Persisting in Prayer

When was the last time you really got down on your knees and prayed? Maybe it was praying for a loved one who might be in danger or maybe for a friend who is in the hospital. Or maybe you were pouring out your heart before the Lord because you found yourself so alone, unhappy, and sad. Think about the last time you prayed really hard and you wished God would answer your prayer. What was it about? How did it end? Did you keep praying even if what you prayed for did not come to be? Did you persist in your prayer?

In the Old Testament we read about Abraham who pleads with the Lord to not wipe the city away, bargaining with the Lord. At first he asked the Lord if He would spare the city if there were 50 innocent people. After the Lord said yes, Abraham continued to bargain, from 45 all the way down to 10 innocent people; the Lord promised to withhold His anger if there be but only 10 innocent people in the city. “For the sake of those ten, I will not destroy it” (Genesis 18:32). Abraham persisted in his prayer because He knew that the Lord was a compassionate God who loved His people. He persisted in prayer because He knew God would listen.

Hundreds of years later, the Psalmist sings, “The LORD will complete what he has done for me; your kindness, O LORD, endures forever” (Psalm 138:8). The Psalmist praises the Lord because He knows the Lord will complete the word He has started in him. In other words, he knew that the Lord will always be with him, walking with him, listening to him, and guiding him. He knew that his prayers and supplications will not go unheard, and so he persisted, saying, “Lord, on the day I called for help, you answered me” (Psalm 138:3a).

Generations later, Our Lord teaches His disciples how to pray and assures them that their heavenly Father hears them and will give them all that they need, for “all who asks, receives, seeks, finds, and knocks, the door will be opened.” In many ways the coming of Jesus was God’s answer to the prayers of the His People: a Savior, a Messiah who would come to redeem them and save them from their sins. St. Paul reminds us of this in his letter to the Colossians, “And even when you were dead in transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, he brought you to life along with him, having forgiven us all our transgressions” (2:13). Jesus Himself showed what is means to be persistent in prayer.

Despite opposition by His own people, Jesus continued to pray for them, teach them, and love them. Jesus did so because prayer is a relationship, a relationship with the Father. As with any relationship, it must be consistent, and it must be nurtured. Prayer is not simply a request as though a transaction. Although prayer may include a request, it is a request that is rooted in one’s trust and faith in the Lord. Without that trust and faith, there is no prayer, only wishful thinking.

As Christians we must persist in prayer and not in one-time requests because Our God, who is Our Father, hears us and wants to give to us all that we need. He wants to fulfill our hearts’ deepest desires. Let us ask for the grace to persist and persevere in prayer and not give up on our relationship with the One who calls us His beloved.

We Are Known

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
before you were born I dedicated you,
a prophet to the nations I appointed you.”

Jeremiah 1:5

For those of us who are familiar with the old Baltimore Catechism, we know by memorization the answer to the question, “Why did God make you?” “God made me to know Him, to love Him, and to serve Him in this world, and to be happy with Him for ever in heaven.” There is a certain logic to this. In order to sacrifice one’s self or to serve another, we must love the other. And in order to love another, we first must know them. St. Thomas Aquinas tells us we cannot love that which we do not know. So, for us, in order to really be a faithful Christian, we must love Christ and in order to love Christ we must come to know Him. This is the same for God. Since He is love, and it was out of love that He created us, He already knows us. We are known by God.

The Call of Jeremiah is one of the most beautiful passages in the Old Testament. The Lord assures Jeremiah that He knew Him before He even formed Him in his mother’s womb. God loved us even before we came into existence and into this world. And it was in loving us that we were formed, and we were formed for a special purpose and mission. Later in the call narrative, the Lord tells Jeremiah to not shy away because he feels he is too young. Our purpose does not magically come once we become an adult. Our purpose has been woven into the very fabric of our being when God formed us, and God never changes His mind. We have always been called, and no matter how much we mess up or how unworthy we feel, God does not stop calling us. He doesn’t stop calling us because our call is part of who we are, and since God has known us from all eternity, He will never forsake us, for we were created out of His love.

Brothers and sisters, we are known by God. Sometimes we may feel small and that God does not have time for us, but that’s not the case. God knows us and loves us, and He has called us each by name for a special purpose; He has created us for love and has called us to love. We are known and we are loved, brothers and sisters. Never doubt that.

Present in the Moment

“The Lord said to her in reply,
‘Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things. There is need of only one thing.
Mary has chosen the better part
and it will not be taken from her.’”

Luke 10:41-42

Have you ever had the experience of preparing for a very important occasion, whether it be for a big event or for a visit by a special guest? Imagine someone who you look up to and who you greatly respect is coming for dinner. You are exited and nervous at the same time. You want everything to be perfect, from the way the utensils are placed to the taste of the meal. As the big day approaches you ask a few of your closest friends and family members to join you for that special evening. The day is finally here. Your family and friends are here, you have the chicken in the oven, and you are going around the house making some last minute changes to the decor. The door bell rings. You freeze for a second. You tell everyone to stop and that the guest of honor is here. You go to the door, turn the knob, and open the door. Your role model is standing before you. The two of you share a warm embrace, and you welcome him inside your house.

Upon entering the house, you introduce him to everyone present, invite him to take a seat in the living room, and offer him a drink. Then you go back into the kitchen to get ready to serve dinner. Although you are glad that all of the invited family and friends are entertaining your guest, you would appreciate some help to execute this big dinner. No one is helping with pouring water into the glasses, bringing out the warm rolls, putting the main dishes on the table, doing some minor cleanup and touch ups. You begin to feel more overwhelmed than you already are. You go to the living room and are visibly distraught and overwhelmed. You make a passive aggressive remark, “Can at least someone help me out here?” The room grows silent. Your guest of honor, your role model tells you, “It is okay. Relax. They are helping by keeping me company.” And then the conversations resume. What do you do? How do you feel?

When Martha and Mary hosted Jesus in their home, Martha was busy getting the house ready and the meal prepared, while Mary was at Jesus’ side listening to Him and talking with Him. Martha famously asked Jesus, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving?” to which Jesus answered, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things. There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her.” I don’t know about you, but I would be a bit disappointed and upset that Jesus did not suggest to Mary that helping me might be appreciated. But of course Jesus was not saying that Mary did not need to help; He was teaching Martha a deeper lesson. He was teaching her to be present in the moment.

What was most important that day? Having everything be picture perfect or being with Jesus? Yes, work must be done and dinner must be made, but we can never lose sight of the original “why” of what we are doing and the “for whom.” Jesus was trying to teach Martha that what is most important was the relationship amongst people. If there is no relationship, why would the other things matter and what meaning would they have? To be present to the people in our lives is more important than anything else we can do. Do we spend more time doing things for our loved ones or do we spend more time actually being with them?

Our Lord challenges us to think about our lives and the priorities we have set. What do they look like? Where does our relationship with Him stand? Where are our other relationships in the list? May we use the limited time we have here on earth to be with those whom we love. And all of our relationships must be rooted in and reflect our relationship with God. It all starts with prayer. To pray is the be present in the moment with God, and by doing so, we can come to learn how to be present to others.