Readings: Gen 18:20-32; Col 2:12-14; Lk 11:1-13
Pray, Trust, Believe, and Hope. Never Lose Heart
1. Last Sunday, we reflected on how Abraham treated the visitors who stopped by his house. Abraham showed them hospitality and provided them with food to nourish and strengthen them for their journey. The visitors were on their way to the land of Sodom and Gomorrah. In the 17th verse of the 18th chapter of the book of Genesis, “The Lord reflected: “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do…?” Our first reading takes off from that discussion. God revealed to Abraham where he was going and why; “The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great, and their sin so grave, that I must go down and see whether or not their actions fully correspond to the cry against them that come to me. I mean to find out.” (Gen. 18:20-21). When Abraham heard those words, he began pleading for the land and his nephew residing there. Abraham prayed that God should spare the lives of the righteous and not punish them with sinners. In the Gospel, we see Jesus Christ at prayer, prompting his disciples to ask him to teach them how to pray.
2. I often wonder why Christ’s disciples asked him to teach them how to pray. I believe the disciples knew how to pray. As faithful Jews, they would undoubtedly know the scripture, at least the Old Testament. They must have prayed and sang the psalms, 150 of them. They prayed in the Synagogue on Sabbath. As faithful Jews, they would have taken their religious obligation seriously - why did they need to be taught prayer. Maybe the disciples were just like the rest of us regarding prayer. Do we even know how to pray? Do we know what prayer is? The Catechism of the Church states that “Prayer is the raising of one’s mind and heart to God or the requesting of good things from God.” (CCC 2559). When we are in God’s presence, we realign our spirit with that of God and share his sacred space and blessing. We not only pray for ourselves but, like Abraham in the first reading, we also pray for others. Developing a life of prayer is like starting a business. It takes time, patience, perseverance, and devotion. Most businesses fail because they lack the essential ingredient needed to succeed. Jesus lived a life of prayer. He was consistent, devoted, and patient. Christ prayed all the time. Sometimes he spent the whole night in prayer. Hence, the disciples wondered why he was successful, and they were not. They probably thought that God answered his prayers more than theirs. They wanted to pray like Jesus.
3. Jesus did not pray to change God. He prayed to do the will of God and be constantly in God’s presence. His prayer was filled with gratitude to God for his blessings. He was humble, unassuming, and trusting. This was what he needed to teach his disciples when he taught them ‘The Our Father.’ We see this disposition in Abraham in the first reading. He was humble, unassuming, loyal, respectful, and trusting though fearful of God. He knew his limitation even in his perseverance. We must learn to pray as instructed in the Lord’s prayer. Jesus warned, “In praying, do not babble like the pagans, who think that they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them. Your Father knows what you need before you ask him.” (Matt. 6:7-8). When we fail to relate to God in prayer as Jesus and Abraham, we find it difficult to pray as we should. We may begin to think that God does not answer our prayers.
4. We sometimes command God in our prayers to give us what we want. Some people even demand things from God and adopt an arrogant attitude as if they are God’s equal. Listen again to the perspective of Abraham as he addressed God. “See how I am presuming to speak to my Lord, though I am but dust and ashes!” Again. “Let not my Lord grow impatient if I go on. And finally, “Please let not my Lord grow angry if I speak up this last time.” (Gen. 18:27,30,32). He pleaded for God’s intervention in that sinful nation. God answered his prayers, and though there weren’t many righteous people in Sodom and Gomorrah, God spared the life of his nephew, Lot, and his family. Prayer of the righteous is pleasing to God. Jesus wants us to be like Abraham, to pray, not to change God, but to let God change us. We must ask for God’s kingship over us as we humbly ask him for our daily bread. We must persevere, knowing that our Father knows what we need before we ask him. Today Christ taught his disciples to keep their prayer simple and short. Therefore, we must seek the kingdom of God first and strive to do his will.
5. There are many forms of prayer, depending on our needs. We say a prayer of intercession when praying for others, as Abraham did in today’s first reading. We can also ask others to intercede for us. In the prayer of thanksgiving, we express our gratitude to God for his blessings. We are encouraged to offer thanks to God for the gift of life. Our most significant act of thanksgiving is the celebration of the Mass – the eucharist. Other forms of prayer are adoration, contrition, supplication, meditation, and contemplation. Our prayer is efficacious and is of utmost necessity for overcoming our enemies. Like Christ, the saints were people of prayer. They prayed not only during the day but at night as well. Prayer is a must for everyone. A Christian who does not pray knows nothing of God and his love for humanity. According to John Vianney, “We will watch ourselves and all the motions of our hearts in vain, in vain we will avoid temptation if we do not pray; if we do not have continual recourse to prayer, all our other ways will be of no use at all to us, and we shall be overcome. We can see plainly that in the world, there are many occasions when we cannot run away; for example, a child cannot run away from the society of his parents because of their bad example. But he can pray, and his prayer will sustain him.”
6. It is also noteworthy that we must forgive others if we want God to forgive us for our trespasses. This is addressed in the Lord’s prayer effectively. Here is Christ's teaching: “And forgive us our sins for we ourselves forgive everyone in debt to us.” We cannot expect God’s forgiveness if we do not forgive others. If we pray as Christ did and taught, we will experience life differently; see people differently, and love as God loves us. We will forgive people from our hearts as we want God to forgive us. In praying ‘Our Father,’ we pray to a loving God who cares for us and seeks what is best for us. No matter what we go through in life, our father knows it all and wants us to tell him about it. But most of all, in praying, may we never forget to ask for the one thing that is dearest to God’s heart, the gift of the Holy Spirit. For “The Spirit too helps us in our weakness, for we do not know how to pray as we ought; but the Spirit himself makes intercession for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in speech. He who searches hearts knows what the Spirit means, for the Spirit intercedes for the saints as God himself wills.” (Rom. 8:26-27). Pray always. Pray perseveringly. Pray insistently, pray, and do not give up. God will turn your mourning into joy and fill you with the blessings of your youth. Amen.
Rev. Augustine Etemma Inwang, MSP
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