In this Sunday’s Gospel, Our Lord tells the Parable of the Persistent Widow and the Unjust Judge (Luke 18:1-8). The judge “who neither feared God nor respected man” finally grants the widows request, simply because she won’t stop bothering him. And then Our Lord assures us that if even an unjust judge can respond to persistence, how much more will our loving Heavenly Father respond to His children who cry out to Him day and night.

If this is so, why is it that so often God appears to be silent and not answer our prayers? The devil likes to tell us, “God isn’t listening. Prayer is a waste of time.” That’s a lie straight from Hell. First we must remember God always hears us. Silence never means He is absent. His delay is divine wisdom. God sees the full picture – not only our requests, but the eternal consequences of them. So we might ask for something in good faith that we genuinely believe to be good, but God in His infinite wisdom knows it wouldn’t be good for us or for others. So God’s “no” is not rejection, but protection. Sometimes He might give us something even better, but He never ignores us.

Secondly, God often allows us to wait to deepen our faith. If He were to grant everything we ask for immediately, we would be spoiled and our faith would remain shallow. Our faith grows when it is tested. He withholds for a time to make us pray harder and seek Him more fervently. St Augustine (354-430) said that God delays to “enlarge our desire”, so that when the gift does come, our hearts may be wide enough to receive it. God wants us to prove our faith. He knows what we need before we ask (Matthew 6:8), but He wills that we ask again and again, to teach us humility, patience and trust.

Thirdly, the suffering we endure from unanswered prayer can be the cause of our sanctification. Think of JESUS in the Garden of Gethsemane. “My Father, if it be possible, let this chalice pass from Me. Nevertheless not as I will, but as Thou wilt” (Matthew 26:39). The Father didn’t remove the Cross. Rather He transformed it into salvation for the whole of the human race. In the same way He uses our crosses to accomplish a greater good than we can imagine.

So we are called to imitate the widow: keep knocking at the door (Matthew 7:8), pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17), and keep trusting even if Heaven seems silent. Faith is not just asking and receiving. It’s staying on our knees, being persistent, and trusting that God’s timing and wisdom are perfect. And remember that every seeming unanswered prayer is not unanswered at all. It’s God shaping us into the saints He wants us to become.

Fr Paul Gillham, IC