OUR REQUEST (10-08-12)

Luke 11:9

“And I tell you, ask and you will receive; seek and you will find…”

I once asked for a toy robot as a gift on my birthday.  I was really excited at that time.  But after opening all the gifts, what I got was some coloring books and pictorial storybooks.  I really felt frustrated and started crying.  My mother approached me and told me that the robot I want is not available at that time.  She just encouraged me to start coloring the pictures and reading the stories.  I may have totally forgotten about the toy robot, but it still gets back to me, once in a while.

In our gospel today, Jesus emphasized the importance of asking through praying.  Prayer is a simple ordinary part of human life, as natural as the relationships between friends or between parents and children.  We may not always get what we want, but be assured that we always get what we need from God’s point of view.  He may not give us a scorpion if we ask for an egg, but He would also give us more than an egg!  Just be trusting in Him that He knows better than all of us combined.

Similarly, Jesus encouraged people to be persistent in prayer, to keep asking.  It is important to understand the difference between faithful persistence and manipulation.  The analogy with the child asking a parent can break down at this point.  Children can be manipulative.

Christian prayer is distinguished from magic precisely at this point.  It is never manipulative, always trusting.  We must trust God to decide what is good.  Prayer is not mechanical, but interpersonal.  We exercise our freedom in a relationship and expect the other person (or God) also to respond in freedom.

Let us pray +

Almighty Father, thank You for hearing my prayers and tending to the desires of my heart, answering my prayers, and doing so in ways beyond my hopes.  I pray that others will turn to You and do the same, praying about whatever is in their hearts and minds, so that You can reveal Yourself to them in awesome ways, too.  I pray these things to You, in the name of Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior; and in the love of the Holy Spirit.  Amen +

Blessed are they who hope in the Lord.