Luke 18:1-8 (NRSV)
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Chapter 18Then Jesus told them a parable about their need to pray always and not to lose heart. Verse 2He said, "In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor had respect for people. Verse 3In that city there was a widow who kept coming to him and saying, 'Grant me justice against my opponent.' Verse 4For a while he refused; but later he said to himself, 'Though I have no fear of God and no respect for anyone, Verse 5yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will grant her justice, so that she may not wear me out by continually coming.'" Verse 6And the Lord said, "Listen to what the unjust judge says. Verse 7And will not God grant justice to his chosen ones who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long in helping them? Verse 8I tell you, he will quickly grant justice to them. And yet, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?"
Devotion
During times of change and uncertainty, of unrest and division, Jesus calls on us to “pray always and not to lose heart,” reminding us that faith is not a passive undertaking. The things we toss and turn with in the night call out for our attention, advocacy, and justice. To fulfill this call, we must be willing to be persistent. We must be willing to bring our prayers to God unceasingly, trusting that our petitions will be heard. The woman in this parable was persistent in her plea, just as our unceasing prayer is both our requests and living evidence of our faith.
Prayer
God of mercy, hear our prayers. Amen.
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