1 Timothy 5:5. "She who is a real widow, and is left all alone, has set her hope on God and continues in supplications and prayers night and day." By a "real widow", Paul means one who has no children or grandchildren or other family to care for her. He also contrasts a prayerful widow who has turned to God with one who is self-indulgent - the latter, he says, is "dead even while she lives."

The state of mind of the widow who is left alone with no one to support her and yet has set her hope on God is to be admired. Paul says such a woman continues in supplication and prayers night and day. He is describing someone who has lost everything yet, in her loss, turns to God for comfort and hope, the only real source of those things. This is the right answer; this is total trust and surrender exemplified, and that trust will be answered by God through His Church.

In this passage, Paul is laying out for Timothy how and when widows are to be cared for by the new Church. We can see that Paul recognized the gifts that these women provide - their total trust in God and continual prayer and supplications help not only them, but also boost and support the Church that is supporting them. I remember hearing one of the priests active in the early pro-life movement say that he would organize people to be on the streets for witness and sidewalk counseling, but he would also go into nursing homes and ask individual residents there to pray for specific people doing the sidewalk ministry. The people in the nursing homes loved doing this, and they felt a connection and shared mission with the people on the streets. They were vital to the mission - without prayer nothing can succeed! This is similar to what Paul is recognizing in the widows here - their prayer is vital for the Church.

God puts each of us in different circumstances and calls us to different tasks in those circumstances. At each stage of life there is something we are called to do to build His Kingdom. If we find ourselves all alone, we should, like the widows, turn to Him in prayer. These widows, having lost everything, are continuing to build the Kingdom through essential prayer and supplication. Paul is right to recognize that they deserve the Church's support, because they are supporting the Church!