When I married my husband some twenty-nine years ago, I had only known him for ten months. Yep, we met in August, got engaged the following April, and were married two months later. For some, our courtship appears very rushed and quick. But they don’t know the back story.

From the moment I began to follow Jesus, I prayed for a Christian husband. For eleven long years, the prayer went seemingly unanswered. Finally, after I fully surrendered my longing to the Lord, some mutual friends arranged a blind date for Mark and me. So what looked like a quick trip to the altar actually took eleven plus years. 

Prayer can work like that. In the last few days, a dramatic lifestyle change for my family unfolded in record time. To outsiders, the quick turnaround time seemed incredulous. But I’m seeing the answer to another longtime prayer.

In situations like these, where answers to prayer take time, I lean on the teaching of the Parable of the Persistent Widow. However, my understanding of this parable has deepened since I first embraced it nearly three decades ago.

Jesus told this parable to encourage us to pray without losing heart. In the story, Jesus described two characters: a widow desperate for justice, and an unrighteous judge. Because widows depended on family members or charity for financial support, they represented some of the most vulnerable members of the Jewish culture. Showing indifference to their needs amounted to a grievous social offense. Unfortunately, the widow made her appeal to a judge who not only had no fear of God, but also didn’t care about public opinion. However, he eventually granted the widow justice:

“For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come and attack me!’” (Luke 18:4-5 NIV)

The Greek word translated as “attack me”, hupópiazó, literally means to strike under the eye, or to give someone a black eye. Metaphorically, it refers to beating someone down. To keep the widow from wearing him down with her nagging, the judge finally granted her justice.

For years I believed if I just wore God down with my prayer requests, I could get what I wanted. But I missed the heart of this parable. The next few verses provide some clarification:

And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:6-8 NIV)

Unlike the unrighteous judge, the Lord wants justice for His people. The Greek word for justice, ekdikésis, literally means vengeance or vindication. That definition, along with the image of God’s chosen people crying out day and night, cause some scholars to believe this parable described the prayers of persecuted believers. After promising God will deliver justice quickly, Jesus closed the parable with a simple question ~ when He returns, will He find believers with the faith to pray without losing heart?

Initially I clung to these verses because of a misunderstanding. My prayers had nothing to do with persecution. They simply expressed the longings of my heart. But through them I’ve learned the secret power of praying without giving up. It actually transforms my heart and aligns it with God’s will and timing. Prayer not only changes me, it increases my faith in God. Simply put:

Relentless prayer builds unrelenting faith.

Wherever the road takes us next, may we persevere in our prayers to the One who leads us.