Word to the Wise
Thursday, October 11, 2007 - Twenty-seventh Thursday in Ordinary Time
[Malachi 3:13-20B and Luke 11:5-13]And I tell you, ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will beopened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened...."
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2007 TWENTY-SEVENTH THURSDAY IN ORDINARY TIME [Malachi 3:13-20B and Luke 11:5-13] And I tell you, ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will beopened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened...." One of the more difficult pastoral tasks is trying to respond to those who come disappointed that they've been praying "for years for help with such-and-such" and have received no relief or end to their suffering or realization of a particular hope. Why should they continue to pray? God doesn't seem to be listening. In some cases, this question hides a question about whether or not there IS a God to be praying TO. Across the centuries there have been many different responses. One of them says, "Maybe the answer is NO." Another says, "Maybe you are not praying hard enough or not with complete faith." My own approach is simply to pray for I KNOW God gives: love and mercy. Praying for a particular outcome is normal but not necessarily guaranteed. I consider prayer to be a form of sharing and communicating. If I have to be willing to accept the kind of help I know another person can give and not necessarily what I wish they could give. That doesn't keep me from praying that a given flight will not be delayed or that my luggage won't be lost! I share that worry with God but I don't get mad at God if the flight is delayed or the luggage is lost. I invite God and the angels to rejoice with me if neither happens! What I need if either or both happens is that love and mercy which will help me in my frustration (the sort of thing I should expect of a friend). I know that God gives that and I'm persistent in asking for it. I hope my personal approach might be of help to others similarly wondering about the "efficacy" of prayer. AMEN
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