As we come to the Lord in prayer we are engaging with a real person. We believe that he hears us even though we cannot see him – that is not the issue that makes us unsure. The widow knew perfectly well that her request had been heard by the judge. What she had to do battle with was his apparent unwillingness ot answer her. That was what her persistence had to overcome, and this is what Christ emphasises in his exposition of the parable. As we pray we think about how the Lord regards our prayer, and his readiness to answer us. The Lord puts it as a question – ‘and shall not God …?’ – but the question expects an obvious answer. That answer is based on our knowledge of God’s character and his love for his children. We are to go on believing in the character of God even when we do not receive an answer at first. Abraham prayed for a son for many years and did not give up. He had seen enough in the past of the goodness of God towards him, and he continued to see the Lord’s kindness to him in his daily life. That was enough for him to know that God’s character had not changed. There had not been some new factor come into play which suddenly altered the way his Father in heaven looked at him. So he continued to pray in hope, realising that knew better than he did what was the right time to answer his prayer. God’s character is stable and reliable. It is as reliable as promise, as his love for his children, an everlasting love.
Who goes on asking someone who has said definitely they will not answer? It is to silence all further requests for help that Christ says so bluntly to those on the Day of Judgment: ‘I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity’ (Matthew 7:23). But our Father does not say this to us. He is not against us. He is not trying to outsmart us when he delays his response. He is not trying to find an excuse not to answer us on the basis of some technical fault in our approach. If God did not want to answer us, he would have innumerable reason for not doing so, if that was what he wanted. He answers us because it is his good pleasure to give us the kingdom. Therefore we should not fear.