Our readings today paint a very clear picture for each of us about the power at our disposal through prayer, and a reminder of our position as Gods children and heirs that has been granted us through Jesus Christ. Saint Paul tells us clearly of what our Lord accomplished through his passion and death, when he nailed the old bond that existed against each of us to His cross, and in doing so brought us to life by granting forgiveness for all our transgressions.
In our Gospel, our Lord responds to the request of His disciples to learn how to pray by granting them the perfect prayer that we know today as the “Our Father”. This prayer is a beautiful summary of the Gospels and encompasses all our needs, and all that we need to acknowledge to our Father in Heaven. It is the perfect starting point for His disciples who are looking to emulate what they have so often seen our Lord do.
Yet there is more that goes with the granting of this prayer, there is a lesson from our Lord on the efficacy of persistence in prayer. He illustrates the point using sets of very common circumstances that His followers would likely have encountered on their own, and how even these basic circumstances can lead to a successful outcome. However, there is a much deeper relationship that exists through prayer, because as our Lord tells us, our relationship is not one of neighbors, but of family. God is our Father, and He seeks to give us the good things that are beneficial to us. This does not mean that He is going to give us everything that we ask for, nor will it necessarily happen at the time that we make our request. Like any good parent, Our Lord evaluates our request, and decides if what we are asking for really is good for us in the grand plan that He has for us, and at least as importantly whether the moment is right for us to receive what we have asked for. Our Lord knows each of us, his children, and what they need and are ready for, far better than we ourselves. Any parent can tell you about the pitfalls of simply granting any request that a child makes, and how this is detrimental in the long term particularly, but also even in the short term if the request is for something that could prove harmful, perhaps even in a way that the child has not anticipated. Yet we must always remember that all this is done with the greatest love, and with an eye toward keeping us safe and protected.
This does not mean though, that just because our Lord does not immediately grant us what we request, we should just stop asking. Sometimes an element of persistence is required. Any parent can tell you that one of the ways to see if a child is truly ready for what they are asking for is to measure their maturity by evaluating their persistence. In our first reading, Abraham is listening to our Lord about what His plans are for the city of Sodom which has been the center of much evil being committed. Yet there is concern on Abraham’s part for any of the people that live there who are not part of this evil being done, and so he asks our Lord whether He intends to take this into account in His decision about whether to destroy the city. He is so persistent in his queries that he is finally concerned that he might be testing our Lords patience, and yet, with the faith and dependence of a child that trusts its parent, he continues. He knows that he is speaking to the God of the universe, and that by all rights he has no basis to question His actions, yet there is love and concern for others, and this drives his continued questions. The beauty of this concern surely does not escape the Fathers notice, and so His patience remains, just as it will with each of us if we are persistent. We should never doubt that our Lord will show this same patience to each of us with our prayers, and so have the courage that Abraham displayed, as sons and daughters of a Father who we know is all loving and deserving of all our trust.
The Deacons Bench 