Luke announces the thrust of the coming parable as encouragement to persist in prayer to God. He does not say it in so many words, but it is clear from the context that this prayer is about the end-time resolution of the problems of the present and not simply about answered prayer in the normal sense. (On answered prayer in the more normal sense, see 11:5–13.) The judge is described in a manner that undermines all confidence that one could look to him for justice: he answers neither to the directives