First Thoughts: We have a rather amusing parable to work with today, in which a feisty widow wears down a callous judge merely by persevering. The judge is very clear that he doesn't care a bit about justice nor does he even fear God. Nonetheless he gives in to the widow's request just to make her go away. This parable might pose a bit of a challenge for us: Are we supposed to see God in the role of the unjust judge, and us in the role of the persistent widow? Let's assume for a moment that's a correct reading of the parable. Certainly the widow knows the judge is careless about her case, but she is still confident she will receive justice. She never wavers either in the truth of her cause nor in the inevitability of justice. The question we must face is whether we pray with the same kind of unwavering certainty. If not, why not? After all, the widow is dealing with someone who has no personal or professional stake in her well-being, and she's still confident. Our faith tells us that God is the chief stakeholder in our well-being, and that God is intimately concerned with us living healed and abundant lives. Why would we be any less confident in dealing with God than the widow is in dealing with the judge? It's an important question, and one that raises questions about our fundamental experience of faith. Which is Jesus' point, I gather. Spend a few moments reflecting on your own prayer life. Do you find that you approach God timidly? Are you afraid to name exactly what you want in fear of angering or bothering God? Do you even question whether what you want is the right thing to want? I mention these particular struggles because they seem to be problems many of us face in prayer. Our task then is to allow our faith to guide us and strengthen us, so we are able to eliminate the fear we feel in talking with God and instead draw confidently closer. We are God's beloved, after all. What wouldn't God do for us?
Teaching On Your Own: (looks tired) Boy, did I have a rough night last night. I was babysitting two little children. I put the two children to bed at 8, exactly when their parents told me to. But it wasn't ten minutes later until the little girl started shouting from her room that she wanted a glass of water. Then the little boy started shouting that he needed another drink. They were stalling going to sleep, right? Their parents told me they do this sometimes. At first I just tried to ignore them, but they got louder. Then I turned up the TV really loud, thinking maybe I wouldn't be able to hear them, but they got louder still. Well, I began to worry that the neighbors were going to hear and complain, so I finally just gave in. I gave the little girl some water and read the boy another story. Boy, were they persistent! Does anybody know what persistent means? Being persistent means you don't give up, like the widow in our story today. Jesus told the story to teach his disciples something about prayer.
There was once a widow who went to court because she wanted the judge to rule on a case. But the judge wasn't a very good judge and didn't care much about doing his job in a fair way so he tried to ignore her. But that didn't work. The widow didn't give up. Instead the widow showed up every day, demanding that he do his job. She was really persistent. So finally the judge gave in, just because he wanted her to leave him alone. What do you think this has to do with prayer? Jesus says we should pray with the same persistence as that widow. Why do you think the widow never gave up? Probably just like the children I babysat, she figured eventually the judge would give in. Jesus tells us we need to pray for something and never give up because we know God is hearing us and will respond to us. But unlike the judge, it doesn't bother God when we keep asking. In fact, God welcomes it. So are you ready to try a little persistent prayer?
Teaching As A Team:
(Leader 2 looks tired)
Leader 1: Hi, (name). Wow, you look tired. Is something wrong?
Leader 2: Yes. I had a babysitting job last night, and it was rough.
Leader 1: Oh, no. What happened?
Leader 2: Well, I put the two children to bed at 8, exactly when their parents told me to. But it wasn't ten minutes later until the little girl started shouting from her room that she wanted a glass of water. Then the little boy started shouting that he needed another drink.
Leader 1: Oh, they were stalling going to sleep, huh?
Leader 2: Yes, and their parents told me they do this sometimes. At first I just tried to ignore them, but they got louder. Then I turned up the TV really loud, thinking maybe I wouldn't be able to hear them, but they got louder still.
Leader 1: What did you do?
Leader 2: I began to worry that the neighbors were going to hear and complain, so I finally just gave in. I gave the little girl some water and read the boy another story.
Leader 1: Whew, they were persistent, huh?
Leader 2: What does that mean?
Leader 1: Being persistent means you don't give up, like the widow in our story today. Jesus told the story to teach his disciples something about prayer. There was once a widow who went to court because she wanted the judge to rule on a case. But the judge wasn't a very good judge and didn't care much about doing his job in a fair way so he tried to ignore her. But that didn't work. The widow didn't give up. Instead the widow showed up every day, demanding that he do his job.
Leader 2: She was really persistent.
Leader 1: Absolutely. So finally the judge gave in, just because he wanted her to leave him alone.
Leader 2: But what does that have to do with prayer?
Leader 1: Jesus says we should pray with the same persistence as that widow. Why do you think the widow never gave up?
Leader 2: Probably just like the children I babysat, she figured eventually the judge would give in.
Leader 1: Exactly. Jesus tells us we need to pray for something and never give up because we know God is hearing us and will respond to us. But unlike the judge, it doesn't bother God when we keep asking. In fact, God welcomes it.
Leader 2: That's good to know. I think I'll try a little persistent prayer tonight!
Closing Prayer: Loving God, thank you that not only doesn't it bother you when we pray for what we want and need, you actually welcome it and encourage us to continue. Help us to be steadfast and persistent in opening our hearts to you. In Christ's name we pray, Amen.
Follow-Up Lesson: To reinforce this message in a home or classroom environment, talk more about the character of the widow. We know she was persistent, but she was also confident that she was right. She believed with all her heart that justice was on her side, and she wouldn't let an uncaring judge stand in her way. Do we feel the same confidence when we talk to God? Ask the children to share what they say in their prayers. Ask them to share how they feel when they pray. Sometimes we feel a little shy about our prayer, like we're bothering God. Or maybe we think we're not praying for the right things, so we don't pray with confidence. Ask the children if they can identify an area in their lives where they need God's help and invite them to share these thoughts if they would like. Now invite them to close their eyes and take a few deep breaths. What would it look like if this problem was solved? Ask them to describe the people involved, how they feel, what's going on, and so forth. For example, let's say the problem is they fight with a sibling. The scene they might imagine is playing outside with that sibling, riding bikes or playing a game together. Encourage the children to provide as much detail as possible in this vision of what they really want. When you've given them enough time to do this exercise with their eyes still closed, encourage them to really focus on how they feel; what they see, hear, taste, smell, in the scene; and gently touch their hand to their heart, holding it there for a few seconds.
Now provide the children with the activity sheet, crayons, colored pencils, or markers and encourage them to either write a description or draw a picture of the vision they had in their heart. When they've completed the activity, take some time to show them how to pray a vision prayer. They can either close their eyes or look at the picture they've made, touch their hearts where they touched them before, and bring the image to clarity in their imaginations. Explain that this is a way we bring our heart's desire to God, and they can do it every day as a way of persistently bringing it to God. Encourage the children to pick a time when they will pray this way every day and ask them to circle the time they want on their activity sheet.
