Just what I needed a message on persistant prayer! At our Missions Conference at Central Baptist Church in Center, Texas, Brother Nick Sutmaier preached a message I won’t forget. He took Jesus’ parable of the persistent widow and the unjust judge and brought it to life with humor, warmth, and conviction.
He told the story as if you were sitting right there beside that desperate woman — chasing the judge through hallways, parking lots, and even the taco stand — crying, “Avenge me of my adversary!” By the end, we were laughing … and convicted because that’s exactly how God wants us to come to Him.
“Men Ought Always to Pray, and Not to Faint”
Brother Nick reminded us that prayer isn’t a once-and-done routine. It’s a continual conversation — the kind that refuses to quit.
When Jesus said “men ought always to pray,” He meant don’t give up. Keep showing up. Keep asking. Keep knocking until Heaven answers.
We all laughed as Brother Nick described that poor judge losing his mind after two years of the widow’s persistence. But by the end, every person in the room knew exactly what he meant: God honors persistence. Not because He’s irritated like the judge, but because persistent prayer shows faith.
The Secret Power of a Persistant Prayer List
He told how, as a young believer, he asked his pastor how to start a prayer life. The pastor’s answer was simple — “Get a list.”
That little envelope became a notebook. Names filled the pages — family, friends, pastors, missionaries, even enemies.
He said, “Reading my Bible before I pray keeps me focused, because the fire of God’s Word fuels the fire of prayer.”
Then he shared about his daughter Natalie’s battle with MS. When she said, “I accept whatever God has for me,” it wasn’t resignation; it was faith — the kind that keeps praying when answers don’t come right away.
Impossible Streets and Answered Prayers | Persistant Prayer
The message turned from laughter to tears as Brother Nick told about those hard days in Mexico City — what missionaries call “the graveyard for missionaries.”
Discouraged and under attack, he walked the streets asking God what was happening. Then he realized who was smiling — the devil himself. “I’m going to knock that grin off his face,” he said, and went soul-winning on the very street he called Impossible.
The first man who opened his door was in a wheelchair — and that man got saved.
Years later, that man’s wife walked into Brother Nick’s church and trusted Christ. She told him, “After you left that day, my husband rolled in and said, ‘I’m going to Heaven — and I’ve got the Bible to prove it.’”
It all started because someone, somewhere, prayed.
Prayer Moves God
Brother Nick closed by reminding us that there’s no distance in prayer. Someone in America may whisper your name at supper time, and God moves a heart in Mexico City before the plate is cleared.
He said it simply:
“God moves mountains — but prayer moves God.”
That’s the truth we all needed.
If an unjust judge can be worn down by a widow’s persistence, imagine what happens when God’s children pray with faith and determination.
A Challenge to the Church
I left that service thinking about the missionaries we support and the faces on our prayer cards. Their success or failure on the field depends far more on the prayers of their home church than we realize.
We can’t all stand in their shoes, but we can all kneel in prayer.
So grab a list. Write the names. Keep knocking on Heaven’s door — not once, but again and again — until God answers.
Because prayer doesn’t just move mountains.
Prayer moves the heart of God.
Here is the transcription from the message he preached:
There he was—this busy judge sitting behind a mountain of paperwork, signing papers, stamping documents, and moving the world from behind that desk. He was a man on a mission, too busy to look up, too focused to notice the woman standing in front of him.
She waited, nervously clutching her request. Finally, when he did look up, he asked sharply, “Who are you?”
Probably trembling a little, she said softly what she came to say. But he cut her off. “I don’t have time for this,” he said. “Please leave.”
She walked out stunned. “What just happened?” she wondered.
Still, she wasn’t done. She looked at the secretary—sweet young lady—and said, “I didn’t really get to explain myself. Could I come back tomorrow?”
“Oh,” said the secretary, “we actually have a cancellation. I can squeeze you in.”
So the next day, she came back—more determined this time. She wasn’t leaving without being heard.
When she walked in, the judge was at it again—papers flying, pen moving. He looked up, squinting. “Don’t I know you?”
“Yes,” she said, “avenge me of my adversary.”
The judge sighed. “Lady, I don’t have time for this. Weren’t you here yesterday? I recognize that stuttering voice. Please leave.”
And so she did. But that wasn’t the end of it.
Day after day, she kept coming. The judge finally told his secretary, “Do not give that woman another appointment. I don’t have time for her nonsense!”
But she wasn’t about to quit. When appointments ran out, she got creative. She noticed he drank coffee all day long. And if you drink that much coffee, well, eventually you have to visit the restroom.
So she found the hallway where the bathrooms were and waited. Sure enough, here came the judge down the hall. She jumped out and said, “Avenge me of my adversary!”
He nearly jumped out of his skin. “Lady! You again?!”
It got so bad that he told security, “Do not let that woman in this building!”
So she waited by the parking lot. “He’s got a car,” she thought. “I’ll wait till he gets off work.”
When that didn’t work, she found out where he drove from each morning and stood by the roadside. Like one of those street vendors in Mexico who sell gum in traffic, she waited right there, holding her bag of gum. When his car slowed, she walked up, tapped on his window, and said again, “Avenge me of my adversary!”
At this point, he couldn’t go anywhere without running into her. She was living rent-free in his mind!
A year passed. The man was losing it. She haunted his dreams. She showed up everywhere. He’d try to grab a taco at his favorite little hole-in-the-wall spot—nobody knew where it was—and just when he lifted that taco, ring-ring! His phone buzzed.
