Now He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and not become discouraged, 2 saying, “In a certain city there was a judge who did not fear God and did not respect any person. 3 Now there was a widow in that city, and she kept coming to him, saying, ‘Give me justice against my opponent.’ 4 For a while he was unwilling; but later he said to himself, ‘Even though I do not fear God nor respect any person, 5 yet because this widow is bothering me, I will give her justice; otherwise by continually coming she will wear me out.’” 6 And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unrighteous judge said; 7 now, will God not bring about justice for His elect who cry out to Him day and night, and will He delay long for them? 8 I tell you that He will bring about justice for them quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?” Luke 18: 1-8

The loss of a husband in Israel was considered a social and economic tragedy. Poorest of the poor, a widow referred to a person living a marginal existence and in extreme poverty. She is alone. She’s old. She has no money. She has no family or friends. She is in the worst situation possible, and the person from whom she seeks help does not fear God or care what people think. But she receives justice because she cries out day and night. She is persistent and unwavering. 

God wants us to be the persistent widow. The most effective prayer arises from a realization that we are widows. When we need a problem solved, we include God as a single part of a comprehensive solution. He is a part of a multi-pronged attack. We use our connections, friends, money, wisdom- whatever we have at our disposal to solve a problem, and we sprinkle it with some prayer and religion. So when the problem is solved, we attribute a part of it to prayer but give most of the credit to these other undertakings. And when we face problems we think we can handle, we make God a minimum part of our solution. We end up turning glory to other things except for God. And then we wonder why God never listens to our prayers. 

For effective prayer, we must be the widow. We must reach an absolute point of despair, ground zero. “There’s no way out of this except for God.” We must adopt this frame of mind when we approach everything in our lives. Don’t put other things on the table when seeking a resolution because when problems are resolved, you’ll attribute success to those things instead of God. And it’s possible prayers are not answered and problems not solved because you have made God a minimal part of the solution. When it comes to God and prayer, it’s never a good idea to mix and match. When the situation is dire and all hope seems lost, keep hoping and have faith God gives us all that we need. When the situation is manageable, still believe with all your heart that God is the only one who can help. In all situations, become the widow who helplessly stands alone and looks only to God.

Just like a mother who feeds us by spoon or hand, God “feeds” us through various tools. He can use society, friends, nature… He uses anything and everything as a tool to give us what we need. God holds in His hands everything we need in life. If we gain something in life without God, those things end up hurting us. Look only to God and live a worry-free life! With this kind of prayer and outlook, God gives us everything we need. The widow in this Bible passage has no power. She has nobody to lean on, nowhere to turn for help. The judge she looks to for justice is cruel and unsympathetic. She is down to her last straw, but she doesn’t let the despair destroy her. She is persistent. She keeps coming with the plea, “Grant me justice against my adversary.” She bothers the judge to the point he grants her justice to get her off his back. When we face something and it seems hopeless, we must keep hope in God alive and persistently ask God for help. We must not look to other things for help. We must put all our eggs in one basket. “God, you are all that I need. There’s no place else to go!” 

Whenever we meet obstacles, daunting or minor, we must become the persistent widow. God uses family, friends, money and other conditions as tools to help us, but He is the origin. We must never make the mistake of putting these conditions as part of a solution, which might or might not include prayer. We must always be at that point of absolute despair where God is our only way out. Only then will our prayers be effective. 

Korean Sermon https://soundcloud.com/yhpaik/1981-2-25-full

English Reading https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cI9PEos-5DE&feature=youtu.be