And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;
Parallel translations
- WEB He also spoke a parable to them that they must always pray, and not give up,
- BSB Then Jesus told them a parable about their need to pray at all times and not lose heart:
- NKJV Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart,
- NASB Now He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and not become discouraged,
- NLT One day Jesus told his disciples a story to show that they should always pray and never give up.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Jesus tells a parable to teach that people should always pray and not lose heart. Persistent prayer is the antidote to discouragement.
Overview
Luke supplies the parable's purpose up front: continual prayer without giving up. Set against the preceding teaching on waiting for the Son of Man, it equips disciples to endure the delay through prayer. The verse frames prayer not as a last resort but as the sustaining habit of those awaiting Christ's return.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 22
- Col 4:2Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving;
- Rom 12:12Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer;
- 1 Th 5:17Pray without ceasing.
- Phil 4:6Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
- Eph 6:18Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;
- Ps 55:16–17As for me, I will call upon God; and the LORD shall save me.
- Jer 29:12Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you.
- Luke 21:36Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.
- Gal 6:9And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.
- Ps 86:3Be merciful unto me, O Lord: for I cry unto thee daily.
- Ps 102:17He will regard the prayer of the destitute, and not despise their prayer.
- Luke 11:5–9And he said unto them, Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go unto him at midnight, and say unto him, Friend, lend me three loaves;
- 2 Cor 4:1Therefore seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not;
- Ps 142:5–7I cried unto thee, O LORD: I said, Thou art my refuge and my portion in the land of the living.
- Col 4:12Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ, saluteth you, always labouring fervently for you in prayers, that ye may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God.
- Ps 65:2O thou that hearest prayer, unto thee shall all flesh come.
- Gen 32:24–26And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day.
- Jonah 2:7When my soul fainted within me I remembered the LORD: and my prayer came in unto thee, into thine holy temple.
- Ps 27:13I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.
- Gen 32:9–12And Jacob said, O God of my father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac, the LORD which saidst unto me, Return unto thy country, and to thy kindred, and I will deal well with thee:
- Heb 12:3–5For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.
- Job 27:8–10For what is the hope of the hypocrite, though he hath gained, when God taketh away his soul?
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Luke shows Jesus the Savior for all — outsiders, the poor, the nations — the one who, on the Emmaus road, opened all the Scriptures to show they were about himself.
How Luke 18:1 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.