What Was the Persistent Widow Praying For?

Asking for a friend

Photo by Pablo Rebolledo on Unsplash

I love the parable of the persistent widow. I think of her when I sit at the Lord’s feet with yet another rendition of the same old prayers.

I always wonder what she was praying for. As a writer, I tend to take liberties by filling in the blanks. There’s not much to work with —

1. She’s a widow

2. She wants justice against her adversary.

I always picture her as old, gray-haired, thin, and weary, with half-shut eyes too tired to open. Her skin tells a long story written in deep ruts and curved trenches across her face. And, I always assume she’s wearing sackcloth because she is poor and in a season of grief.

But is she old and gray? Based on the limited facts, she could have been young and it doesn’t say how long she has been a widow so she might not be in a season of mourning.

I like to imagine she’s praying for the same things I pray for persistently —

Open their ears and heart. Turn their heads toward you, Jesus. Awaken their spirit. And so on —

Yet, the persistent widow was specifically seeking justice against her adversary. To seek justice against an adversary means to ask for a fair…