Posted on 03/15/2019 9:54:24 AM PDT by Salvation
In the Gospel reading from Thursday, the Lord teaches the need to persist in prayer.
Ask and it will be given to you; 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 (Matt 7:7-8).
Seeking and knocking indicate persistence. While we might look for something briefly and then give up if we don’t find it, seeking implies an ongoing, perhaps lengthy search. Similarly, we don’t usually knock by softly tapping a door just once and then leaving if there’s no answer; we rap sharply a few times, and if no one comes forth we’ll usually try a few more times.
So, the Lord uses images of repetition for prayer. Indeed, the very word “repetition” comes from Latin roots denoting vigorous, repeated asking (re (again) + petere (to ask, beseech, or even to attack, go at, or strive for)).
Repetition, by its nature, is often vigorous and even pestering. Jesus teaches this concept in the parable about the persistent widow:
Then Jesus told them a parable about their need to pray at all times and not lose heart: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected men. And there was a widow in that town who kept appealing to him, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’ For a while he refused, but later he said to himself, ‘Even though I do not fear God or respect men, yet because this widow keeps pestering me, I will give her justice. Then she will stop wearing me out with her perpetual requests.’” And the Lord said, “Listen to the words of the unjust judge. Will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry out to Him day and night? Will He continue to defer their help? I tell you, He will promptly carry out justice on their behalf. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on earth?” (Luke 18:1-8)
This is a funny parable! In effect, though, Jesus says that we should pray and not lose heart, that we should call out to God day and night. He is teaching us to pray in such a way that we wear the Father out!
Here’s another passage in which Jesus teaches persistence:
Then Jesus said to them, “Suppose one of you goes to his friend at midnight and says, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, because a friend of mine has come to me on a journey, and I have nothing to set before him.’ And the one inside answers, ‘Do not bother me. My door is already shut, and my children are with me in bed. I cannot get up to give you anything.’ I tell you, even though he will not get up to provide for him because of his friendship, yet because of the man’s persistence, he will get up and give him as much as he needs (Luke 11:5-8).
There are other examples, such as the Syrophoenician woman who kept asking Jesus to heal her daughter despite being ignored and even rebuked (Matt 15:20-24), and the blind man at Jericho who kept crying out to Jesus despite being told by the crowd to be quiet (Luke 18:39).
Ponder well this teaching and learn to persist in prayer. Pray to God in such a way as to wear Him out. Yes, pester God a bit. The Lord himself teaches us this. God is neither deaf nor grouchy, but for reasons of His own He wants us to be persistent in our prayers. There may come a time when we are able to discern that His answer to our request is no, but until that is clear, keep knocking, keep seeking; rinse and repeat. Wear God out!
Monsignor Pope Ping!
Hi.
Sometimes the Lord answers your prayers before you say them.
5.56mm
bump
I am not sure I agree with his interpretation of this passage. The Lord teaches us to be persistent in prayer, no doubt.
However, I think the point of the parable was to contrast the responses of a rotten individual, the judge, and God. The judge gave in because he was tired of being annoyed, but God gives to us because He loves to do good for His children, as long as our prayers are within His will. Persistence in prayer is a byproduct of faith, in my humble opinion.
I think my wife has a special line to God.
A few years back we were going through some hard times. My company had gone through a merger and I was being laid off. We had decided we were going to have to sell the house we had lived in for nearly 20 years. We were considering moving to New Mexico. Hurricane Wilma had just gone through and we were without electricity or water.
My wife was painting the kitchen, preparing the house to be shown, and could hear our kids playing with the neighbor children out back. Heartbroken at the thought of leaving our home and friends, my wife asked God to make clear the path we should take. Within a week when they restored power, our house burned down. God made His plan clear.
Fast forward 5 years. My wife is working for an Electrical Contractor. She went to work for the company on the recommendation of a close friend, and that friend had announce her decision to move back to Arkansas. Without working with her friend, the job held little interest for my wife, but the pay was good. Once again, my wife prayed for clarity, for the way forward to be made clear.
The next day the owner announced he was filing bankruptcy and closing the company.
My wife is no longer allowed to pray for clarity.
Sometimes, prayer is just listening to what God says.
Spending time in front of the Blessed Sacrament is a great place to listen.
The person doing the praying wears out long before God does and usually ends up broken-hearted.
Mathew 6:7 when you pray do not use vain repetitions.
There are many ways to pray I believe Jesus was just telling us to keep God in our heart and on our mind.
If your prayer caused God to change his mind, does that mean he was in error before you prayed?
Of course we could never "wear God out", but what I understand these examples to teach is that God desires us to pray always/pray without ceasing - to keep us humble and trusting in Him for all things. He doesn't want us to only pray when there is some great need but to stay in fellowship with Him at all times. He loves us and wants to stay in touch with Him. That way we are always conscious of His presence and never forget that He sees and knows ALL things - nothing is hidden from Him. Believers who live like this are going to avoid sin, not run headlong into it and will always be at peace because we know we are in His hands and can never be plucked from them or cast out.
Good comment.
You are right. And there truly is an element of persistence, both in the Beatitude and in the parable. There is nothing wrong with persistence — just watch Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane! Blessings to YOU!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.