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This summer, my family was in a minor car accident. We were sitting at a stop sign in a car we’d bought just three weeks earlier when a kid driving his mom’s car without a license came around the corner and struck us directly on the driver’s side front tire, scraping his way along the side of our car until he came to a stop behind us and his rear bumper fell off.

Since then, we have dealt with one catastrophe after another.

We began working with his mother’s insurance company to get the car fixed. Initially, they were helpful. They provided us with a week’s payment for a rental car and said they’d send an inspector to look at the car.

But very quickly, that helpfulness evaporated.

We’d already had the rental for two days when we heard from the inspector, and all he had to say was, “I don’t have agents in the area; please send me pictures of the car.”

By the time we received confirmation that he had the photos, we only had two days left on the rental, and our car was still sitting useless in my parents’ driveway.

Eventually, we had to return the rental because the money had run out. I texted the insurance agent again, insisting that we get the ball rolling. She responded that she would “seek approval” for an extension on the rental and check the status of our claim.

Then she told us they were waiting on a “statement from their insured” and that the claim would not move forward until then.

When I tried to call back days later, the agent I’d been dealing with was “out of the office until further notice” and could not be reached by email or phone. Eventually, they even sent us a letter denying coverage for the accident.

I finally filed a claim with my own insurance company. They provided us with a rental, our car was taken to a collision shop, and the repairs began. We got our car back in plenty of time before the rental was due. All seemed well.

Until the next day, when the air conditioner went out.

Though we suspected the AC failed because of the accident, there was no way to prove it, and we were forced to pay the expenses out of pocket. After we got the AC fixed, we only had the car back for five days before it began showing signs of failure again. We took it back to the shop, got it re-fixed under warranty, and the next day, once again, the AC failed.

My frustrations with this situation are unending.

However, I want to focus on those initial weeks when we were still trying to work with the other driver’s insurance company, and they were giving us the runaround without helping us out of the situation.

The circumstances seemed clear. The person at fault was obvious. From our perspective, the solution was simple: fix our car and pay for the damage because we had done nothing wrong.

But instead, we waited. And called. And texted. And waited some more.

In Luke 18:1–8, Jesus, while teaching about prayer, told the story of a judge who was something like that.

Jesus said this judge neither feared God nor respected people. In other words, he cared primarily about himself and his position. Jesus called him “unjust” in verse 6.

One of the cases brought before him was that of a widow. We don’t know much about her other than that someone had wronged her and she wanted justice.

The judge didn’t care about the woman’s case. She came to him, and he brushed her off.

But she was persistent.

She kept coming to the judge over and over again, demanding justice. Finally, the judge’s patience was exhausted. He decided the best way to get rid of her was to give her what she wanted. And so he gave her justice, if only so she would stop bothering him.

Jesus then compared this unrighteous judge to God:

“And will not God grant justice to his chosen ones who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long in helping them?”

Jesus wasn’t implying that God is like the judge. He was showing us how different they are.

The widow kept going back because persistence was her only path to justice. We keep going back to God because we know the One we’re asking is good.

God is not irritated or worn out by our continual prayers. We don’t have to convince Him to care. He already does.

This is an encouragement to pray consistently and without losing hope.

That doesn’t mean we can greedily ask God for something we want until He finally says, “Fine, here you go!” Persistent prayer is not about wearing God down until He gives us our way.

Rather, it is an expression of persistent faith.

Just because we have not seen an answer yet doesn’t mean we should stop praying.

Throughout the New Testament, we’re encouraged to pray persistently. Romans 1:9, Ephesians 6:18, and 1 Thessalonians 5:17 are just a few examples.

Sometimes we pray about things that are far in the future. Other times, we’re praying through serious situations that don’t have immediate answers. For things like that, we have to be persistent.

If a child asks a parent for something one time, the parent might not take it too seriously. I can’t tell you how many times my daughter will casually say something like, “I want one of those,” while looking through a book and pointing at an image inside.

She probably does want it, but it might not be a deep, longing desire. It’s just a casual wish.

But if she asks for something consistently, we know it matters to her.

For example, at Christmastime, every time we asked her what she wanted for Christmas, she was emphatic: she wanted a robot.

Likewise, persistent prayer demonstrates a faith that keeps coming back to God.

Whether it’s the salvation of a loved one, the healing of someone who is sick, the resolution of a difficult situation, or provision for a financial need, we can continue bringing that request before God.

That doesn’t mean His answer will always be the one we want. Sometimes the answer is no. Sometimes it is wait. And sometimes He answers in ways we never expected.

But God sees the desires of our hearts, knows what is best for us, and can be trusted with the outcome.

Jesus closes this parable with a question:

“And yet, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”

It’s a question that should make us stop and think.

Do we have the kind of faith that persistently prays while we wait for an answer? Are we ceaseless in our requests to God, or do we give up when the answer isn’t immediate?

God is better than the unjust judge.

We don’t have to wear Him down. We don’t have to convince Him to care. He is good, He hears us, and He knows exactly what we need.

The question is whether we trust Him enough to keep coming back.

To keep asking.

To keep praying.

And, as Jesus said at the beginning of this parable, to “always pray and not give up.”

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