Luke 18:1-8 / Persistent Widow

Always Pray and Do Not Lose Heart

If you have your Bibles, go ahead and turn with me to Luke chapter 18. We are going to be looking at verses 1 through 8, looking at the parable of the persistent widow.

My name is Christian Warren, and I am the middle school director here at The Well. I also co-host a podcast for The Well on iTunes with Sarah Wells, Meghan Jade, and Kevin Tinkade, where we discuss prior sermons and interview special guests. I have been married for two and a half years to my amazing wife, Lacey, and we moved to Fresno about two and a half years ago.

There is something that has been on my heart recently, something I have been seeing a lot in our junior high ministry that deals directly with prayer. I want to share that with you today through the parable we are studying. It begins with Jesus telling His disciples that they ought always to pray and not lose heart. We are going to look at prayer and explore how a loving God truly answers our prayers.

Let’s read Luke 18:1–8 together:

Luke 18:1-8 (NASB)

Now He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart, saying, ’In a certain city there was a judge who did not fear God and did not respect man. ’There was a widow in that city, and she kept coming to him, saying, ‘Give me legal protection from my opponent.’ ’For a while he was unwilling; but afterward he said to himself, ‘Even though I do not fear God nor respect man, yet because this widow bothers me, I will give her legal protection, otherwise by continually coming she will wear me out.’’ And the Lord said, ’Hear what the unrighteous judge said; now, will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry to Him day and night, and will He delay long over them? ‘I tell you that He will bring about justice for them quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?’

“And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart. He said, ‘In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected man. And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, “Give me justice against my adversary.” For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself, “Though I neither fear God nor respect man, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.”’ And the Lord said, ‘Hear what the unrighteous judge says. And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them? I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?’“

The Dog I Never Got (Until the Right Time)

Growing up, I wanted one thing: a dog. Plain and simple. Every birthday, Christmas, and basically any holiday where you received a gift, I would beg my parents for a dog. After a while, my parents got so sick and tired of me asking that they finally made up a lie and told me they were allergic to dogs.

Fast forward until I was twenty-three years old. I saw my parents around dogs, completely fine, and I asked, “Wait, I thought you guys were allergic?” They said, “Yeah, we just lied because we were so tired of you asking us for a dog!”

As a kid, that didn’t stop me because I wanted a black lab so badly. I asked my aunts, my uncles, my grandparents—basically anyone who would listen. I would tell them, “Look, all I want for Christmas is a black lab.” And I prayed daily: God, give me a black lab. God, give me a dog. That’s all I want, God.

Eventually, I got fed up that I wasn’t getting a dog, so I went to the two ringers in the family: my godparents, Jim and Yvonne. They are amazing people, and the great thing about Jim and Yvonne was that whenever you asked them for a present, they would almost always give it to you. Being a sneaky and persistent child, I told them, “Jim and Yvonne, all I want for Christmas is a black lab.” They replied, “Okay, we’ll think about it.”

For two months leading up to Christmas, they dropped hints: “We got you something you really wanted.” I was freaking out. For two months, I convinced myself I was getting a dog. My mind was racing. I went to school telling all the kids, “I’m getting a dog! I think his name is going to be Henry!”

Christmas Eve arrived, and I was ecstatic. We were sitting by the tree, and Jim walked out holding this big box. In my mind, I was finally getting what I had persistently asked for over ten years of my life. As he walked toward me, my imagination went wild—I legitimately thought I saw the box moving! I thought, There’s something in there! There’s a dog in that box!

Before Jim could even set it fully on the table, I ripped the box open. Inside, I found a brand-new stuffed animal dog. I looked up in disbelief and said, “I’ve been asking for this for so long. Are you serious?” In that moment, I burst into tears. My family thought it was hilarious and started laughing, but I realized right then that I wasn’t getting a dog. In fact, I realized God and my parents had a very different plan for me. I cried all the way up to my bedroom.

Looking back on that story today, I see it from a completely different angle. Although I asked a thousand times, God had a better plan than what I wanted in that moment. At twelve years old, I couldn’t have properly taken care of a dog. When I was fifteen, I left every summer for Santa Cruz; my parents would have ended up raising that dog. It would have been a terrible idea. But when I married my wife, Lacey, one of the very first things we did was get a dog. It was the perfect timing for us.

