The Parable of the Persistent Widow

¹ And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart. ² He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected man. ³ And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’ ⁴ For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear God nor respect man, ⁵ yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.’” ⁶ And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge says. ⁷ And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them? ⁸ I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” Luke 18:1-8

² He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected man. ³ And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’ ⁴ For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear God nor respect man, ⁵ yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.’” 

Cursed be anyone who perverts justice due to the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow. Deut. 27:19

Because God is outside time, he can answer prayers from people in previous centuries. You can pray now for something you’ll never see in your lifetime. Think of your prayers like objects you launch into space that continue to float and travel through the universe until God sees fit to draw them into a particular orbit and bring them safely to his desired destination. God might answer the prayer today, or next year, or a thousand years from now. “Prayers are deathless,” wrote E.M. Bounds. “They outlive the lives of those who uttered them.” -Trevin Wax

⁷ And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them? ⁸ I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”

…Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth? (Luke 18:8b)