Persistent.
Proper 24, Year C; Luke 18:1-8
Last week, Jesus taught us that worship is the result of faith. This week, He teaches us something more about faith—it’s exercised through a persistent prayer life.
Right out of the gate, Luke tells us the meaning of this parable: “He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and not lose heart” (Luke 18:1). The point couldn’t be clearer. Don’t stop praying. Don’t give up.
Jesus tells the story of a widow who keeps coming to an unjust judge, pleading for justice against her adversary. The judge doesn’t fear God or care about people, but this widow refuses to let the matter drop. She keeps coming, wearing him down until he finally grants her request just to get her off his back.
If persistence can move a wicked judge, Jesus says, how much more will it move a loving Father? God is not reluctant to hear us. He delights to respond to those who continually bring their needs before Him.
Jesus isn’t teaching something new—He’s echoing what Scripture has always shown. Think of Jacob wrestling with God through the night, refusing to let go until he received a blessing. Jacob’s persistence earned him a new name, Israel, which means “one who strives with God and prevails.” Or consider Job, who though afflicted beyond imagination still cried, “Though you slay me, yet will I trust in You.”
And look to Jesus Himself—the very picture of persistence. Through constant opposition, endless demands, and the weight of the cross, He never let go of His mission or His Father’s will. Even in death He prayed, “Father, forgive them,” and “into Your hands I commit My spirit.” He persisted in prayer unto death, and the Father answered—raising Him from it.
Why persistence? Because that’s the very character of God toward us. The Father has been far more persistent with us than we have ever been with Him. He is patient with our wandering, long-suffering with our weakness, and faithful through our failure. When Jesus calls us to persistence, He’s inviting us to share in His Father’s own nature—to pray as He prays, to love as He loves, and to endure as He endures.
Sometimes our prayers seem to fall flat, and we wonder why. Scripture gives two reasons:
We haven’t persisted. Persistence isn’t measured by how long we’ve prayed but by whether we’ve refused to give up. Jesus said, “Whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours” (Mark 11:24). Faith keeps asking because faith knows Who it’s asking.
We’ve prayed with wrong motives. God only gives what is good (Matthew 7:11). As James writes, “You ask and do not receive because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions” (James 4:3).
Persistence refines our desires and aligns them with God’s. The more we pray, the more our hearts begin to want what He wants.
Life in a fallen world guarantees hardship, but Jesus reminds us that God is “a very present help in trouble” (Psalm 46:1). Through persistent prayer, we draw near to Him and invite His justice, healing, and mercy into our story. It rarely happens in a moment; it happens through a life of faithful endurance.
Jesus says we must receive the kingdom like children (Luke 18:16–17). Children don’t give up easily—they keep asking until they’re answered. That’s the kind of faith God delights in: simple, stubborn, and trusting.
So, will we be found praying when He returns? Will He find faith on the earth—a faith that clings, endures, and refuses to let go?
Let us then persist in prayer, persist in faith, and persist in hope. For at the right time, God will answer—not because we have earned it, but because we have trusted Him enough not to stop asking.
Peace be with you,
Pastor Bruce
