This judge was ungodly, both as a man and as a judge. Yet, by the end of the parable, he surprisingly answers the widow’s request. And the Bible tells us that the only reason he granted her what she wanted was simply because she would not stop bothering him and he could not take it anymore.

There is power in persistence

The first lesson in this parable is that there is power in persistence when seeking answers to our prayers.

We all desire immediate responses, but often God works through processes and through the different seasons of life. There may be more to the situation than we can currently see, especially when our prayers involve other people making decisions. God does not force anyone to act against their will; we are all given free will. Thus, while we may pray for God to change someone or prompt them to act immediately, only they can ultimately make the decision and take action. This process can take a long time. Some people won’t start looking up until they hit rock bottom.

For example, it took ten plagues for Pharaoh to finally obey God's command to let His people go, and even after that, he still wanted to change his decision. When praying for others to go in a different direction, it may be a while before they finally submit to the voice of God. This is why when we are praying for others, we should not focus on seeing immediate results. If we simply pray for God's will and place the situation in His hands, we can trust Him to work it out, whether we see the results or not. The day a seed is planted is not the day it will grow; things take time. If we seek immediate answers, we may lose faith and stop praying when God begins working through a process or when people take time to change. Being consistent in prayer demands us to focus on God and not on the outcome.

God wants us to trust Him

The second lesson is that God wants us to trust Him as our righteous judge.

Jesus often used contrasts to make His point, such as in Matthew 7 when He says that if earthly fathers can give good gifts to their children, how much more will our Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who believe? Or in John 3 when He tells Nicodemus that if he doesn’t understand earthly things, how can he understand heavenly things? Sometimes, Jesus approaches a subject indirectly to prove His point. This is evident in our opening reading when He says, "Hear what the unjust judge said." The key word here is "unjust." If this unjust judge is willing to meet the needs of the widow, how much more will our righteous judge (who is also our Heavenly Father) be willing to meet our needs? The contrast of the unjust judge who doesn’t fear God or regard man serves as a backdrop to highlight the faithfulness and responsiveness of our God toward His children.