A Reflection on Luke 18:1-8
Have you ever asked your parents for something really important, and they
didn't answer right away? Maybe you kept asking and asking until finally they
said yes? Jesus tells us a story about a widow who did something like that, but
with a judge who wasn't even a nice person! This widow had a problem, and she
kept going back to this grumpy judge day after day, asking for help. The judge
didn't care about God or people, but guess what? He finally helped her just
because she wouldn't give up! Jesus is showing us something amazing here: if
even a mean judge will help someone who keeps asking, how much more will our
loving God, who actually cares about us, answer our prayers?
Here's the beautiful part that should fill our hearts with hope: God isn't like
that unjust judge at all! He's not annoyed by our prayers or waiting to see if
we'll give up. He's our perfect Father who loves us more than we can imagine.
When Jesus tells us to "pray always and not lose heart," He's
inviting us into a relationship with God that's constant and close, like
talking to your best friend. God wants us to keep coming to Him not because
He's testing us, but because prayer changes us. Every time we pray, we're
growing closer to Him, trusting Him more, and becoming more like the saints in
heaven who never stop praising God.
Think about Mary, our Blessed Mother, and how she never stopped trusting in
God's plan even when things seemed impossible or scary. When we pray the
rosary, we're doing exactly what Jesus asks in this parable, we're praying
always! Each Hail Mary is like the widow knocking on the door, but we're not
bothering God, we're spending time with Him and His mother. Just like the widow
showed incredible faith by returning again and again, we show our faith by
returning to prayer day after day, bead after bead. The rosary teaches us that
persistence in prayer isn't annoying to God; it's beautiful to Him! And here's
something wonderful: when we repeat the Our Father over and over, we're letting
Jesus know how much we love Him, and all those Hail Marys? They're like telling
Mary "I love you, I love you, I love you" without ever asking for
anything in return. It's pure love expressed through faithful repetition.
The really exciting question Jesus asks at the end is: "When the Son of
Man comes, will He find faith on earth?" He's asking if we'll be like that
widow, people who never stop believing, never stop praying, never give up on
God. God wants to answer our prayers! He wants to help us even more than we
want to be helped. Sometimes His answer is "yes," sometimes it's
"wait," and sometimes it's "I have something better for
you." But He always listens, and He always loves us. We just need to keep
that faith alive and burning bright.
So here's your challenge: be like that persistent widow! Don't let anything
stop you from talking to God. When you're happy, pray. When you're sad, pray.
When you're scared or confused, pray. God never gets tired of hearing from you.
He's not a grumpy judge, He's your Father who delights in your voice and wants
to shower you with grace. Keep praying, keep believing, and watch how God works
in your life. Remember, the widow won her case not because the judge was good,
but because she wouldn't give up. And you? You have a God who is perfectly good
and who promises to bring justice and blessings to His children who call on Him
day and night. How awesome is that?
©2025 James Dacey, Jr., OFS
