Straight Cuts T
his passage recounts Jesus’ parable about a widow who came to a judge seeking his intervention in a problem. When the judge wouldn’t listen, she kept badgering him until he did what she asked just so she would go away and leave him alone. Since Luke says the story is intended to teach us “always to pray, and not to faint,” readers often conclude that Jesus must mean we are to take our requests to God repeatedly and persistently until He grants what we ask. I believe that interpretation of this parable is incorrect. Jesus does not mean we are supposed to wear God out with constant begging until we manage to nag Him into capitulating just to silence us. The eschatological context of the parable is often overlooked. Jesus is dealing with the question of endtimes justice. He’s been teaching His disciples about His return, and He’s just explained that God will come and take some away for judgment and leave others to enter the kingdom (17:22–37). Here Jesus says that God, who is far superior to this judge, will surely execute justice on the earth (18:8). This parable isn’t about how prayer works, as if its purpose were to pressure God into doing what we want. It’s a parable about trusting God. Prayer is an important facet of the parable, but the emphasis is on constant faith as we wait for God to conclude His program of redemption. There are two characters in the story, both intended as contrasts, not comparisons. The woman bringing the petition is a widow, powerless and insignificant in the eyes of the judge; but we come to God as those He’s chosen for Himself. The judge considered her a nuisance, but to God we are a delight. Second, this unjust judge is twice described as not fearing God and having no concern for man, but God is a righteous judge committed to enforcing justice. He will not fail to avenge His “own elect.” Significantly, the widow wasn’t requesting a favor or boon, but simply that the judge would do his job. An enemy was causing her some unidentified problem, and she needed the judge to right the wrong. Like this widow, we may at times be tempted to despair because of the apparent delay in God’s defense of His people. Evil people seem to prosper while God’s people may appear as widows, struggling to survive the oppression of the wicked. We should take heart, because God will never forget or abandon “his own elect.” He will destroy all opposition “speedily,” but perhaps not immediately. God does not want His people to act like this importunate widow, as if they think He’s an “unjust judge” and doubt He will really do as He promised. Nevertheless,
Dr. Paul Downey has pastored Temple Baptist Church in Athens, Georgia, since 1998. He is the author of More than Spectators, A Life of Conquest, The Man You Could Be, and Trusting God When Life Is Hard and contributed to From the Mind of God to the Mind of Man and God’s Word in Our Hands.
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God Is Not an “Unjust Judge” (Luke 18:1–8) He will “bear long with them” “Rightly despite their “cry day and night.” God tolerates the nagging and dividing badgering but doesn’t encourage the Word it, because it implies unbelief. of Truth” What should we make of (2 Tim. 2:15) the introductory application that “men ought always to pray, and not to faint”? Doesn’t Luke mean we are to keep asking until God complies? We may be misunderstanding the meaning of “to faint.” “Fainting” does not mean “to stop asking.” We faint when we lose heart and our faith falters. Many of us are like that widow, finding it difficult to “walk, and not faint” (Isa. 40:31). It’s dark and hard to see the way. The path itself is cluttered with obstacles, and enemies or difficulties surround us on every side. Isaiah says that God doesn’t want us to faint but to walk as an activity of faith, in complete confidence that He is directing our steps, even though we don’t sense His leadership and can’t see the way. Luke says Jesus doesn’t want us to faint but to pray as an activity of faith, in complete confidence that God is directing our lives, even though we don’t sense His leadership and we can’t see the way. In this sense “to pray” and “to walk” are synonymous. Prayer is mounting with wings. It is running without weariness. It is walking the uphill, rough and rugged road and never fainting. “To pray and not to faint” does not mean that we have to badger God into keeping His promises, much less that we should try to annoy Him into giving us what we want. Nor does it mean we have to keep repeating the same prayer until He finally notices us, which is more the “prophets of Baal” approach to prayer (1 Kings 18:19–38). The parable in Luke 18:1–8 is intended to teach us that the prayer of faith includes what we might call a “sanctified indifference” that comes from absolute confidence. We are content in taking our burdens and needs to God, trusting His will to be superior to ours, believing He is powerful and just and good, and fully persuaded that we are His beloved elect. The more confident we are of those things, the less likely we are to think we have to nag Him into acquiescence, and the more likely we are to realize there is no need for us as we “cry night and day.” We can “cast our burdens” on Him and leave them there. However, the Lord Jesus is also teaching that we must never stop praying. Prayer should define our lives. We should walk along the usually mundane and often hazardous path of life constantly communicating with God, relying on Him for strength and direction, and confident of His love and our ultimate glorification. That’s what “men ought always to pray and not to faint” means. FrontLine Pastor’s Insert • July/August 2013