I feel awkward when I'm asked to pray in public. I don't know what to say, but I want to learn. Over the years, I've found that if people listen carefully to one specific story about prayer that Jesus told, they become motivated to pray. Those who have beaten themselves up for not praying enough stop the beatings and start praying. Brazen non-prayers find themselves tempted to give prayer a try.
Embarrassed beginners lose their fear and plunge in.
And praying veterans gladly sign up for another tour of duty. In Jesus' time, a widow was most likely poor and unemployable, without power, status or connections. The modern-day equivalent would be a street person or a bag lady. This widow is being harassed by a local villain. She has no means to protect himself from this man, nowhere to turn for help, no one to turn to.