DAY 19: Persistence  . . . and More  

“And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him (the judge) 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 about men, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually wear me out with her coming!’” (Luke 18:3-5)

Begging, yes even demanding a response; that seems to be the kind of posture that the widow was using in coming to the judge.    

It was not disrespectful. It was not an expression of entitlement on her part. It was being persistent, and yet the word “persistent” probably doesn’t do her approach justice. Her approach was audacious, shameless, brazen, immodest, unabashed. She simply wasn’t willing to give up.

Jesus uses this parable of the persistent widow to teach us about being persistent in prayer. In doing so, He is teaching us about going to God with a confidence, conviction and a certainty that He WILL answer. There is no need to give up. There certainly wasn’t any giving up as far as the widow was concerned.

But why would Jesus want us to be so persistent? Perhaps because there is actually more that the Lord has in store for us than we could ever even ask. In the parable of the persistent widow, what is so remarkable is that her persistence changed the heart of an unjust judge. After all, Jesus tells us that this judge “. . . neither feared God nor cared about men.”  

So not only did the widow receive what she wanted (justice), but in the process her persistence changed the heart of the judge. How remarkable! This was more than she asked for; more than the planned or predictable or plausible results she was after.

And maybe God has the same in store for you. Don’t give up. Don’t give up in coming to Him.  

What bold request would you like to make of God for something in your life?

What bold request would you like to make of God regarding the capital campaign for your church?  

Whatever it is, may you go to God audaciously, shamelessly, brazenly, immodestly, unabashedly, and yes even persistently looking to receive immeasurably more than you ask.