5 Lessons from the Parable of the Persistent Widow: The Secret to Effective Prayer.

The Parable of the Persistent Widow holds valuable insights that can help you get results from Your prayers:

Have you ever thought of giving up on God? Perhaps because you have prayed for a long time for a specific thing and have not received an answer.

Have you considered stopping praying because it seems like a waste of time?

Luke 18:1-11 is about a parable that Jesus gave to illustrate that people should always pray and not give up or lose heart. It is the parable of the persistent widow, also known as the parable of the unjust judge.

In this post, we will consider the parable of the persistent widow to learn lessons that can boost our faith and change how we see God, ourselves, and the act of prayer.

Read also: Luke 18:1-8 explained (Parable of the unjust judge).

Lessons from the Parable of the Persistent Widow

Here are lessons from the parable of the persistent widow:

1. Faith Is the First Thing in Prayer:

One of the challenges we face in prayer is the invisibility of God. Because we can’t see God, we may find it difficult to connect with Him. This is why faith is a must-have before we can come to God (Hebrews 11:1 & 6).

In John 8:3, Jesus said, “She came unto him.” This quote illustrates how we, too, can approach God in prayer.

Also, the Scripture says, ‘He that comes to God must believe that He is’ (Hebrews 11:6). The first thing that should come to your mind whenever you want to pray is that there is God and that He exists. You ought also to remember that He made all things, including the eyes that see and the ears that hear.

Proverbs 20:12 The hearing ear, and the seeing eye, the LORD hath made even both of them. (KJV)

Then go to him in your closet and talk to Him, and be rest assured that he is listening to you (1 John 5:14-15).

“In the absence of any other proof, the thumb alone would convince me of God’s existence.”

~ Isaac Newton

2. Recognize the Existence of a Formidable Adversary:

In the parable of the persistent widow, the widow’s request was for vengeance against her adversary. In a way, this is a reminder to God’s elect that we are not without an adversary.

The devil is our adversary. He is our arch-enemy.

Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: (1 Peter 5:8 KJV).

This should make us always pray. Our adversary is hardworking, moving from place to place, looking for someone to devour.

And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night. (Revelation 12:10 KJV)

The devil is always accusing us before God. He does so day and night, which means incessantly. Anyone who doesn’t pray always and persistently, like this helpless widow, is in real trouble. We cannot blame God when evil happens while we are not praying incessantly.

St. Luke 18:7 And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them? (KJV)

Also, read: “Men ought always to pray: 11 reasons to be prayerful.”

3. Make Sure You Are Right with God:

Observe that the widow requested justice to be done in Luke 18:3 when she said, “…Get justice for me from my adversary” (NKJV).

Justice means the quality of being just, equitable, and morally right. She was not just asking for a favor, but for what was right. This implies that we must be in a state of right standing with God to make demands on Him.

For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil. (1 Peter 3:12 KJV)

This is another lesson to learn from the parable of the persistent widow. Sin makes our prayers futile. You cannot love what God hates and expect God to grant you justice. The state of righteousness is necessary for fruitful prayer.

James 5:16 (AMP), "… The earnest (heartfelt, continued) prayer of a righteous man makes tremendous power available [dynamic in its working]"

4. Stay Desperate and Pray Relentlessly for an Answer:

Luke 18:5 Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me. (KJV)

Are you truly in need? “Trouble God, the Judge of all the earth!”

“She troubleth me,” the unjust judge said. If you are in a desperate situation, knowing that God exists and He hears you whenever you talk to Him, don’t give Him rest. Keep talking to Him about the same matter until He does something. P.U.S.H (Pray Until Something Happens).

Isaiah 62:6, "...ye that make mention of the LORD, keep not silence" (KJV).
Isaiah 62:7, "And give him no rest, till he establish, and till he make Jerusalem a praise in the earth" (KJV).

This widow’s continued importunity could have been a waste of time and might have provoked the judge to anger. Indeed, she hoped against hope.

Another thing worthy of note is that the woman was a widow. She was so helpless that she had no one else to petition. If she had had anyone else to help her, she would have given up on that unjust judge.

Our Lord Jesus is the Alpha and Omega. We are to completely trust Him and not have a plan B or a fallback when we are calling on Him. Besides God, there is no other. There are no two Jehovahs and no two judges of all the earth.

Do you have any other sources of help as a Christian?

As for me, I don’t! As the eyes of servants look unto the hand of their masters, so my eyes will wait upon the Lord my God until He shows mercy on me (Psalms 123:2).

I will never give up on God! But what if I think of giving up on Him? To whom will I run to for help? No one!

In the parable of the persistent widow, what made the widow triumph?

• Not eloquence.
• It wasn’t murmuring.
• Not logic.
• Not because she was a helpless widow.
• It wasn’t actually due to the merit of her case.
• Not also because she pleased the Judge.

What more can I say?

She got her request granted because she troubled the judge (Persistence).

5. Answers to Prayers May Be Delayed, but They Will Eventually Come.

Luke 18:4 KJV And he would not for a while: but afterward...

In the parable, the unjust judge was not interested in the matter for a while. May I ask, how long is “a while” (not “awhile”)?

“While” means an uncertain duration of time. It might have been a day, a week, a month, a year, or even a decade since the unjust judge refused to attend to the widow, but this helpless widow kept going.

Persistence and patience are therefore vital to the act of prayer. Keeping the very nature of God in mind, always persevere in prayer against all odds. In other words, don’t get tired of praying! Keep grinding!

God may not answer us at the time we think, but we can be sure that He hears us, and because He hears us, He will give us whatever we ask. Luke 18:7-8 KJV says, “And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them? I tell you that he will avenge them speedily.”

Remember, the answer to Daniel’s prayer was hindered, but he persevered and continued praying until he received his answer. Daniel truly believed that God hears prayers

Conclusion: Lessons from the Parable of the Persistent Widow.

Hear what the unjust judge saith…

In conclusion, could you take a while to ponder on our Lord’s remark? ‘And shall not God avenge his own elect…’ Luke 18:7(KJV)

A corrupt tyrant, with a deadened conscience and a heart as cold as ice and hard as iron, was moved by importunity to avenge the injustices of one for whom he felt no regard and whose happiness or anguish was nothing to him. How much more, God? Shall not the judge of all the earth do right? (Genesis 18:25)

Dear reader,

I tell you the truth, if this poor widow prevailed with an unjust judge, we, therefore, ought always to be incessant in prayer since we supplicate a caring Father.

What have you learned from this parable of the persistent widow? I would like to hear from you. Drop your thoughts in the comment section.

God’s grace!