Always to pray, and not to faint

"And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint." Luke 18:1

This is one of the rare places in the gospels where Luke announces the meaning of a parable before telling it. He does not leave us to work it out. He puts the conclusion first: men ought always to pray, and not to faint.

And the story that follows is disconcerting. A widow badgers an unjust judge who fears neither God nor man. He finally grants her justice — not out of kindness, but so she will stop coming. Then Jesus says: if an unjust judge acts like that, how much more will God.

It is worth seeing what the comparison actually does. It does not say God resembles the judge: it says He is the absolute opposite. If even indifference eventually yields to persistence, what will a Father who listens do? The argument runs from the worst case to the best, and that is where its force lies.

But the main teaching is about the widow, not the judge. She has no leverage: no money, no protector, no standing. In the society she lives in she is as powerless as a person gets. Her one resource is to come back. And that is exactly what Jesus holds up as the model.

"Not to faint" — the Greek verb suggests losing heart, sagging under the weight. Jesus is not commanding harder prayer. He is commanding you not to stop. Those are two different things, and confusing them exhausts a great many sincere believers.

This week. Take the subject you stopped praying about — not because it was resolved, but because you no longer believe in it. Put it back on the list. The widow had no better argument on day ten than on day one. She simply came back.

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