This weekend’s Gospel is about a widow who will not give up until she gets a judge to rule in her favor in a legal case. Jesus is clear that He gives His disciples this parable so they would recognize “their need to pray always and not to lose heart.”
In the parable, the judge is irreligious and contemptuous towards others. Yet, he reasons “because this widow keeps bothering me, I will grant her justice, so that she may not wear me out by continually coming.” Jesus is clear “will not God grant justice to His chosen ones who cry out to Him day and night…(He) will quickly grant justice to them.” Rather than being irreligious and contemptuous, God is ultimate love and mercy. If the irreligious judge rules in favor of the persistent widow, how much more will our loving God help us when He asks Him.
Yet, in our Christian lives, we know that sometimes our prayers appear to go unanswered. This can discourage us as we wonder if God is listening and if He really loves us. In The Word on Fire Bible: The Gospels, Bishop Robert Barron quotes St. Augustine concerning persistent prayer when he states “Augustine said that God sometimes delays in giving us what we want because He wants our hearts to expand. The more ardently we desire something, the more ready we are when it comes, the more we treasure it.” Bishop Barron goes on to observe “When the Lord seems slow to answer your prayer, never give up.”
Persistent prayer is an important part our faith. God never fails to answer prayer. Rather, His response to our prayer may not be immediate or could involve an answer later in time than we are expecting. The message of the Gospel is clear: Never give up on prayer.
The acronym P.U.S.H. summarizes the message: Pray Until Something Happens. May our prayer involve trust in God’s mercy and love, which is always at work, to bring us and those we love to the joys of eternal life.