  Are we willing to listen?