How God Answers Prayers.
Dear Parishioners,
Our Blessed Lord began his earthly ministry with prayer and ended it with the highest form of prayer: Sacrifice on the Cross. He lived a prayerful life. It was this devotion that intrigued his Apostles and made them approach him with their own request: “Lord, teach us to pray.” Their request expands our horizon on prayer. The Lord did not recite a prayer for them, nor did he offer one of the traditional forms of prayers. Rather, he taught them how to pray by giving them a formula and content of what a prayer should be. He gave them Our Father; a model prayer for all.
We all have some experience of prayer. Some of us find praying easy and smooth, while others struggle and lack words to express their prayers. There are folks who may depend only on the traditional prayers they learned from childhood or spiritual books. The most important thing is that we all can pray. God made us capable of expressing our hearts to him; how we do it may vary.
The efficacy of prayer is not diminished because someone lacks the use of fancy words or emotional dramatization. St. Therese of Lisieux says “Prayer is a surge of the heart; it is a simple look turned toward, it is a cry of recognition and of love, embracing both trail and joy.” We can categorize prayer into these different kinds: prayer of adoration, petition, thanksgiving, public liturgy, private meditation/contemplation, and so forth.
It is not uncommon for some people to feel that they are not praying well. Today in the gospel, Jesus teaches us how to pray with ease and satisfaction. It begins by asking the Lord to inspire you and illuminate your heart to recognize the presence God and humbly adore him. He wants our prayer to express what is in our heart. We too want our prayer to bring us closer to God, who we now call Our Father. Our prayer nourishes our faith and makes us children of God. Jesus is not just teaching us how to pray; rather, he is showing us the experience of prayer.
Praying is not an empty word. Prayer is a loving conversation between us and a gracious God. It is the opening of the deepest part of our hearts to God. It is an exposition of oneself before his Creator so that his heartbeat is in sync with that of God’s.
I loved the prayerful dialogue of Abraham and Lord in the Old Testament reading. Abraham summoned the courage to stand before the Lord and pleaded for the innocents to be spared. He wanted to save the city of Sodom and Gomorrah that were marked for destruction. He was a shrewd customer before the Lord. He bargained and negotiated the best possible deal. This experience teaches us how tender and kind God is. It teaches us how easy it is to pray. For those who find praying very difficult, the example of Abraham and Our Lord’s method of praying should serve as an encouragement and a model.
Always begin with trusting and placing yourself in the presence of the most holy and adorable Trinity, One God in three divine persons. Thank him for his gifts and offer yourself to him. Also, resolve to avoid evil and to do good. Engaging in this kind of spirited conversation further highlights that paternal relationship between a father and his children.
Jesus shows the power in persistent prayer and abandonment to God’s will. Even if a friend refuses to help an associate, the annoyance of his associate’s continuous pleas will surely pressure him to give in. But God is more than that. God is affectionate to us and cares about our needs.
Our heavenly Father cannot be out done in generosity. God cannot refuse his Spirit to those who wishes to enter into the mystery of prayer. Jesus gives us the permission to call God our Father. He includes us into the inner life of the Blessed Trinity. Never stop asking the Lord to teach you how to pray.
Sincerely Yours in Christ,
Rev. Vitalis Anyanike
Pastor
