Nag! Nag! Nag! Nobody likes it when someone nags them over something, and probably a lot of people don’t enjoy nagging others, either. I certainly don’t. However, with some people, that seems to be the only way to get them to do something that they had either promised to do, or were supposed to do. You have to keep after them, telling them over and over again to do what they need to, before they finally get up and act. In today’s Gospel passage we read of a woman, who persistently kept after someone, nagging if you will, till she got what she needed.
Sometimes we might feel that nagging seems to be necessary. A spouse or older child promised that they would attend to something, but days pass and it never gets done. Or a parent has to nag their child to get a chore done, their room cleaned, or their homework done. Maybe workmen you have contracted to do a project aren’t getting it finished promptly, and you have to repeatedly call them about it. We’ve all had situations where we’ve done some nagging, and maybe, if the other person is hard-headed enough, we might just give up. We ask. They don’t respond. We ask again. Still no response. We nag. We nag again. Still no response. We finally give up.
Do we ever feel that way about God? We come to Him in prayer over some important or urgent need, and we get no response. We pray again, and still see no answer. Do we just give up? Jesus told His disciples a brief parable about such a scenario. In His parable there was a widow who had someone who was bothering her. The specific problem wasn’t told, but this person was an adversary, coming against her unjustly about something. So the widow took the matter to court to seek justice. However, the judge at first didn’t do anything. After her repeated pleas and nagging, though, he finally decided to attend to her case, if only just to get her off his back (vs. 2-5).
Jesus gave us this parable to encourage us to not give up when we are praying. How often do we come to God with a prayer need, not one which is misguided or selfish, and we pray and pray, but get no answer or response? What do we often do? We just give up. Jesus, though, tells us not to give up (vs. 1). Despite the afflictions and hardships of life, we should continue to pray and not lose heart.
This judge was a godless man, even by his own admittance (vs. 4). He is not given as a symbol of God, but rather, in contrast to Him. If an unjust man would respond to persistent pleas, would not God, who is just, loving, and merciful? Since we know He loves us, we can believe He will hear our cries for help. God, who always does right, and is filled with compassion for believers who suffer, will certainly respond to their cry for help (vs. 7).
To persist in prayer and not give up does not mean endless repetition or long prayer sessions. Always praying means keeping our requests constantly before God and living for Him each day, believing He will answer. When we live by faith, we are not to give up. God may delay answering, but His delays always have good reasons. There may be many reasons why God does not answer our prayers quickly. But until He lets us know that we should stop praying about something, He calls us to persevere in faith and keep asking. Sometimes it may take years of praying before a prayer is answered, especially when praying for the salvation of someone. One on one communication with God is how we strengthen our relationship with Him. Prayer can bring cataclysmic changes in heaven and on earth (Revelation 5:8; 8:3-4), and can turn any situation around.
The issue and point of the parable is not so much God’s faithfulness. It is whether believers will persist in supplication, or whether their patience and perseverance will give out by the time Jesus Christ returns (vs. 8). When Jesus returns, those holding to the true faith will be comparatively rare, as in the days of Noah (Matthew 24:37-39). It will be marked by persecution of true believers, apostasy of most denominations, and outright unbelief.
It is precisely when tempted to give up that Christians ought to be strong in their resolve to pray. Don’t lose heart! Believe and keep praying!
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