Prayer is haggling with God
Credit to Author: Tempo Desk| Date: Sat, 27 Jul 2019 16:00:41 +0000
Gospel: Lk 11:1-13
JESUS was praying in a certain place, and when he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray just as John taught his disciples.” He said to them, “When you pray, say: Father, hallowed be your name, your Kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread and forgive us our sins for we ourselves forgive everyone in debt to us, and do not subject us to the final test.”
And he said to them, “Suppose one of you has a friend to whom he goes at midnight and says, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, for a friend of mine has arrived at my house from a journey and I have nothing to offer him,’ and he says in reply from within, ‘Do not bother me; the door has already been locked and my children and I are already in bed. I cannot get up to give you anything.’ I tell you, if he does not get up to give him the loaves because of their friendship, he will get up to give him whatever he needs because of his persistence.
“And I tell you, ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. What father among you would hand his son a snake when he asks for a fish? Or hand him a scorpion when he asks for an egg? If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?”
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In the Gospel, Jesus gives the Our Father in response to a disciple’s request to be taught how to pray. He says that we are to pray persistently, using the parable of the friend at midnight to illustrate this. Then he reiterates the quality of persistence and declares, “Ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” (The Greek literally reads: “Keep on asking… keep on seeking… keep on knocking.”)
We wonder why Abraham stops haggling at ten (First Reading). God does not show any sign of exasperation. God never stops giving; it is Abraham who stops asking.
Jesus teaches us to persevere and be persistent in prayer as we dedicate our life to mission. Unlike Abraham, we need not put limits on God’s power over our life. We can haggle and keep asking because God wants to keep giving. When our best efforts are reduced to failure, Jesus admonishes us not to despair: “Keep on asking… keep on seeking… keep on knocking.” In effect, Jesus is telling us: “It’s not about you; it’s about me.”
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SOURCE: “365 Days with the Lord 2018,” ST. PAULS Philippines, 7708 St. Paul Rd., SAV, Makati City (Phils.); Tel.: 895-9701; Fax 895-7328; E-mail: books@stpauls.ph; Website: http://www.stpauls.ph.