Luke 18:1

Context

This verse introduces the parable of the unjust judge and the widow in Luke 18:1-8. It is not a saying of Jesus but a statement by the Gospel writer Luke, and it announces in advance the meaning of the parable that follows. Stating the point of a parable before it is told is unusual in the Gospels. The word "them" is understood to refer to the disciples, whom Jesus had been addressing since 17:22. The immediately preceding passage, 17:20-37, deals with when the kingdom of God will come and how the day of the Son of man (a title Jesus used of himself) will arrive. The parable closes with the question in 18:8: "Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?"

Interpretation

• As a call to persistent prayer: Just as the widow came again and again until she finally moved the judge, the verse is understood as an exhortation not to cease in prayer even when the answer is slow in coming. It is often treated together with the parable of the friend at midnight as a companion teaching.
• As an argument from contrast: Luke 18:6-7 does not liken God to the unjust judge. Rather, the logic is that if even an unjust judge grants a request, how much more will God avenge his own elect. On this reading, the point of the verse is not that one must wear down a reluctant deity by pleading, but that one should keep praying out of trust in God's character.
• As an eschatological teaching: On the basis of the surrounding context, the verse is understood to concern a community awaiting the Lord's Second Coming and holding fast to its faith amid suffering and delay. On this reading, "faint" refers to losing faith through weariness in waiting.

Questions Concerning Application

The verse is not the subject of notable dispute among denominations. Several questions are nonetheless raised about its application.

• Some apply the verse to mean that one obtains what one wants by praying long and often. Those who emphasize the argument from contrast respond that the idea that the quantity of prayer secures an answer departs from the point of the parable. This criticism also overlaps with critiques of prosperity theology.
• Some hold that, because the widow's request was not a personal wish but a plea for redress of injustice, the verse should be read in connection with prayer for justice.
• Another question concerns the meaning of "always." It is generally interpreted as referring to a way of life in which prayer has become habitual.

In the Korean Church

The verse is frequently used as a sermon text to encourage steady prayer, as in dawn prayer meetings and commitment prayer (prayer pledged for a set period). The Korean Revised Version's rendering nangmangchi ("not to despair") was changed in the New Korean Revised Version to naksimhaji ("not to lose heart").

Related Passages

• Luke 18:7-8
• Luke 11:5-13
• 1 Thessalonians 5:17
• Colossians 4:2
• Galatians 6:9