The Lord’s Prayer

5 “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love ^xto stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. ^yTruly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 6 But when you pray, ^zgo into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. ^aAnd your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

7 “And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as ^bthe Gentiles do, for ^cthey think that they will be heard ^dfor their many words. 8 Do not be like them, ^efor your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

The Parable of the Persistent Widow

1 And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought ^ralways to pray and not ^slose heart. 2 He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who ^tneither feared God nor respected man. 3 And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’ 4 For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself, ^u‘Though I neither fear God nor respect man, 5 yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.’” 6 And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge says. 7 And ^vwill not God give justice to ^whis elect, ^xwho cry to him day and night? ^yzWill he delay long over them? 8 I tell you, he will give justice to them ^aspeedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, ^bwill he find faith on earth?”

25 Then Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose for yourselves one bull and prepare it first, for you are many, and call upon the name of your god, but put no fire to it.” 26 And they took the bull that was given them, and they prepared it and called upon the name of Baal from morning until noon, saying, “O Baal, answer us!” But there was no voice, and no one answered. And they limped around the altar that they had made. 27 And at noon Elijah mocked them, saying, “Cry aloud, for he is a god. Either he is musing, or he is relieving himself, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and must be awakened.” 28 And they cried aloud and ^wcut themselves after their custom with swords and lances, until the blood gushed out upon them. 29 And as midday passed, they raved on until the time of ^xthe offering of the oblation, but there was no voice. No one answered; no one paid attention.