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17th Sunday in Ordinary Time - C (July 25, 2010)
My
dear friends, as disciples of the Lord, we learn from Jesus, our
Master. In today’s gospel reading, Jesus teaches us by example and by
word about prayer. He teaches us first by his example. The gospel
reading begins: “One day, Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he
had finished, one of his disciples asked him, ‘Lord, teach us to
pray.’”
Jesus was a person of prayer. He is often presented by St. Luke as
praying. As a boy, he went to the Temple in Jerusalem to pray. It was
his custom to go to the synagogues to worship like any other devout
Jew. He was praying after his baptism when the Holy Spirit descended
upon him in the form of a dove and the Father bore witness to him. He
spent many days in prayer in the desert before actively preaching.
Before he chose his disciples, he spent a whole night in prayer. Again,
before he asked his disciples who they thought he was, he prayed while
walking on the road. Prayer was a mark of Jesus, and so it is not
surprising that his final words from the cross is a prayer to God,
commending himself to the Father’s hands. He who would be like Jesus
should also be a person of prayer like him. Though Jesus could have
claimed that every action of his was prayer, he frequently dedicated
special times for explicit prayer and communion with his Father. The
example of Jesus leaves us no excuse for not devoting time to prayer.
Jesus teaches us also by his words. And here, Jesus today asks his
disciples to pray persistently and confidently, assuring them of being
answered: “Ask and you will receive; seek and you will find, knock and
it shall be opened to you.” But have we not often experienced that we
have asked persistently and confidently and did not get what we asked
for?
In situations like this, we should remember that the Lord will give us
what we need, what is good for us, and not necessarily what we want.
And so, when we ask in the name of Jesus, it means that we ask in union
with his disposition or submit himself to the will of God, our Father.
But we ask, nevertheless, and can specify what we ask with that
condition always included, because in asking we already prepare our
hearts for the gift that we are asking. We ask, not so much to touch
the heart of God who knows better than us what we need, but in order to
prepare ourselves for his grace.
In an age when we have become accustomed to instant results and are
impatient with endless delays, Jesus’ message is to keep on praying, to
keep on knocking and not to give up easily because the values that we
cherish are not instantly available and take time to establish.
Making prayer a daily habit means that we appreciate its importance and
are prepared to make room for it in a busy routine. When something
becomes precious to us, we do not leave it to chance. Continual prayer,
somehow, like breathing, is a necessity if we are to avail of God’s
help and strength in getting safely through this life to heaven.
Prayer is talking to God, and when we pray we are to speak out what is
in our hearts in a real human way, making use of the style which suites
us best. We need be under no pressure to be other than what we are and
what we feel at that moment. It does not matter whether we are joyful,
depressed, angry or frustrated. There is no reason to be ashamed
because we are in the presence of a friend who understands us.
We pray because there is confusion in our lives and because we need
guidance to make the proper decisions. There are our wrong-doings for
which we need forgiveness and our successes for which we ought to give
thanks.
One pressing problem that I mentioned earlier is that while we expect
immediate results, God seems to remain silent and not attentive to our
requests. It is good to remember that we are not telling God anything
that he does not know. So we can be assured that he hears our every
prayer. He will not refuse what is for our benefit and will grant us
what we ask for in his own good time and as he sees fit. If we get our
praying right, the rest of life will fall into place.
Prayer is the oil that keeps the lamp of faith burning brightly,
drawing us closer to God and enabling us to produce good works. Prayer
is the lubricating oil that keeps the machine of our spiritual life
running smoothly.
My dear friends, be a true disciple of Jesus. Pray like him. Join in
the prayer of the Church, especially the Eucharist. Pray in your homes
with your families. As Fr. Peyton would say: The family that prays
together, stays together.” Pray alone in a quiet corner of your home or
of the church. Pray even when going to work or school, or even while
working, some simple and short prayer like, “Jesus, I trust in you,”
Jesus, I love you,” “Jesus, thank you,” “Jesus, all for you.” Always
use the word “Jesus”. It is so very powerful. As scripture says, “No
one can take the name of Jesus in vain.” Pray, and pray constantly.
A disciple of Jesus is a person of prayer like the Master. Love to
pray. Feel often during the day the need for prayer, and take the
trouble to pray. Prayer enlarges the heart until it is capable of
containing God’s gift of himself. Ask and seek and your heart will grow
big enough to receive him as your own. There is no better thermometer
to the temperature of our faith than the measure of our intensity and
perseverance in our prayer life.
God bless you.
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