“One day Jesus told his disciples a story to show that they should always pray and never give up. ‘There was a judge in a certain city,’ he said, ‘who neither feared God nor cared about people. A widow of that city came to him repeatedly, saying, ‘Give me justice in this dispute with my enemy.’ The judge ignored her for a while, but finally he said to himself, ‘I don’t fear God or care about people, but this woman is driving me crazy. I’m going to see that she gets justice, because she is wearing me out with her constant requests!’ Then the Lord said, ‘Learn a lesson from this unjust judge. Even he rendered a just decision in the end. So don’t you think God will surely give justice to his chosen people who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will grant justice to them quickly! But when the Son of Man returns, how many will he find on the earth who have faith?’” (Luke 18:1-8)

Did you ever think you were annoying God with your prayers? Have you ever felt like you’ve brought a situation up in prayer too many times? Jesus told a parable which explained that it is totally okay to annoy God with our prayers! This is one of those rare parables in which we are given the purpose beforehand. The point of this parable is to show us that we should always pray and never give up. In the parable we see an unjust judge give a just decision because the woman seeking justice was so persistent. Jesus teaches that God will give justice to those who cry out to Him day and night. Are you persistent in your prayers? Do you cry out to God day and night? Sometimes we can be tempted to stop in our persistence. We can buy into the lie that we are bothering God or that God must not care. Perhaps you’ve been told that God already knows, so don’t bother Him with your requests over and over—but that contradicts Jesus’ teaching here. We are told to be persistent in our prayers, to cry out day and night, to always pray and never give up.

“Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)

“So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up.” (Galatians 6:9)

“Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying.” (Romans 12:12)

If you think you are annoying God with your prayers, remember this story that Jesus told. Be persistent in your prayers and remember how much God loves you and how much He loves Justice. 

May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

—Redeemed