Luke 18:1-8
Annie Watson, St.
Stanislaus
October 15, 2016
In this parable of the Unjust Judge
(which is a great oxymoron), Jesus tells his audience “about their need to pray
always and not to lose heart.” Since I’m a woman I can say this: Jesus
seems to encourage us to “nag” God in prayer.
In the parable a widow relentlessly
pursues justice against her opponent, although we are never told what the
opponent did. We can assume that, because she is a defenseless widow, as all
widows were in that day, someone is taking advantage of her.
At first the judge refuses to help
her, but eventually he gives in because he doesn't want the widow to continue
coming to him and wearing him out. He has other things to do. He has other
cases to resolve. He's more interested in people paying him under the table and
other unethical practices that will make him rich. He could care less about
this widow woman, and yet to get her out of his hair he brings justice to her.
Jesus then offers the moral to the
story: If even an unjust human judge will eventually come around and help
someone in need, will not the Almighty Judge do what is right at all times?
Jesus is suggesting that God will answer our prayers if we are persistent.
Is that true? Does God always answer our prayers if we are persistent? Some might
say, “Yes, but sometimes God answers with a ‘no’.” Perhaps it is true that God
says “no” to us at times, but this is really an assumption on our part. We are
assuming that the silent response to our prayers is a “no” when it could just
as well be a non-response.
If we follow the wisdom of Jesus’
parable, we should ignore all the “no’s” or non-responses to our prayers and
continue to nag God until God says “yes” (much like a salesperson ignores the
first few “no’s” of a prospective customer).
There are many types of prayers.
There are prayers of adoration or praise, prayers of thanksgiving, and prayers
of confession. Some people practice meditation and contemplation, types of
prayer that come from the monastic traditions.
But the type of prayer implied in
Jesus' parable is “prayers of petition.” When we pray a prayer of petition we
are asking God for something. Like the widow in the parable, we might ask God for
justice. We might ask God to heal the sick or comfort those who mourn. These
are prayers of petition or intercessory prayers.
Whether we ask God for something that
benefits us, or benefits others, prayers of petition create theological
problems for some people. For some Christians, asking God for something seems a
little silly. Giving God a verbal “wish list” as if God is a heavenly Santa
Claus who will give us what we pray for if we are good enough or persistent
enough seems a little silly.
Why do some Christians have a problem
with prayers of petition? First, if God already knows our needs and wishes, why
do we need to persistently nag God about them? Don't we insult God by acting as
if God needs to be reminded about these things? Doesn't persistent, nagging
prayer imply a senile God?
Second, there is the reality of
unanswered prayers. Let's be honest. We have all prayed for things that simply
did not materialize. I'm sure we have all prayed for someone’s healing only to
discover that they did not recover from their illness or injury. We have all
prayed for world peace and for an end to world hunger. If we say that God has
simply said “no” to these prayers, then we have to grapple with the reality of
a God who doesn't seem to care about people very much.
Because of these theological
problems, some people choose not to pray intercessory or prayers of petition. Even
when a prayer seems to “work,” people are often surprised.
A priest stopped during his morning
walk when he saw a man bending over one of the tires of his car. The rear had
been jacked up, and the man was tugging at the tire muttering profanities. Then
he stood up, kicked at the tire, and expressed his feelings at the top of his
voice.
The priest came over to him and said,
"My good man, surely there is no need for such heated profanity. Why don't
you calm down and try the power of prayer. The man turned to the priest and
said, “You mean pray about something as mundane as a flat tire? How do I do
that?”
“I'll show you,” said the priest.
“It’s the simplest thing in the world.” The priest raised his eyes to heaven
and said, “Our heavenly Father, if it be Thy pleasure, help guide this man to
faith and make him aware that all in the universe, from the mightiest star to
the tiniest fly, is in Thy hands at all times. Let this man in true contrition
of soul find that the removal of this tire is not a hard task for one with
faith.”
As the final syllable fell from his
lips, the tire quivered and, of its own accord, plopped off the wheel, made a
short spinning clatter on one side, and lay still. The minister stared at it
for a moment, then muttered, “Well, I'll be darned.” (That’s not a true story
by the way …)
Do you see the problem that confronts
us? Even when prayer seems to work, we have a hard time believing it.
Nevertheless, I still believe we can justify prayers for ourselves and others.
I still believe there are good reasons to pray. Let me briefly offer three good
reasons:
First, prayers of
petition feel like a natural way to express our cares and concerns. Second,
prayers of petition do have a positive effect on people (especially if they
know they are being prayed for). Third, whether prayers literally “work” or
not, we become more intimate with God when we pray.
Those are good reasons to pray,
regardless of how theologically “correct” we may or may not be when we pray. Jesus
concludes the parable of the unjust Judge by asking, "When the Son of Man
comes, will he find faith on earth?"
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