He answered—and it was her!
He was about to lose his mind.
Two years of this and the man’s nerves were shot. He ran off into the mountains, found a quiet Airbnb, and told himself, “She’ll never find me here. No phone service. No way.”
Then came a knock at the door.
He opened it. There she was.
He threw his hands up. “Fine! Give me the name! Whoever it is—you win! It’s done! I’ll avenge you—just leave me alone!”
And that, my friends, is exactly what God wants from us.
He wants us to come to Him like that—relentlessly, persistently, bringing people’s names before Him again and again.
Jesus said in Luke 18:1, “Men ought always to pray, and not to faint.”
Jesus said, “Men ought always to pray, and not to faint.”
He told this parable so we’d understand: even an unjust judge—someone who didn’t fear God or respect people—will eventually act when he’s pressed long enough. And if that’s true of a worldly judge, how much more will our righteous God respond when His children keep coming before Him in prayer?
That’s what the Lord wants us to do—to keep asking, to keep bringing names before Him, to never stop.
When I first got saved, I asked my pastor, “How do I start a prayer life?”
He said, “Get a list.”
He was right. When you pray, your mind starts to wander. You sit down and say, “Alright, Lord…” and then suddenly, you’re thinking, Did I put gas in the truck? Did I wash it? Did I pay that bill? You start remembering everything you didn’t do all week.
You know why? Because the devil knows how powerful prayer is—and he’ll do anything to distract you.
So get a list. When I started, I just grabbed an old envelope and wrote down categories: “My family, my friends, even my enemies, my pastor, the missionaries, the government leaders.” I just prayed down that list. It helped me stay focused.
Later, when I was in Bible college at Windsor Hills, we had a promotion—if you brought three visitors to church, you got a free prayer guide. Well, I couldn’t afford to buy one, so I made sure I had ten visitors lined up that Sunday! Five came, so I got my prayer guide and still had two to barter with my classmates.
I started filling that book with names. Over time, it grew—and so did my prayer life.
It had verses in the front about prayer, and I learned something: reading the Bible before praying makes a huge difference. God’s Word fuels your prayer life. It focuses your thoughts and ignites your spirit.
Inside my prayer book, I’ve got names—my wife Patty, our daughters Natalie and Melanie, my parents, my mother-in-law, friends, pastors, missionaries. And I want you to pray for Natalie. She was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. When she found out, she told us something that blessed our hearts: “I accept whatever God has for me. I don’t understand it, but if this is what He wants, I’m not going to fight Him.”
That kind of faith is what keeps us going.
It hasn’t been an easy road. She’s been in Mexico getting treatments, but we know God is in control.
Now, I remember one time—this was over twenty years ago in Mexico City—things were rough. Missionaries often call it “the graveyard for missionaries.” Our first eight years there, we personally knew nineteen families who left the field for good. That city can wear you down.
I was exhausted and discouraged. We’d been attacked by a local pastor, lied about, criticized—you name it. One day, I was walking down the street, head pounding, heart heavy, thinking, What is happening?
Then it hit me like lightning. You know who’s enjoying this right now? The devil. I could almost see him grinning, laughing with that other guy who was giving us so much trouble. I thought, They’re probably up there celebrating together.
And I said to myself, I’m going to knock that grin off their faces.
So I grabbed my Bible and started knocking doors. I was on a street I called “The Impossible Street.” Nobody there wanted to hear the gospel. They’d yell at me, throw things—one time I had concrete thrown at me! But I didn’t care. I knocked anyway.
The first door opened, and a little man in a wheelchair looked out. I was already encouraged because he didn’t throw anything! I said, “Sir, I’m out talking to people about Jesus. If you were to die today, are you 100% sure you’d go to heaven?”
He said, “No, but I’ve been thinking a lot about that. I’m sick and not doing well.”
That day, I led that man to Christ. I could almost see the devil’s smile fade away.
A few years later, during a missions conference, a lady came to our church. After the service, she told my wife, “I want to talk to your husband.” She came up and said, “You came to my house once.”
I said, “Ma’am, I’ve been to a lot of houses. Can you remind me where?”
She named the street—the same Impossible Street. She said, “You talked to my husband. He was in a wheelchair.”
I remembered instantly. “Yes, yes! I remember him!”
She smiled and said, “Tonight, I trusted Jesus as my Savior. My husband died three years ago, and I know he’s in heaven. When you came to our house that day, we were all watching through the window, wondering who you were. We saw you praying with him. When he came inside, he said, ‘I’m going to heaven—and I’ve got the Bible to prove it.’”
I tell you, God moves mountains—but prayer moves God.
There’s no distance too great for Him. Someone, somewhere, was praying that day—maybe here in the States, maybe during supper time. They grabbed our prayer card, whispered our name, and God stirred a heart thousands of miles away.
Prayer connects us across oceans, across struggles, across time.
Without prayer, our faith doesn’t grow.
Jesus said in Luke 18:6–8, “Hear what the unjust judge saith. And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them? I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?”
It takes faith to pray. It takes faith to believe that God is listening when you whisper names on your list. And it takes faith to keep coming, again and again.
Romans 16 is Paul’s prayer list—you see him just rattling off names. He didn’t stop praying.
Friends, God moves mountains—but prayer moves God.
Internal Links:
Thanks Joe, now I can review this message often to help me keep praying for our missionaries!
Thanks Joe, now I can review this message often to help me keep praying for our missionaries!