Prayer vs Court Process

The parable of the unjust judge (Luke 18:1-8) is one of Jesus’ most insightful teachings on how we understand our relationship with God and how easily that image can be distorted. The widow, with her unwavering insistence, is often our model, and the unjust judge, by analogy, becomes a reluctant God who needs to be persuaded. So, often, we hear this parable interpreted simply as a call to persistent prayer: “Keep asking, keep knocking, eventually God will give in!”

While perseverance in prayer is, without doubt, a virtue, Jesus’ intention in this parable goes deeper. He isn't saying, "God is like this unjust judge, so we must keep on asking Him." He is saying, "If even an unjust judge, who cares nothing for God or humanity, will eventually respond to persistent pleading, how much more will your loving Heavenly Father, who yearns for your well-being, listen and act on your behalf!" The warning here is vital: God should never be pictured like this judge.

The Pharisaic system, for all its devotion, often maintained an image of God as a distant, legalistic judge, meticulously weighing merits and demerits, demanding endless rituals and perfect adherence to an complex system of law. Prayer, in such a system, could become less about heartfelt communion and more about proving one's worthiness, a transaction to earn favour. This placed a huge spiritual burden on people, leading to anxiety, guilt, and a constant fear of not being "good enough."

Jesus showed us a home and introduced us to have conversations in that home. God has made a home with us. Prayer is a conversation in that home. Other than in a homely atmosphere, where can we find true justice? The parable clearly shows the need for perseverance in prayer. Jesus assures us that God, unlike the unjust judge, will “grant justice to his chosen ones who cry out to him day and night.” More than what we say or what we practice, true prayer is an attitude and a growth. In one way or another, prayer is an openness to the righteousness of God. When we seek God’s action, asking for personal favours or spiritual growth, it is all about calling for the establishment of God’s righteous order in a world often marked by emptiness. The prayer Jesus taught us is all about the just and righteous rule of God. “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven,” is not only a request, it is also an openness for God’s will in our life. This is the ultimate request for a just, equitable, and truthful reality. Similarly, “Give us this day our daily bread,” desires economic and social justice and also shows willingness to work for that justice. “forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us,” looks for restoring peace and reconciliation, also the readiness to forgive and be reconciled.

Seeking God’s will in prayer leads us through a growth in truth, justice, and trust as an essential environment for genuine communion. Prayer is not just our pleas or performances of rituals, it is also our genuine actions of kindness and of standing for justice where there is injustice.  Prayer acknowledges one’s situation, needs, failings, and genuine intentions without any pretence. It is also a freedom from seeking any hiding places in the name of piety, religiosity, or social activism. Prayer challenges us to come face-to-face with ourselves. As the truth of our life is before us, what gives us confidence in prayer is our trust that God is just and will respond to our sincere appeals according to His perfect will. So, the prayer is not just a personal request, but aligning our will with God’s righteousness. Prayer is never a religious activity, but a life style.

How often in different ways we hear, that the best way to approach God is to beg harder, plead and suffer helplessness? The widow's insistence models the unshakeable faith that God will indeed "grant justice to his chosen ones." It teaches us to trust deeper. When we embrace Him as the loving Father who has already made a home with us, the entire nature of prayer transforms. Prayer becomes a sincere conversation in the secure atmosphere of that home. It is a radical act of vulnerability, laying bare our genuine self—our needs, our failings, and our deepest intentions—without the pretense of piety or activism.

To pray, then, is to step out of the lonely courtroom of self-righteousness where we have to defend our case, where we fear the judgment of a legalistic God, and to fully embrace the truth of Christ's desire: "Your kingdom come, your will be done." This is an openness to God's righteousness that bring our anxious, self-seeking will to His gentle, just, and life-giving reality. 

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