Persistence n Prayer: Luke 18:1-8 By Donald Penny"

Persistence in Prayer: Luke 18:1-8 Review and Expositor, 104, Fall 2007 Persistence n Prayer: Luke 18:1-8 By Donald Penny" ABSTRACT The Parable of the Persistent Widow, Luke 18:1-8, gives us a reason to keep on trusting and praying, 'Thy kingdom come," even as we wait in a world where the "already" of God's victory at the cross has not fully supplanted the "not yet" that we see in a world of evil around us. The parable does not tell us that we must badger God; rather it shows us that, if even an evil judge will provide justice for a helpless widow, how much more will our loving Father bring in his Kingdom. The parable encourages us to tackle difficult issues with confidence; it cautions us not to expect difficult results; it assures us that God's justice will prevail in the end. In the midst of uncertain times, we must keep praying in the confidence that at the right time God will answer us suddenly, swiftly, and fully. As Christians, we find our lives torn between hope and frustration, between confidence and disappointment. Our hope and confidence come from knowing that in Christ the kingdom of God has entered into this world. Ourfrustrationand disappointment come from recognizing that the kingdom has not yet come in its fullness. Jesus 7 disciples also experienced this mixture of hope and frustration. In our passage, Jesus tells the disciples a parable encouraging them to keep * Donald Penny is Professor of New Testament at Campbell University, Buies Creek, North Carolina. 737

wy MIUD^^ ^m \á A BAPTIST THEOLOGICAL JOURNAL on praying and not to lose heart. The context of this parable is very important. Jesus and the disciples are on the way from Galilee to Jerusalem (Luke 9-19). Already in Galilee, Jesus had announced the good news of the kingdom of God that it would bringforgiveness for sinners, healing for the broken, liberty for the captives, good news for the poor, justice for the oppressed. On their way to Jerusalem, he had taught them to pray for the coming of the kingdom (11:2-4). And now, as they drew near to the holy city, the disciples imagined that the kingdom would appear there immediately (19:11). We know, of course, that what was actually about to happen in Jerusalem was the rejection, suffering, and crucifixion of Jesus as a common criminal. As Christians, we believe that, in the cross of Christ, God's kingdom did enter into this world in a powerful way. By faith we do already experience God's forgiveness, his healing of our brokenness, and the good news of his liberating justice. But we also know that God's kingdom has not yet come in its fullness. We know that sin and suffering, poverty and injustice As Christians, we live and struggle in the period between the inauguration of God's kingdom in the ministry of Jesus and the final victory of the kingdom which will come at his return. remain in the world. God's good has not yet totally replaced Satan's evil. As Christians, we live and struggle in the period between the inauguration of God's kingdom in the ministry of Jesus and the final victory of the kingdom which will come at his return. And, as we wait for God's final victory, we pray, "Thy kingdom come." It is a prayer of faith by which we summon the power of God to enter into battle with the forces of darkness. Jesus knew that, in spite of the disciples' optimism about the coming of the kingdom, there were going to be dark days ahead, days when they would have many doubts and uncertainties. In the story just before our parable, Jesus responds to questioning about when the kingdom of God will come. He paints a word-picture of the end of the age, the coming of the Son of man in power, and thefinalvictory of God. He also acknowledges that, before the end comes, people will grow impatient for it. Luke's gospel in particular emphasizes that the period before the second coming may be an extended, indefinite period of time. It will be a time characterized by conflict with evil; it will be a time of temptation, a time of testing and trouble 738

Persistence in Prayer: Luke 18:1-8 Review and Expositor, 104, Fall 2007 for God's people. Jesus knows that in this interim it will be easy for his people to lose heart; it will be easy to grow cynical; it will be easy to lose confidence that When God's people quit praying, we cut ourselves off from the power of God, and then our cynicism becomes self-fulfilling. God's good will ever triumph over Satan's evil. And it will be easy to quit praying with confidence, "Thy kingdom come." But when God's people quit praying, we cut ourselves off from the power of God, and then our cynicism becomes self-fulfilling. And so Jesus "told them a parable, to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart." The parable encourages the disciples to keep on praying with persistence and confidence in spite of the dark and difficult days ahead. The story revolves around two starkly contrasting characters: a judge and a widow. The judge is a corrupt, unrighteous judge. By his own admission, "he neither feared God nor regarded man," which means that he paid attention to neither table of the commandments. He neither loved God with all his heart nor his neighbor as himself, but was, apparently, totally consumed by self-centered greed. Since he didn't care what people thought of him and was not concerned with God's judgment either, he must have been the kind of judge who could easily be bribed. He reminds us of the dishonesty and corruption which have plagued our justice systems for as long as history can remember. He represents the kind of unjust judges in ancient Israel who turned a deaf ear to the poor and needy, but gave verdicts which favored those who could return the favor with money or power. He conjures up the kind of twisted justice that Israel's prophets had railed against and had warned that God's judgment would destroy. The unjust judge reminds us how deeply our social institutions are corrupted by sin. He reminds us how persistent is the evil in this world and how difficult it is to rid ourselves of it. By contrast, the widow in the parable is totally powerless. She is not necessarily old, but she is, apparently, alone in the world, without a protector or an advocate who could go and plead her case for her. Her adversary is probably someone who owes her money some debt or pledge or portion of an inheritance which is being withheld from her or perhaps the 739

