There is nothing in Luke 11:5–8 that suggests that importunity, or continued and intense effort, is required for prayers to be heard by God—that is, there is nothing in the parable of the friend at midnight that implies that prayer must go on at great length until God responds or must take unusual measures in order to gain a hearing (like the priests of Baal in 1 Kings 18:26–29). This question, however, does arise with the parable of “the persistent widow” in Luke 18:1–8, which is often paired with