Persistent prayer and the silence of God

Sometimes, I pray and those prayers seem to be answered quickly, easily, as if God is standing at the ready to do my bidding. Then other times I pray and pray to no avail. What am I doing right when God answers my prayers so quickly? What am I doing wrong when God fails to act the way I want God to act?

These questions bring to mind the story of the unjust judge as Luke recounts it in his Gospel. Luke writes that Jesus told a story about the need to pray always and not lose heart. In the parable, a widow takes her case for vengeance to an unjust judge.

Jewish law called for special concern for widows as they were powerless in society. In fact we find throughout scripture an emphasis on the importance of taking care of the outcasts, and others on the fringe of society. We see this concern in the Old Testament book of Deuteronomy, which says, “Cursed be anyone who deprives the alien or the orphan and the widow of justice” (Deut. 27:19).

But the judge in Jesus’ story does not care about that curse, or particularly whether this widow ever sees justice. We are left to assume that he is more interested in what the people in the cases he sees can do for him. The widow is incapable of bribing her way to justice.

Instead, she wears the judge down by continually come back and demanding justice. The widow has nowhere else to go. There is no appeals court, no supreme court, not even a jury. There is only the unjust judge, so she hammers at him persistently.

The story of the unjust judge was originally written in Greek and the Greek text of this passage is clearer about how the judge feels. The judge says literally, “because this widow beats me up, I will grant her justice lest in the end she comes to give me a black eye.” The woman is beating him up with her constant cries for justice, so he relents and is just in spite of himself.

Jesus does not set up the simple equation “unjust judge equals God,” but rather opts for “God is greater than the unjust judge.” Therefore, if even an unjust judge will relent and grant justice when persistently approached how much more can you count on God to answer when you persistently pray?

Maybe an even better equation is to say, “God is the opposite of the unjust judge.” For God’s law called for compassion for the powerless and the oppressed. Jesus said the kingdom of God was Good News for the poor and the oppressed and he was always working with people on the margins of society. God is compassionate, loving, and fair—everything the unjust judge is not.

God is ready to respond with compassion for the needs of the downtrodden. We have to be faithful to keep lifting up those needs in prayer. But why? Will God forget about the need if we stop praying? Why do we have to pray anyway? Doesn’t God know our deepest thoughts before we give them voice? Yes, God does know the desires of our heart, but giving them voice is a way to make the needs real to us as to God.

Sometimes we have to pray persistently because it is only after we have prayed and prayed that we will run out of our own words and be able to hear God in the silence. Usually I have to pray all I know how to pray before I can admit that I don’t have the answers to the problem. Then I can really turn it over to God, finally able to admit, “God I have no idea what to do about this problem, so I’ll just give it to you.”

When the answer to prayer comes in the form of a different solution from what I first prayed for, I can see it as God working in spite of my first prayers. I have to let go of my answers to let God be God.

Returning to God again and again in prayer is a way to rely on God for the solution. Perhaps, God has already set the gears in motion to answer your prayer. In any case, don’t stop praying. You are not going to bug God with your begging. Just keep bringing your needs to God. Be faithful in prayer and trust God to answer.

God wants what is best for you. God might not want for you what you desire. God will probably not want it to happen on your timetable. But keep praying, for that is your communication line to God. Keep that link active and you will see what amazing things will happen.

We may be in a famine for hearing God speak in a clear and audible voice, but I have experienced the power of prayer too many times to doubt that God hears and answers prayer. The key is to stop talking every once in a while long enough to hear if God is trying to get your attention. God is as present in the wait for an answer and the silence as God is present in the answer to prayer. Don’t lose heart.

(The Rev. Frank Logue is pastor of King of Peace Episcopal Church in Kingsland.) 

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