mm rnmoj«jl!/ A BAPTIST THEOLOGICAL JOURNAL adversary is one who keeps on exacting from her I some unfair payment, such as a rent. In any case, ι her livelihood depends on getting some legal I action. But she has no way of getting leverage with the judge no strong advocate, no money for a bribe, no influence, no strings to pull. The widow is helpless and up against some pretty long odds. She reminds us of those helpless victims whose cause the prophets were always pleading the orphans and widows and poor those vulnerable nobodies whom God sided with simply because they depended entirely on him and had no other defense. It is obvious that the powerless widow doesn't have a chance against this powerful and uncompassionate judge. But then something remarkable happens a miracle, really. The widow uses the only weapon she hasher own tenacious persistence. The story says she "kept on coming (Greek imperfect verbal tense) to him" seeking relief from her opponent. And for a time the judge "kept on refusing" (Greek imperfect verbal tense). But she didn't quit. She was determined to prevail and she did. She wore him out and won her case. The judge does the right thing for the wrong reason. He acts neither out of love for God nor out of love for neighbor but out of pure selfishness. He's afraid that she will "wear him out" (lit., "give him a black eye") with her "continual coming." She annoys him until he finally decides to give in just to get rid of her. Jesus then asks, "Do you hear what the unrighteous judge is saying?" (v.6). Persistence pays off. If this unrighteous judge finally responds to the pleas of a widow he cares nothing about, how much more will God respond to the cries of his own people? Now, we need not to misunderstand; Jesus is not teaching that God is reluctant to answer our prayers or that we have to badger God until he finally caves in to If, in the end, an unjust and rapacious (greedy) judge can be our requests. Jesus is not saying God wearied into giving a widow is like that judge; rather, he is drawing woman justice, how much more a contrast between the two. In technical will God, who is a loving Father, terms, he is using the classic argument give his children what they need? from lesser to greater. "If, in the end, an unjust and rapacious judge can be wearied into giving a widow woman justice, how much more will God, who 740

Persistence in Prayer: Luke 18:1-8 Review and Expositor, 104, Fall 2007 is a loving Father, give His children what they need?" 1 There is, of course, a sense in which, like the widow, we sometimes have to wait for an answer to our prayers. And for the one who is suffering and waiting, it could seem that God is reluctant to answer and keeps putting us off. The emphasis, however, is not on God's slowness or reluctance to answer, but on his patience in listening to the cries of his people. The words typically translated, "Will he delay long Unlike the judge who grew weary with the widow's pleading, God listens tirelessly to our prayers. God is not reluctant. He listens patiently and he answers willingly. over them?" can also be translated, "He is patient with them." Unlike the judge who grew weary with the widow's pleading, God listens tirelessly to our prayers. God is not reluctant. He listens patiently and he answers willingly. On the other hand, Jesus does not promise instant gratification of our requests either. The words translated, "He will vindicate them speedily," can also be translated "suddenly, quickly." The emphasis is not on the timing of God's answer, but on its certainty and suddenness. God's response will surprise us, like a bolt out the blue. God's answer may not come chronologically soon, but as we pray and wait, we can be confident that his justice will come surely and swiftly. But the most important thing, whether our wait is long or short, is that in the end we may be found faithful, looking to God for our salvation. This was Jesus' advice to the disciples as they faced dark, uncertain days ahead: just keep on praying and trusting in God. And what does the parable say to us today? What do we hear the unrighteous judge saying to us? There are three lessons here that we should not miss. 1. The parable encourages us to tackle difficult issues with confidence. There are tough issues in the face of which we must keep praying, "Thy kingdom come." Just to take a few examples, consider the following perennial problems: 741

