“Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.” [Luke 18:1-8 NIV]
What follows is the Parable of the Persistent Widow. A widow, needing justice, came to an unjust judge pleading her case. “Now there was a widow in that city; and she came to him, saying, ‘Get justice for me from my adversary.‘” [NKJV]
The Greek word “came” is in a tense which indicated she “kept coming.” She was constantly on his doorstep asking for what she needed. The point of the parable, of course, is our persistency in prayer—we should always pray and not give up. Just as the widow received what she needed from the unjust judge, so those who pray and never give up will receive from our righteous Lord what is needed.
Jesus ends this parable with an odd question, however. “When the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on earth?”
I’ve seen various commentaries on what Jesus meant by that question; most applying it to the End Times when the Lord returns. I think Jesus was also simply asking, will we, His disciples, continue to seek God in faith (to always pray and not give up). Will we be like the persistent widow? Or, will we lose faith and quit seeking?
