³⁹ Then Jesus left them again and prayed the same prayer as before.

⁴² Then Jesus left them a second time and prayed, “My Father! If this cup cannot be taken away^[a] unless I drink it, your will be done.” ⁴³ When he returned to them again, he found them sleeping, for they couldn’t keep their eyes open.

⁴⁴ So he went to pray a third time, saying the same things again.

⁷ “When you pray, don’t babble on and on as the Gentiles do. They think their prayers are answered merely by repeating their words again and again.

⁸ Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away.

Parable of the Persistent Widow

18 One day Jesus told his disciples a story to show that they should always pray and never give up.