SEVENTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (C)

Prayer

Genesis 18:20-32; Colossians 2:12-14; Luke 11:1-13.

Aim: (1) to explain why some Christians give up praying; (2) to encourage all to perseverance in prayer; (3) to emphasize the need for sincerity and humility in prayer.

The subject of today’s Bible readings-all three-is prayer: what prayer is, what it does, how it is said.

In the First Reading, from Genesis, we see Abraham, our Father in faith, literally persuading God to save two entire cities - two especially notorious cities whose names are synonyms for evildoing - simply by prayer. In the Second Reading, from St. Paul’s letter to the Colossians, we see that faith in Christ can accomplish; hence, prayer in his name has to be effective. And in the Gospel, we read one of the two Biblical versions of Jesus’ own prayer (today’s is from Luke; the other is from Matthew), which we call the Lord’s Prayer or the Our Father-the perfect prayer, not only because Jesus himself composed it, but also because by it our Lord instructed us as to what every good prayer should represent.

It is easier to talk about prayer than to practice it. But it is important to talk about it, thereby to understand its nature. It should involve praise, thanksgiving as well as petitions for guidance.

Prayer means talking with God; it is the loving conversation that we, God’s adopted children, carry on with our heavenly Father in Jesus’ name.

Which brings us to a first point about prayer. To pray, we’ve got to be aware that we’re trying to talk with God. Prayer is meant to restore within us a conscious contact with God. We pray, therefore, in the realization that we are talking with God. Shakespeare wrote, in Hamlet, “Words without thoughts never to heaven go”.

Jesus gave us three especially helpful parables on prayer. One is today’s Gospel; the story about the man who keeps knocking until someone answers the door. His knocking symbolizes persistence. The lesson is that we must keep at prayer. Perseverance is necessary; we must not give up on prayer, ever.

A second parable Jesus gave us is that about the Pharisee and the Publican. The proud Pharisee’s prayer went unanswered. As for the publican, who admitted his sinfulness, who stood back of church, in the darkness: his prayer was heard. Why? Because he was asking God from the depths of his nothingness, not demanding that God listen to him. This means that we don’t demand favors from God. We ask him with humility.

A third parable Jesus gave us about prayer is the one about the birds of the air and the lilies of the fields. In it Jesus told us to be confident that he will provide in answer to our praying. For if birds and lilies are so marvelously sustained by nature, how much more will we be cared for by the Creator of nature?

Four points about prayer could be set forth, then: (1) we must be conscious of the holy action we are performing; (2) we must keep at prayer, not give up; (3) we must remain humble in God’s sight; (4) we must be confident that he will answer us.

Sometimes people stop praying. They say that their prayers are not being heard. What they mean is that God has not granted them the specifics for which they have prayed.

Prayers are always heard. They are heard by the loving God who cares for us, so much so that he will not bring us to disaster when we, with our limited vision and small minds, do not quite understand all the aspects of our prayer.

Which brings up a final point. We can never possibly pray for the wrong thing, so long as our every prayer is made in accordance with God’s will for us. This is of course one doctrine found in the Our God’s will for us. This is of course one doctrine found in the Our Father. Don’t we say, “Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven?”