I tell you that he will avenge them speedily . Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?
This is the closing line of a parable Jesus told about a widow who kept returning to an unjust judge, demanding justice, until he finally relented — just to get some peace. Jesus uses this to teach that God, unlike that indifferent judge, is eager to bring justice to those who cry out to him. But then Jesus ends with a question that catches you off guard: when the Son of Man returns — a title Jesus used for himself, referring to his second coming — will he actually find people who are still faithfully trusting and praying? The parable promises that God answers; the question wonders whether anyone will still be asking. It is a challenge about perseverance, not a statement of despair.
God, I confess there are prayers I have quietly let go of — not because I stopped believing in you, but because the wait wore me down. Renew something stubborn and faithful in me. Help me be the kind of person who keeps showing up, who refuses to let go, who trusts that justice and grace are on their way even when I cannot see it yet. Amen.
It is a strange way to end a story about answered prayer — with a question that sounds almost like doubt. Jesus has just promised that God will bring justice "quickly." And then, almost under his breath: *but will there even be anyone still believing when I get back?* The parable's hero was a widow who kept showing up. She had no power, no connections, no leverage — just refusal. She would not be dismissed. And Jesus seems to wonder, genuinely, whether that kind of stubborn, faithful, keep-showing-up trust will survive the long haul. It is worth sitting with the fact that Jesus left this as an open question. He did not say "of course there will be." He left space for the honest answer. Because faith is relatively easy when things are moving — when prayers feel heard, when God feels close, when the evidence is fresh. It is the slow seasons that wear faith thin: years of unanswered prayer, 3am silence, decades of waiting for something that never seems to come. The question is not really about the future. It is about right now. Are you still showing up? Still knocking? Still expecting that grace and justice are on their way — even when the wait has been so long it has started to feel foolish?
In the parable, the widow wins not through power or argument but through sheer persistence. What does persistent prayer actually look like in practice — and how is it different from just repeating the same words?
What has been the longest season you have waited for something you were praying about? What happened to your faith during that time — did it grow, shrink, or change shape?
Jesus' question implies that faith might genuinely run thin or run out. Does that feel honest to you, or alarming? What do you think he was warning against?
How does watching someone close to you lose faith affect your own? And how might your perseverance in prayer — even when it feels pointless — affect the people around you?
Is there a prayer you have quietly given up on because the waiting became too long? What would it look like to bring it back to God this week — not with certainty, but with honest persistence?
For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.
Habakkuk 2:3
Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.
Mark 11:24
But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
2 Peter 3:8
Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
James 5:16
Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;
Ephesians 6:18
Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)
Hebrews 10:23
For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,
Hebrews 10:26
The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
2 Peter 3:9
I tell you that He will defend and avenge them quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find [this kind of persistent] faith on the earth?"
AMP
I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”
ESV
'I tell you that He will bring about justice for them quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?'
NASB
I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”
NIV
I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?”
NKJV
I tell you, he will grant justice to them quickly! But when the Son of Man returns, how many will he find on the earth who have faith?”
NLT
I assure you, he will. He will not drag his feet. But how much of that kind of persistent faith will the Son of Man find on the earth when he returns?"
MSG