I prayed faithfully for a dog for years and was angry when I didn’t get one. But the truth is, I eventually did get one—it just came in a different form and a different time than I originally demanded.

When Prayers Seem Unanswered

How many times do we ask God for something and He doesn’t immediately give it to us?

In our junior high ministry, we receive prayer requests every week with real, heavy heartaches:

• God, would You get my parents back together?
• God, would You help me get an A on this test?
• God, my mom left when I was five; would You bring her back home?
• God, could You help me make this sports team?
• God, my grandpa has cancer; could You cure him?

My heart breaks reading these. Often, students will pray for these things for a couple of weeks, and then suddenly the requests stop. When I ask them what happened—if their parents got back together, if their mom came home, if they made the team—the answer is almost always, “No.”

When I ask why they stopped praying, they say, “Well, God isn’t answering my prayers. Why isn’t God giving me what I’m asking for? Why is this happening to me?” Over time, they simply give up on prayer.

This isn’t just a middle school problem, is it? We have all felt this way. It is so easy to pray for something, expect God to deliver our exact desired outcome, and when He doesn’t answer within our timeline, we grow discouraged. Maybe you have been praying for a spouse for twenty years and wondering, God, where are You? Maybe you have been praying over a sick loved one, or a broken relationship, or a job situation, asking, God, are You even going to show up?

When we pray for a long time without an obvious answer, we are tempted to walk away.

The Context of Luke 18: Faith in the Interim

Jesus addresses this exact struggle in Luke 18. To understand this parable, we have to look at what happens right before it in Luke 17. Jesus had just been talking to His disciples about the interim periods of waiting and struggle faced by figures like Noah and Lot before God’s judgment and deliverance arrived.

Jesus told His disciples that after He left, they would enter their own period of waiting: “The days are coming when you will desire to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it.” Jesus knew His followers would experience confusion, longing, and hardship when He was no longer physically present on earth. He wanted them to faithfully pray and never lose hope during that interim period. Just because you do not see the final outcome immediately does not mean you stop praying.

Jesus opens the parable by saying that we “ought always to pray and not lose heart.” The Greek word translated as “ought” is dei, which signifies necessity. Jesus is saying: It is necessary to pray, because if you don’t, you will lose heart. You will grow discouraged in your faith.

The Unjust Judge and the Persistent Widow

Jesus’ parables in the Gospel of Luke often use extreme scenarios to capture the audience’s attention. While most parables compare two similar things to make a point, this parable works by stark contrast. It contrasts two total opposites.

First, Jesus introduces a widow. In ancient Jewish society, widows were among the most vulnerable, overlooked, and ostracized groups. They were at the very bottom of the social ladder and were frequently taken advantage of in legal matters. They had no social power and no advocate.

Then Jesus introduces a judge who sits at the top of the social ladder. Judges were bound by two fundamental duties: to revere God and faithfully interpret His law, and to care for people with justice. But this judge did neither. He was corrupt, callous, and openly admitted that he neither feared God nor cared about people.

The widow repeatedly came into his courtroom with a simple plea: “Give me justice against my adversary.” The judge dismissed her: “Get out of my courtroom.” But she kept coming back. Day after day, she demanded justice. Eventually, the judge caved, saying, “Though I neither fear God nor respect man, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.”

In Scripture, we see different aspects of justice. Often, courtrooms deal with retributive justice—punishing the guilty and giving people what their actions deserve. But what this widow sought was restorative justice—setting things right and providing what was truly needed.

Through sheer persistence, a helpless, overlooked widow wore down a corrupt, powerful judge until she received justice.

Contrasting the Judge with Our Heavenly Father

In verses 7 and 8, Jesus drives the point home by contrast:

“And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them? I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”

Jesus is not saying God is like the unjust judge. He is showing us that God is the exact opposite! If even an evil, uncaring judge will eventually do what is right because of a widow’s persistence, how much more will our loving, compassionate Father in heaven give what is good to His children who cry out to Him?

Our persistence in prayer does not exist to overcome God’s reluctance; it demonstrates our trust, faith, and dependence on Him. When Luke writes about crying out “day and night,” he uses an idiom meaning continuous, faithful prayer. God is not ignoring us. His delays carry a beneficial purpose, even when we cannot see it in the moment.

