³ So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and petition, in fasting,^(A) and in sackcloth and ashes.^(B)

Habakkuk’s Complaint

²⁴ Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.^(A)

⁵ Then Jesus said to them, “Suppose you have a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; ⁶ a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have no food to offer him.’ ⁷ And suppose the one inside answers, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is already locked, and my children and I are in bed. I can’t get up and give you anything.’ ⁸ I tell you, even though he will not get up and give you the bread because of friendship, yet because of your shameless audacity^[a] he will surely get up and give you as much as you need.^(A)

The Parable of the Persistent Widow

18 Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.^{(A) 2} He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought. ³ And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice^(B) against my adversary.’

⁴ “For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think, ⁵ yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come and attack me!’”^(C)

⁶ And the Lord^(D) said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says.

⁴¹ He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, knelt down^(A) and prayed, ⁴² “Father, if you are willing, take this cup^(B) from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.”^{(C) 43} An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him.^{(D) 44} And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.^[a]

⁴⁵ When he rose from prayer and went back to the disciples, he found them asleep, exhausted from sorrow.

²⁶ In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit^(A) himself intercedes for us^(B) through wordless groans.

³⁰ I urge you, brothers and sisters, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit,^(A) to join me in my struggle by praying to God for me.^(B)