Prayer For Needs

Saturday of the Thirty-second Week in Ordinary Time C-2

Entrance Antiphon Cf. Ps 88 (87):3 Let my prayer come into your presence. Incline your ear to my cry for help, O Lord.

Collect Almighty and merciful God, graciously keep from us all adversity, so that, unhindered in mind and body alike, we may pursue in freedom of heart the things that are yours. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

Scripture today: 3 John 5-8; Psalm 111; Luke 18:1-8

Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. He said: In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared about men. And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, 'Grant me justice against my adversary.' For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, 'Even though I don't fear God or care about men, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won't eventually wear me out with her coming!' And the Lord said, Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth? (Luke 18:1-8)

Prayer For Needs Years ago I knew a mother of several children, a fine Catholic woman with a young husband. She fell sick with a dangerous cancer. Immediately several of her friends began earnest and continual prayer for her recovery. Her condition worsened, and the prayers were redoubled. Her friends would often gather together in her house, and pray for her together in her room. Finally she died of cancer, leaving her husband and several young children. What was to be said of the prayer that had been offered up in faith and hope by many of her friends? It must have been very pleasing to God because they took our Lord at his word and prayed with faith, without giving up. But in the event, it was not the will of God for that woman and her family that her life be prolonged. God in his wisdom and almighty providence allowed the cancer to take its course — but the prayers must have served his saving purpose. God wants us to take him at his word and pray for what in his sight we think we need, and not (as the Greek puts it) “to faint.” But of course, we cannot ultimately know what is best for us. In any case, it is obvious that God would not often, and with conflicting prayers rising before him, set aside the laws of the universe. Cardinal Newman, now beatified, at the end of his life observed that God generally answers prayer by extension and exaggeration. That is to say, he extends and exaggerates the circumstances and situations of the natural order in order to favour the needs we present to him. We continue to pray and at a certain moment God touches circumstances at a tiny yet crucial point, and the prayer is answered. We have lost a valuable item and we pray earnestly to find it. Soon after, a sudden thought leads to the right glance, and it is found. Bowel cancer is detected and prayers are begun. The surgeon is in excellent form, and the operation is entirely successful. At times too, God works miracles. But we must allow God to decide what is best, for he alone knows. Christ appealed that his cup be taken away, but it wasn’t. He drank it to its dregs, and the universe in hidden fashion began its new course. All depended on the Son of Man suffering, dying and rising.

We cannot take our Lord’s words, directing us to pray with faith and perseverance, as a magic wand. Wave the wand, and the wish will be granted. We do not exercise a charm or spell over the laws of reality, as if we are wielding Excalibur, the fabled sword of King Arthur. In prayer we present petitions to a great Person, the Person in whose hand are held all things seen and unseen. Who can possibly know what is best, except the Creator who has revealed himself to be our Father? St Mary MacKillop’s most constant prayer was that the “dear will of God” would be done. The fact that our Lord himself answered countless petitions, and taught (as in our Gospel passage today) us to pray for specific needs, shows that it is pleasing to God that we pray for what we need and want. But our fundamental prayer ought be that God’s will be done. When the Spanish Armada was being prepared, a vast concourse of prayer rose to heaven for success in the coming venture. It proved to be a spectacular failure and a terrible defeat. The religious battle for the soul of England seemed intractably elusive. Why did God not grant success? Man cannot say. In the same century, Islam was a tremendous threat to Christian Europe, and the Popes could not get the Christian powers to unite. Unceasing prayer began, and a coalition was formed under Don John of Austria. The battle was joined at Lepanto, and the Christian fleet was victorious, the victory being attributed at root to the intercession of Mary, Help of Christians. The cynical secularist, sceptic and otherwise unbeliever will say that all events are the product of natural forces, prayer or no prayer. Prayer may keep up spirits and give hope to the protagonists, but it does not affect the course of the world. Not so the testimony of Jesus Christ, and the Christian places his faith in Christ’s word. Christ commands us to pray for all our needs, and promises that our prayer will be heard — but of course, in the way known best to God. Further, let us remember this. Christ has shown, in fact, that suffering is the greatest source of good in the world — if we suffer in union with him.

Let us pray perseveringly for all our needs, depending all the while on the “dear will of God,” to use the expression of Saint Mary MacKillop. There is nothing in the world better for us than that God’s will be done. How terrible it would be if, God knowing that to win the million dollar prize would be to our undoing spiritually and materially, we should win it! The critical thing we need is faith, faith in God’s love and power. But as our Lord says in today’s Gospel, “when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”

(E.J.Tyler)

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A Second Reflection: (Luke 18:1-8)

Faith and Persistence in Prayer We understandably have considerable respect for people who, as we say, are able to get things done. But there is so much in life that seems to be beyond the control of anyone — except God, of course. This is why those are most special who through their prayers are able to get done so much of what is beyond our control. What, then, is the secret to effective prayer? Obviously, at root it is humility before God. There must be genuine love for him. At the same time, in our Gospel passage for today (Luke 18: 1-8) our Lord mentions two qualities: faith and persistence. Firstly in our prayer we must truly believe that God has the power and the goodness to hear us. If this belief is real, we will then persist in our prayer despite his apparent delays. We do not know why God might be delaying, but our Lord's teaching is that we ought not give up praying simply because God delays. If we do give up — and generally we do! — it will be due to a lack of faith.

Let us ask our Lord for the grace of great faith that will enable us to pray with persistence, and so by our prayers bring down the blessings of God on so much that looks hopeless.

(E.J.Tyler)

-----------------------