Sighing with frustration, I continued to press the very courteous, yet unyielding, customer service representative. Even though I understood he could only uphold his company’s policies, I hoped for an exception.

I had missed canceling my subscription by one day. According to company policy, automatic subscription renewals did not qualify for a refund. I now bore responsibility for the next six-month subscription, which they had just charged to my credit card. After reiterating the fact my new subscription had not yet started, and that this experience would hinder me from recommending their services to others, the representative found an exception and refunded my money.

A friend who works in customer service confirmed what I suspected. Companies give representatives scripts to use when responding to customer complaints or demands. But if the customer persists enough times, the representative has the authority to meet the customer’s demands, or issue a refund.

While I never lost my patience, or became rude, the entire situation felt disquieting. I walked away wondering: Why do we have be pushy to the point of discomfort in order to be treated fairly?

Jesus actually spoke to this in one of His parables. In this story, a widow seeks justice from a judge who has no respect for God or people. For a while, the judge refused to help the widow. But because of her persistence, he eventually granted her justice (Luke 18:2-5).

In Jesus’ culture, people expected judges to act and render judgements out of respect for God. Because widows depended on their families or charity for their financial needs, the law of Moses provided special protection for them. With this context, the judge’s refusal to grant justice to the widow would cause others to view him with contempt.

The parable doesn’t explain why the judge eventually relented. Maybe the widow’s persistence wore him down. Or he believed his refusal to grant her justice could cause him to lose his position. In any case, the persistence of the widow prevailed. 

On the surface understanding of this parable, I see persistence rewarded ~ and I feel validated when I look back at my tussle with the customer representative. But when I look at the deeper spiritual lesson behind the parable, I feel convicted.

Jesus explained the purpose of this parable is to encourage us to pray and never give up (Luke 18:1). We may be tempted to think the unjust judge represents God ~ but we would be wrong. Jesus uses the character of the unjust judge to help us see the loving nature of God:

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 my situation, or that of the persistent widow, we can have confidence that God will bring about justice for us. This should encourage us to persistently pray ~ to call out to Him day and night. In the context of this parable, we are called to pray for His justice. One way to do this is to ask for His will to be done here on earth as it is in heaven (Matthew 6:10).

But as I shared in a previous post, (you can read it here), we can pray for His help in any situation. Unfortunately, I often pray as a last resort. Ouch! Not only that, but this parable makes me ask: Do I pray with the same persistence as I employed with the customer service representative? Sadly, no. Double Ouch!

At the end of the parable, Jesus wonders if He will find faith on the earth when He comes back. His point seems clear: Persistence in prayer cultivates persistent faith.

Prayer does not come as naturally to me as Bible study. But as I have grown in my understanding of prayer, I have also grown in my practice of it. I want for Jesus to find me faithful when He returns.

As we continue down our journey through life, let’s grow in our practice of prayer. And may we be found faithful by the One who loves us and leads us home.