The Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 24), October 19, 2025

Constant Prayer and God’s Constant Response

Every scripture reading which states or implies that God answers prayer is both reassuring and troubling, depending on one’s context. If we are in trouble, it assures us that God is not distant and uncaring, but rather responsive to our needs. Luke employs a common rhetorical technique, arguing from the lesser to the greater: suppose there is a judge who does not care about justice, nor for the wellbeing of the people, nor even about God. But if a poor widow who needs justice is persistent enough, following him home, haranguing him in the city gates or his workplace, (even threatening to slap him in the face, according to a possible translation), will he not soon give in simply out of self-interest? If therefore even an unjust judge will grant justice to the persistent, how much moreso will God grant justice to her praying children, for whom she cares deeply? Then do not cease to pray for what you need.
Some may be troubled by the suggestion that God is, even a little bit, similar to the unjust judge. The “if this, then even moreso this” structure still implies (indeed, relies upon) some amount of similarity between God and the judge. Do we want to say that God needs to be cajoled, even a little bit, into acting in her children’s interest and giving them justice?
Those who find themselves in the widow’s situation, who have prayed long and hard for a cancer remission, or marital reconciliation, or an end to starvation in Gaza, may wonder if God is indeed very much like the unjust judge: was I not persistent enough? Were my prayers not fervent enough? Does God not care enough?
A related question occurs to me: if God will, indeed, quickly provide justice to Christians, why does Luke tell us that this is a parable about our “need to pray always and not to lose heart”? Why is persistence in prayer necessary, if God is so responsive?
Jesus’ parables are never straightforward.
He finishes by asking, “And yet, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” At first glance, this seems like a non sequitur. A preacher who is determined to do the entire passage justice (or remembers their professors’ admonition to check out the context of the passage) will notice that the question points us back to the immediately preceding material in Chapter 17.
The Pharisees ask Jesus, “When is the kingdom of God coming?” Jesus responds that it is not something that can be pointed out or observed: “the kingdom of God is among you.” He then proceeds, however, to talk about “the coming of the Son of Man,” which does indeed seem to be sudden and unmistakable. This may suggest a way to interpret Jesus’ parable.
If we look at our reading as part of this larger unit, perhaps we see Jesus making a distinction between “the kingdom of God” and “the coming of the Son of Man.” The kingdom of God is a subtle thing, and something which is already at work among us. Could this be what Jesus means when he says, “[God] will quickly grant justice”? On a podcast with Tripp Fuller, Catherine Keller spoke of God’s consequent nature responding to us and constantly offering us new possibilities, luring us toward a more just future. God is immediately responsive and relational by God’s very nature, not aloof like the uncaring judge. However, God’s response is not a one-time, decisive interaction: our praying-always is a constant call and response featuring our need, God’s invitation and initial aim, and our response.
The coming of the Son of Man is, by contrast, the final and full realization of the kingdfom of God. It is the fulfilment of the vision from Daniel of a final resolution to the problems of evil and suffering, overseen by the mysterious “one like a Son of Man,” i.e., one like a human being, which is a title Jesus uses here for himself. Will Jesus find faith on earth in this final hour? Yes, if we continue to seek justice and wholeness in fervent and constant prayer. We may not immediately receive the justice we seek, in the form of physical healing, relational repair, or social change. But we will experience the justice of a God who experiences injustice alongside us, and walks hand in hand with us toward a better future rich with possibility.

Tim Bowman is an Ordained Minister in the United Church of Canada, serving Gladwin Heights – St. Andrew’s Pastoral Charge in the Fraser Valley of British Columbia. He is currently a ThM student at the Vancouver School of Theology, focusing on Process Theology. Tim is a contributor to Preaching the Uncontrolling Love of God, Edited by Jeff Wells, Thomas Jay Oord, et. al., and lives in New Westminster with his wife, child, and two cats.