When Prayer Gets Stubborn

Preacher: Fr. Columba

Lessons: Gen 32:398,22-30; Ps 121; 2 Tim 3:14-4:5; Lk 18:1-8

Today’s Gospel gives us what is often called the parable of the unjust judge, or the parable of the widow and the judge. On the surface, it seems clear. Most people read it and immediately think it is about prayer. Keep praying. Do not give up. Bring your requests to God and stay faithful. And yes, that is part of it. But when you start digging deeper, when you read it in context and look at how it connects with the rest of Scripture, you find there is much more to it than a simple encouragement to pray.

One of the commentators I read called this “the parable of the nagging widow.” It sounds insulting, but I like it. It gets the point across. This widow is persistent to the point of discomfort. She is relentless. She refuses to be quiet. And that, I think, is exactly how Jesus wants us to see her. He is not giving us a lesson in good manners. He is showing us the kind of faith that refuses to accept silence in the face of injustice.

This parable is not just about keeping a tidy prayer life. It is about persistence in the face of suffering, grief, and oppression. It is about crying out to God from the places where we have been wronged, where we are desperate, and where hope feels like it is slipping away. That is what this kind of prayer looks like.

To be clear, God is not the unjust judge. Jesus sets up a contrast, not a comparison. If even an unjust man who cares for no one will eventually act because a poor woman will not stop bothering him, how much more will God, who is good and merciful, respond to those who cry out to him? Jesus says it plainly: “Will not God grant justice to his chosen ones who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long in helping them?”

But what I want us to see is that this widow’s persistence is not polite. It is fierce. The Greek word the judge uses when he says “she will wear me out” literally means “to strike me under the eye.” It is a boxing term. This woman is coming at him with the strength of her whole being. And finally, he gives in. Not because he cares about justice, but because he is afraid of her persistence.

When you read that through the lens of Scripture, you start to see that this is the same kind of persistence Jacob had when he wrestled with God and refused to let go until he received a blessing. This parable is about that kind of prayer. The kind that will not quit. The kind that cries, argues, wrestles, and refuses to take no for an answer. Jesus is not inviting us to whisper polite prayers. He is calling us to get aggressive with God, to bring our whole heart, our pain, our anger, our exhaustion, and to keep crying out until something shifts.

But there is more. This parable also calls us to solidarity with those who are crying out for justice in this world. The widow represents the lowest and most vulnerable members of society. In the first century, a widow had no rights. She could not inherit. She could not own property. If she had no adult son, she had no protection. She was powerless. In a society that placed all authority in the hands of men, she was invisible. And yet she is the one Jesus lifts up as the model of faith.

When you see that, you start to understand why Luke’s Gospel keeps returning to the poor, the oppressed, and the outcast. Luke never separates faith from justice. Right after this story we get a tax collector crying out for mercy, children being blessed, and the rich being warned. The message is consistent. The Kingdom of God belongs to those who know their need.

To pray like this widow is to enter into her desperation and her hope. It is to stand with those who have been ignored, who have been denied, who have been told to be quiet. It is to cry out with them, not for them. It is to demand justice, not just wish for it.

Our prayer must be more than words. It has to move our feet. If we are going to cry out for justice, we must also be ready to live as people who make justice possible. The prophet Micah said it clearly: what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God. Real prayer leads to real action. The parable reminds us that God is not impressed by our piety if it does not change the way we live.

Paul’s words to Timothy this week echo the same call. “Preach the message. Insist on proclaiming it, whether it is the right time or not. Convince, rebuke, and encourage with patience.” In other words, keep going. Be persistent. Do not stop telling the truth even when it is unpopular. Do not stop proclaiming Christ even when the world would rather hear something easier.

Paul reminds us that Jesus will return as King and Judge. The problem is that many of us keep looking for other kings. We want strongmen to fix our problems, leaders who promise security, power, or wealth. Every election cycle people put their faith in the next savior figure who will make things right. But Paul reminds us there is only one Lord of Lords, one King of Kings, and his throne is the cross. Every other power will fall. Every other kingdom will fade. Our allegiance belongs to Christ alone.

That means our persistence in prayer must be matched by persistence in faithfulness. We cannot chase every new ideology or political promise. We cannot be swayed by the loudest voice in the room. We must keep our eyes fixed on Jesus and our hands open to the work of the gospel.

Paul also tells us to endure suffering. The widow endured it. She faced rejection, humiliation, and fear, but she did not give up. If we want to see the justice and righteousness of God, we too will have to endure. Following Christ will never be easy. It will cost us something. It will call us to suffer with others and sometimes because of others. But the same Christ who calls us to suffer also promises to redeem it.

The early Church used to speak of baptism by blood. There were those who came to faith but were killed before they could be baptized, and the Church said their martyrdom was their baptism. Most of us will not face that kind of persecution, but we are still called to endurance. To suffer with Christ is to share in his victory.

And that victory is not one of domination or control. Christ conquers through love and sacrifice. His kingdom comes not through violence or power, but through mercy and resurrection. Anyone who tells you otherwise is preaching a false gospel.

We are surrounded by voices that want to divide us, distract us, and pull us away from Christ. They tell us to serve wealth, to chase success, to build walls, to trust power. But the gospel tells us to serve the poor, to seek peace, to lift up the humble, and to put our faith in the crucified and risen Lord.

At the end of this parable, Jesus asks, “When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?” That is the question that lingers. Faith, real faith, looks like this widow. It looks like persistence. It looks like stubborn hope. It looks like a prayer that will not stop crying out for justice until justice comes.

St. Ephrem the Syrian wrote, “These two were stubborn. But persistent prayer was even more stubborn.” That is what I want us to remember this week. Evil is stubborn. Injustice is stubborn. But prayer is more stubborn. Grace is more stubborn. God’s love is more stubborn than all the sin and cruelty in this world.

So this week, I want to invite you to pray differently. Do not settle for routine. Do not hold back your pain. Cry out to God. Tell God what is wrong. Show God your wounds. Give God that black eye if you must. God can take it. God already took it on the cross.

Let your prayer be stubborn. Let your love be fierce. Let your faith refuse to give up. Because when we pray like that widow, heaven listens. And the just Judge will not delay forever.

Amen.