Are you tired of things being unfair? Are you exhausted from wanting things to be better for your family, friends, or neighborhood? Ready to give up in frustration? Me too.
I have a family member who needs healing. For years, I’ve prayed and prayed, and it doesn’t look like any progress is being made. In the time that I’ve prayed, I’ve seen other prayers answered, but it seems like this one request is being ignored. She’s still hurting, and I wonder if God is still listening.
If it feels like justice will never come, Jesus has a word of encouragement for us in this parable about a widow who refused to give up.
What Is a Parable?
A parable is a simple story that uses everyday imagery to reveal deep spiritual truths. Jesus didn’t invent parables, but He was a master parable teller, using them to teach timeless lessons about God’s kingdom.
Parables invited listeners to lean in, reflect, and wrestle with what Jesus was really saying. For those with open hearts, these simple stories revealed deep spiritual truths. But for those who resisted, the meaning remained hidden.
Explore the Ultimate Parable Guide.
Where Is the Parable of the Persistent Widow in Scripture?
The Parable of the Persistent Widow appears in Luke 18:1-8.
A Parable of the Persistent Widow Summary
Jesus told His disciples this story:
- There was a judge who showed no concern for God or people.
- A widow kept coming to him, asking for justice against someone who had taken advantage of her.
- The judge ignored her requests and refused to help.
- The widow didn’t give up and kept coming back.
- Eventually, the judge gave in because he was tired of being bothered.
- He granted her justice not because he cared, but just to get her to stop.
Who’s Who in the Parable?
Every parable contains people, objects, or animals to which Jesus gives spiritual meaning. This parable is no different. So before we explore what this parable means, we need to find out who and what each thing in this parable represents.
- The uncaring judge represents injustice. Despite his given authority to help anyone seeking justice, he doesn’t use his position to readily help. Instead he represents what it feels like to be ignored or disregarded.
- The persistent widow represents tenacity. Despite her lowly position and the judge’s uninterested response, she never stops asking for justice. She represents what it looks like to keep seeking God with faith and perseverance.
The Parable of the Persistent Widow Explained
This parable reminds us that justice is God’s design. When things are unjust, keep praying. God is listening to our persistent prayers. Luke sums it up nicely in the first verse when he says:
Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. Luke 18:1 NIV
The Context of the Parable of the Persistent Widow
This parable wasn’t written to us, but it was spoken to real people in a real moment. Understanding that moment helps us see what Jesus meant more clearly.
Jesus told this parable to His disciples. These were His students and traveling friends. Injustice was widespread in the world around Jesus and His disciples. They were aware of broken systems that were meant to protect people but failed to do so.
The disciples had most likely met and prayed for hurting people like the widow in this story. They probably knew corrupt officials who took advantage of their position in society.
As people who believed Jesus was the promised Messiah and gave up everything to follow Him, they probably hoped the end of evil was happening soon. Later on in Luke 18, Jesus predicts His death and the disciples were still confused by what He’s talking about.
Jesus knew God’s timing doesn’t always match our timing. This parable isn’t just a reminder to keep praying, but also an encouragement to faithfully believe God is just, even in the midst of heartbreaking unfairness.
What the Parable of the Persistent Widow Means Now
Injustice is a distorted, fake version of God’s intended order for the world.
Injustice is a distorted, fake version of God’s intended order for the world. It builds empires, unfairly uses power, and causes selfish sins like greed, pride, and hate.
We all know of unfair situations and uncaring people who ignore cries for help. When Jesus talks about the unrighteous judge, we can visualize someone in that role because we all long for justice.
Why do we all really want things to be right and healthy? It’s because God designed the world to be full of justice. It’s built into everything He created. That includes us! Deep down, we want things to be set right and balanced.
Jesus uses this worn-out, annoyed, unfair judge to show us that God is the exact opposite. God is full of justice and righteousness. And He uses a tenacious, determined widow to show us that we can cry out to God and trust that we are heard and welcomed. He’s listening to our persistent prayers for things to be right for everyone.
Don’t Give Up Hope
This parable is an “in the meantime” story. While we’re waiting for God to end all evil, we can go to God with every emergency. We can bring Him our problems, and our neighbors’ problems.
One day our broken world will be completely restored and justice will be back in balance. God asks us to trust Him even when we don’t understand His timing or have the full picture.
God’s justice was there at the beginning of time, and it will be there at the end. When you believe that, God invites you into quite an adventure. As His partner, He wants you to help undo what sin has done.
He wants you to help build His unshakable kingdom here on earth. That means praying for others, standing up for what’s right, and not giving up. It means following Jesus’ example of listening, caring, and spreading God’s goodness until the world is restored and evil is no more.
3 Truths to Hold On to From the Parable of the Persistent Widow
- If there’s something unfair happening to you or in the world around you, keep talking to God about it. He’s listening.
- Justice is God’s design. He created the world to be in balance, and one day that balance will return.
- You can put your faith in God and His eternal story of justice and goodness. Or you can put your trust in things that won’t last like sin, selfishness, and injustice. You get to choose.
Next Steps
- Reflect: Is there something big you’re praying for? Keep it up. Or is there something you were praying for, but somewhere along the way, you stopped? Pick up where you left off and start again. Or if you’ve never prayed for something big because you weren’t sure God cared, He does. Start talking to Him about what breaks your heart.
- Pray: This parable is proof that prayer is an important part of walking with Jesus. Here’s a persistent prayer we all can pray: God, justice is Your design. I want everyone on earth to know Your righteousness. Count me in as Your partner. Lead me to where things are broken and direct me on how to make a difference until Your world is restored and evil is no more. In Jesus’ name, amen.
- Action: The persistent widow was just one person. But what if a whole group of people got together and prayed for the same thing? It’s powerful when people unite and pray. Don’t try to do it on your own. As you pray with determination, invite other people to pray with you. This week, share what you’re praying for and ask your community to stand with you in prayer.
đŸ“– Read the Parable for Yourself
Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.
He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought. And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’
For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come and attack me!’”
And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?” Luke 18:1-8 NIV