The parable seems to give the message that we need to be persistent with God. Just as the wicked judge gave in to the persistent widow, God will also give in to our persistence. Some spiritual writers had stressed the same; bombard heaven with prayers, they said. Pray even to the point of flooding God with our petitions. God, after much pressure and compassion from us, would finally give in. There might be a grain of truth there but we have to realize that prayer or our relationship with God is not always, in fact, is rarely that way.
We have to take into consideration the grace we ask from God. If what we ask for is not good or against the very nature of God, then it can not be given no matter how persistent we are. What happens if it is good? It is still dependent on God. God knows best. Even if we believe that what we ask for is the best, it may not be for God. So why persist? Actually, the point of the parable is not about persistence. It is about the judge who was wicked and yet he gave in to the pleading of the widow. Jesus gave a desperate and extreme situation to highlight His message. He depicted the judge as having no fear of God nor respect for human being. A judge from whom you can not expect anything. Asking desperately for a favor from the judge is a widow, who was considered the least and the last in society at that time. The widow does not have any money. power, or influence to obtain her favor. In other words, she would be the last person who can ask for any favor. The picture is now complete. A wicked judge being sought by a powerless widow. More or less, the hearers of Jesus know what will happen to the case of the widow. To their surprise, the widow prevailed upon the dishonest and wicked judge!
After telling them the parable, Jesus shifted to the goodness of His Father. He reminded His listeners about what God will do for us. The message is; if that judge, who was wicked gave in to the persistent widow, how much more God who is good? If the widow needed persistence to obtain her grace from the judge, we do not need to before God because He does know what we need and therefore does not need our persistence at all!
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