wrm M^D^M ^m j A BAPTIST THEOLOGICAL JOURNAL Racial prejudice We've made a lot of progress. But whenever we hear an ethnic slur or read about a hate crime or look at the poverty rates, we realize that we still have a long way to go. Violent conflict Whether we think of hot-spots around the world, like Iraq, the West Bank, Gaza, or the horrors of Darfur; or whether we consider gang warfare on our own mean streets; it is clear that "peace on earth" remains frustratingly elusive. Dysfunctional family life As we witness the tragedies of divorce, broken families, domestic violence, and child abuse, we feel powerless to stop a force out of control. Poverty and hunger It would seem that our economic systems are constructed in such a way that, no matter how much affluence we create, there is always a group on the bottom living in need. While many of us enjoy conspicuous consumption, there are others who do not have enough; there are many who work long hours but do not earn enough to provide for their families; there are places in the world where political corruption prevents food supplies from reaching the people who most desperately need it. In the face of these unrelenting problems, and many others, the parable invites us to pray and to keep on praying, "Thy kingdom come." And we need not only to pray for these issues but to work on them as well. For when we pray, "Thy kingdom come," it is our way of signing up for duty in God's battle with unrighteousness. We need to keep praying and working, but these evils are so stubborn and resistant to our efforts that it is easy to get discouraged. It's so hard to see any progress sometimes that we just want to say, "What's the use?" and quit trying. And that's where the second lesson from the parable can help us. 2. The parable cautions us not to expect immediate results. Remember the widow? She came and she came and she came. The judge was stubborn and resistant, but still she came. We should not expect to see instant results either. In fact, it is not our job to produce results at all. 742

Persistence η Prayer: Luke 18:1-8 Review and Expositor, 104, Fall 2007 God has called us to be faithful, to do what we can, to keep praying and leave the rest to him. We need to be prepared to meet God has called us to be failures and set-backs faithful to do what we without giving up the can, to keep praying and ΤΑγ., r W e n e e d to see leave the rest to him. cause our work as part of the long history of the church, which began long before we became a part of it and, as far as we know, will continue long after we're gone. However painfully slow the progress may seem, we must always be sure that our goal actually is the kingdom of God as Jesus described it. We have missionaries in certain cultures where progress is so slow that many years may go by before the first converts are won. It is terribly discouraging. Who could blame them for wanting to quit? What keeps them going is the understanding that their responsibility is not to produce results but to be faithful and to keep planting seeds which in time may yield fruit. And they know that when the harvest comes, it will be God's doing, not their own. But the most important thing that can keep all of us going in the difficult times is the third lesson from the parable. 3. The parable assures us that God's justice will prevail in the end. Remember the widow? She won her case. It was never in the cards. The odds were totally against her. And she probably didn't see it coming! But she won suddenly, miraculously, as if out of nowhere! Jesus says that's how God's justice is. God listens patiently to the cries of his people day and night. Then, suddenly, swiftly, miraculously, he delivers them. For as long as most of us can remember, Communism had a stranglehold on eastern Europe; it seemed that its grip would never be broken. For decades, Christians prayed for the people suffering political and religious oppression behind the "iron curtain." Believers prayed that the "iron curtain" itself would fall -never daring to imagine that it actually would, or if it did that we would live to see it. Then, suddenly, as if out of nowhere, it did fall. God was answering the prayers of his people. We saw those unbelievable pictures of people tearing down the Berlin wall and for just a moment we knew that there was hope for the world. 743

A BAPTIST THEOLOGICAL JOURNAL God's kingdom will come. His justice will prevail. We just need to keep praying and not lose heart. Do we believe that? Do we really believe it? And will we believe it until the end? When Christ comes, bringing God's final victory over evil, will he find his people faithful to the end, still believing and praying that it would happen? Prayer: In many ways, O God, we face dark and uncertain days. We experience the frustration of prayers that seem to go unanswered. We experience the disappointment of plans which seem to go unfulfilled. We face the uncertainty of conditions we do not understand. We pray that even in these dark and uncertain days we might find the faith to keep on praying, knowing that you are not reluctant to answer but that you listen patiently to all our prayers. Father, we believe; we pray that you will help us daily in our struggle to keep on believing. 231. 1 William Barclay, The Gospel of Luke, 2nd ed. (Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1956), 744

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