Word to the Wise
Thursday, March 1, 2012 -
[Esther C:12, 14-16, 23-25 and Matthew 7:7-12]If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good things to those who ask him.
Human experience tells us that when we ask for something, we put ourselves in the hands of the one who has the power to respond. There is always the risk that the request cannot be granted or that the answer will be "No!" When this experience is translated to prayer, the context is challenging! Jesus tells us that our Heavenly Father knows how to give us good things. In teaching us his prayer, Jesus notes that God knows what we need before we ask for it! So, then, we are put in the hands of the Almighty when it comes to asking for something. There is mystery in this, and mystery can make us uncomfortable.
Not all prayer is "petitionary," of course. In ordinary friendship, if all we do is ask a friend for something every time we see them, the relationship is not likely to last long! Sometimes all that is needed is companionship. Acquaintance builds the relationship to a point when we know what kinds of things we can ask for and how often this kind of request is likely to be "honored." Asking God for a new automobile every day is likely to draw the same response: "No!" as if we walked into a car dealership and asked the same thing! (Although the dealer might be glad to sell us one every day!)
The mystery of divine providence and prayer will always leave us a bit uncomfortable, but Jesus urges us to persevere in prayer and to trust in God's providence. As the old saying goes, "There's no harm in asking!" AMEN
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