Bugging God with Your Burden

There are moments in life when we feel completely powerless. No amount of money, networking, or personal effort can fix what we’re facing. In those moments, Jesus offers us a strange but powerful invitation: bug God.

In Luke 18, Jesus tells a parable to teach us how to pray without giving up. It’s a story of desperation, persistence, and divine responsiveness. And it begins with two central characters: a judge and a widow.

A Judge Without Justice, A Widow Without Power
Jesus describes a judge in a certain city who “neither feared God nor respected man.” This man is self-absorbed, driven by ego and ambition, and entirely uninterested in justice unless it benefits him. He doesn’t care about people. He doesn’t care about God. He’s only in it for himself.

Enter the widow. We don’t know the exact details of her situation. All we’re told is that she’s been wronged and needs justice. And in her time and culture, she represents the most powerless in society. No income. No support. No legal leverage. She has no family to advocate for her, no money to bribe the judge, and no societal status to sway public opinion.

So what does she do? She bugs the judge.

Day after day, she comes to him with one plea: “Give me justice against my adversary.” That’s all she can do. She just keeps coming. She won’t stop. Her desperation is relentless.

The Power of Persistent Bugging
At first, the judge refuses to help her. But eventually, he gives in. Why? Not because he has a sudden change of heart, but because he’s worn out. He literally says, “Because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.”

That phrase “beat me down” in the original Greek is actually a boxing term. Her persistence is like throwing punches, one after another. She’s emotionally beating him into submission. Her continual asking is exhausting him.

This is the picture Jesus paints for prayer. A widow, with no power and no resources, relentlessly pestering a corrupt judge until he gives in.

And Jesus is saying: That’s the kind of persistence I want from you.

Bugging God with Your Burden
This woman’s posture — her internal attitude — was one of desperate dependence. She had no backup plan. No side options. Her only move was to keep pounding on the judge’s door.

Jesus tells this story right before he leaves his disciples. He’s preparing them for life without his physical presence. He wants them to understand what prayer must look like when he’s not beside them. And the lesson is clear: Bug God with your burden.

Jesus invites us to anoint God with our adversity, irritate God with our issue, pester God with our problem, and, above all, don’t stop.

So let me ask: what burden are you carrying this season?

What in your life is causing anxiety, fear, or stress? What’s the unresolved pain that surfaces without even trying? Whatever it is — bug God with it.

The Cry That Made Jesus Stop
This theme shows up again later in Luke 18. In verses 35 to 40, Jesus is approaching Jericho when a blind man cries out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” The crowd tells him to be quiet. They rebuke him for bothering Jesus.

But instead of backing down, he shouts even louder. He goes wild. “Son of David, have mercy on me!” His cry grows louder, not quieter.

And Jesus stops.

He hears the desperate, persistent cry and halts everything. Then he asks the man, “What do you want me to do for you?”

What made Jesus stop? A refusal to quit asking. It irritated the crowd, but it excited Jesus.

The Boldness That Moves Heaven
In Luke 11, Jesus teaches his disciples how to pray using the Lord’s Prayer. But he doesn’t stop there. He adds a story to show them how prayer should feel.

A man knocks on his friend’s door at midnight asking for bread. The friend replies, “Don’t bother me. I’m in bed.” But the man keeps knocking.

Jesus says the friend will eventually get up, not because of friendship, but because of the man’s impudence. That word means boldness, verging on rudeness.

It’s the same posture we’ve seen in the widow, the blind beggar, and now the midnight visitor. A posture of refusal. Boldness. Persistence.

Where Do You Feel Powerless?
Author Jim Cymbala once wrote, “God is just attracted to weakness. He can’t resist those who humbly and honestly admit how desperately they need Him. Our weakness, in fact, makes room for His power.”

So, where do you feel powerless today? What is the situation you can’t fix, solve, or escape?

Here’s what you can do. You can accept God’s invitation. And the invitation is simple: bug Him.

Be bold. Be relentless. Be loud if you have to. Jesus is not annoyed by your persistence. In fact, He delights in it.

Keep Knocking
Jesus opened Luke 18 with a story that invites us to keep praying and not lose heart. He ends the chapter with an example of someone doing just that.

This summer, whatever your burden is — bug God with it. Keep coming. Keep knocking. Keep crying out. Be as persistent as the widow, as bold as the blind man, and as impudent as the midnight guest.

Because when we refuse to give up, Jesus doesn’t walk past. He stops. He listens. And He responds.



This blog is based on the message shared by Campus Pastor Chris DeArman at our Cityrise Bellaire campus on Sunday, May 25, 2025. Check out the full message below!