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Rev.
Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.
PRAYER
SOMETIMES REQUIRES PATIENCE AND PERSISTENCE
Have
you been truly in need of something from a friend who is capable of giving you
what you need but he is so busy to give you what you need now? Or have you been
in a situation where you needed something from a friend but could not get it
because you could not reach him easily? Such a situation can make one to be
under serious pressure. Then the question that comes to mind is, are we going
to give up or persevere in our struggles by waiting or reaching out to him?
This kind of disposition is what we experience sometimes when we pray and our
requests are yet to be granted.
And
this kind of situation is what Jesus is addressing in the story in our Gospel
passage today as he continues his teaching on prayer. Thus, telling us that we
should approach God with confidence as a friend, persisting until we obtain
what we need. We should keep on asking, seeking, and knocking in prayer until
we obtain the answer we need. Just like a boy asking his father for a fish or
an egg, knowing that his father would not give him a snake or a scorpion
instead of the fish or egg he had requested.
With
this illustration, Jesus emphasized that if we, who are prone to evil, know how
to give good gifts to our children, how much more shall the heavenly Father
give to those who ask him? In our first reading, we heard the Lord say: I will
make allowances for those who serve the Lord as a man makes allowances for the
son who obeys him. Then once again you will see the difference between an
upright man and a wicked one, between the one who serves God and the one who
does not serve him
Dear
friends, there are times when we asked and we received, sought and found,
knocked and it was opened to us. But there were also times when we asked but
did not receive, sought but did not find, and knocked but the door remained
shut. In such moments persistency and perseverance in prayer are what we are
called to embrace. For they will help us to understand how to trust God knowing
that he does not need to be informed of our needs, thereby encouraging us never
to lose heart. This is certainly one of the biggest challenges of our faith
today. People are not just patient with God. We want to have everything right
now as it is hot. Patience, persistence and perseverance are very difficult virtues
for most people today. Therefore, let us learn how to be patient, and persistent
and persevere in prayer.
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