While our opposer is persecuting us, it seems that our God is not righteous, for He allows His children to be unrighteously persecuted. For example, John the Baptist was beheaded, Peter was martyred, Paul was imprisoned, and John was exiled. Throughout the centuries, thousands upon thousands of honest and faithful followers of the Man-Savior have suffered unrighteous persecution. Even today we are still undergoing unrighteous mistreatment. Our God seems to be unjust, since He does not come in to judge and vindicate.
Often we have prayed for God to vindicate us. Yet, many of our co-workers, faithful ones, have been imprisoned and even put to death. Where is the living, righteous God? Why does He tolerate this situation? Why would He not judge those who persecute us? Because of this situation, the Man-Savior in 18:1-8 uses an unjust judge to signify God who does not seem to do anything on behalf of His persecuted people.
What shall we do in a situation when we are persecuted and it seems that our God is not living, present, or just? From this parable we learn to be a bothering widow, one who prays to God persistently.
Many times I have become tired of praying for the Lord to vindicate His recovery. It seems that the more I pray for the Lord to vindicate, the less vindication there is. Apparently, the Lord is not present or does not care. It seems that He is not righteous. Nevertheless, I have learned that we need to bother God in prayer, that we should pray to Him persistently without losing heart.
In Revelation 6:9 and 10 we see that this kind of persistent prayer is carried out by the souls of the martyred saints: “I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and because of the testimony which they held; and they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O sovereign Lord, holy and true, will You not judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” In figure, the altar is in the outer court of the tabernacle and the temple, and the outer court signifies the earth. Hence, “underneath the altar” is underneath the earth, where the souls of the martyred saints are. This is in the Paradise where the Lord Jesus went after His death (Luke 23:43). It is the comfortable section of Hades (Acts 2:27), where Abraham is (Luke 16:22-26). Here we see that the souls of the martyred saints are crying out, “How long, O sovereign Lord?” They seem to be saying, “Lord, how long will You be silent? How long will You apparently be unjust? You are the righteous Judge. How can You tolerate the unrighteous persecution that is still taking place on earth? How long, O Lord, how long?” This is the prayer from the unseen realm, the prayer from the martyred saints in Paradise.
In Luke 18:1-8 we see the prayer from the visible realm. This kind of prayer is related to our enjoyment of the jubilee.
Often the children of those who are faithful followers of the Lord ask their parents why they are suffering persecution. They may ask, “Since we love the Lord Jesus so much, why must we suffer?” Usually the parents do not know how to answer. It seems to the children that the Lord whom their parents follow is not righteous. We also may wonder why we suffer, since we love the Lord and follow Him. The parable in 18:1-8 answers our question.
When our Husband is apparently absent and we are left on earth as a widow, temporarily our God seems to be an unrighteous judge. Although He appears to be unrighteous, we still must appeal to Him, pray persistently, and bother Him again and again.
We need to be careful in understanding a parable such as the one recorded in 18:1-8. We should not try to understand it in a natural way. On the one hand, this parable indicates that the Judge is sovereign. This means that whether or not He judges is up to Him. Seemingly without reason, He may either listen to the widow or not listen to her. This parable reveals that He is the sovereign Lord and that He judges whenever He chooses.
On the other hand, this parable indicates that we need to bother the Lord by praying persistently. We need to say to Him, “Lord, praying is up to me, not up to You. You never told me that I should not pray. On the contrary, You charged me to pray. Therefore, Lord, I am praying now for Your vindication.”
The significance of this parable is profound, and we all need to know God as He is revealed here. We also need to see that the kind of prayer described here helps us to enjoy the jubilee.