God answers prayer with yes, no, or later. When the answer is not immediate, our faith is refined and strengthened as we wait on Him.

Changing Our Hearts, Not Just Our Circumstances

This brings us to a vital shift we must make in our prayer lives: we need to stop praying simply, God, change my circumstances, and start praying, God, make me different in my circumstances.

Instead of trying to force the hand of God to fit our immediate desires, we need to let Him change our hearts. Look at the apostle Paul. When Paul was imprisoned, beaten, and hungry, he rarely prayed, “God, get me out of jail,” or “God, give me food.” Instead, he persistently prayed for endurance, joy, thanksgiving, and the boldness to proclaim the Gospel.

Even Jesus, praying in the Garden of Gethsemane before His crucifixion, prayed, “Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me. Nevertheless, not My will, but Yours, be done.” Jesus submitted His circumstances entirely to the Father’s will.

When we pray with persistence, God works on us. When I prayed for ten years for a dog, God wasn’t ignoring me; He was teaching me patience and preparing me for the right time.

The Father’s Gift

Years ago, a story appeared in a newspaper column that illustrates how easily our expectations can blind us to what a loving father provides.

A young man was getting ready to graduate from college. For months, he had admired a beautiful sports car in a dealership showroom. Knowing his father could well afford it, he told him that the car was all he wanted for graduation. As the day approached, the young man eagerly waited for signs that his father had purchased it.

On the morning of his graduation, his father called him into his study. The father told his son how proud he was of him and how deeply he loved him, and he handed him a beautifully wrapped gift box.

Curious and disappointed that it wasn’t car keys, the young man opened the box to find a lovely, leather-bound Bible with his name embossed in gold. Angered, the young man raised his voice and said, “With all your money, after all the times I asked for that car, you give me a Bible?” He stormed out of the house and left his father behind.

Years passed. The young man became a successful businessman, acquired a home, and raised a family. Realizing his father was growing old, he thought about reconciling. But before he could make arrangements, he received a phone call informing him that his father had passed away and had willed all his possessions to him.

When the son arrived at his father’s house, grief and regret filled his heart. While going through his father’s desk, he found the Bible, still wrapped just as he had left it years before. With tears in his eyes, he opened it. His father had carefully underlined a verse:

Matthew 7:11 (NASB)

’If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!

“If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!”

As he read those words, a car key dropped from the back of the Bible. It carried a tag from the very dealership with the sports car he had wanted, stamped with the date of his graduation and the words: Paid in full.

How often do we miss God’s provision because we are entirely fixated on our own terms? That young man wanted his circumstances changed immediately, but his heart remained hardened. God knows what we truly need, and He invites us to trust His timing.

Praying with True Faith

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus taught His disciples how to pray:

Matthew 6:7-13 (NASB)

’And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words. ’So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him. ’Pray, then, in this way: ’Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. ’Your kingdom come. Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven. ’Give us this day our daily bread. ’And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. ‘And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. [For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen].’

“And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. Pray then like this: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.’”

Notice the focus of the Lord’s Prayer. It is not about demanding that God rearrange our external circumstances to fit our immediate comfort; it is about submitting our lives to His kingdom, seeking His daily provision, asking for forgiveness, and allowing Him to transform our hearts.

Do not stop praying. If you have been praying for something for weeks, months, or years, do not lose heart. God is not an unjust judge who must be manipulated; He is a good Father who loves you and provides what you truly need in His perfect time.

May we be a people who pray persistently, trust Him completely, and allow Him to change our hearts.

Closing Prayer

Lord, thank You for Your Word and for this parable. Thank You for the example of this widow who persisted in seeking justice.

We praise You that You are the complete opposite of that corrupt judge. You are a loving, compassionate, and faithful Father who cares deeply for Your children and gives us exactly what we need.

I pray for everyone in this room today. Help us to examine our own hearts. Where we have demanded that You change our circumstances, teach us instead to pray that You would change us within our circumstances. Guard us from discouragement and prevent us from losing heart. Give us the faith to pray continually, to trust Your perfect timing, and to rest in Your goodness.

We love You, Lord, and we thank You for giving us life through Jesus Christ. It is in His name that we pray.

Amen.