The Persistent Widow
teaches us how to access and trust the God within.
Jesus tells a parable about a vulnerable widow who goes before a jerk of a judge who “neither feared God nor cared what people thought ” (Luke 18:1-8). He brushes her off, again and again. But she keeps after him, until finally he relents and gives her justice.
Jesus concludes: If the unjust judge would give such a gift, how much more will our good God hear your prayers and answer. That’s the payoff line.
Thank you, Jesus, but some of us have our doubts. We wonder: If God is so good, generous, and loving (and not like that awful judge), if God is so eager to give us what we desire, why do we have to be like that persistent widow and, as Luke writes, “always pray and not give up”? It sure seems God could make this quicker, easier.
I don’t know why we have to persist, ask over and over, seek day after month after year for God to grant us the desire of our hearts. But perhaps it’s the only way we outgrow the “God out there” who has to “come down here” and fix things. The struggle is what sends us deeper into ourselves. The sense of emptiness and helplessness is what finally prepares us to find God within, to know the divine power that is inherently ours—and to claim it. What God finally gives us is the awareness of what has always been there.
When things are handed to us, we develop a dependence on Mommy, Daddy, some authority figure “out there” with all the power. Maybe when we have to scratch and claw, day after day, a light is uncovered within.
COMPANIONS ON THE WAY
Introduction
Stories of Turning
Week One
Stories of Wild Places
Week Two
Stories of Dogged Faith
Week Three
Stories of Mercy & Forgiveness
Week Four
Stories of Simplicity & Joy
Week Five
Stories of Prayer & Surrender
Week Six
Stories of Transforming Love
I have a sister with a chronic illness. Persistent prayers regarding pain/suffering are challenging for me – not whether to keep praying but what to pray? I have just asked for her deepest needs to be met in the past. I do see the light born from all our persistent praying and hoping – in her and in us (her siblings) – and God working even when it feels like tiny positive steps. They all add up.
Thank you, Cathy–your comments are so poignant–I have often felt the same way about chronic suffering–“not whether to keep praying, but what to pray?” In the end, I tell myself, it doesn’t matter so much WHAT I pray, but that I keep praying. Because I don’t know God’s time, and I don’t know God’s will. But I believe I can catch a glimpse of those things if I never lose hope and never stop praying.
Thank you, David. That’s good. I believe it, too. I’ll just aim for being “the persistent” sister with my praying.
You can do no better than that.
Love your stories, David! They are so earthy and as such ones with which we women can all relate! To hold on to our faith in the midst of our everyday trials is really what it’s all about! Thank you
Thanks, Anne—your comment means a lot, and your wisdom and guidance have been a huge factor in my life.