20200305
THE
EFFICACY OF PETITIONARY PRAYER
05 March, 2020,
Thursday, 1st Week of Lent
Readings at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Violet.
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First reading
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Esther 4:17 ©
|
I am alone, Lord, and have no-one but you
Queen Esther took
refuge with the Lord in the mortal peril which had overtaken her. She besought
the Lord God of Israel in these words:
‘My
Lord, our King, the only one,
come
to my help, for I am alone
and
have no helper but you
and
am about to take my life in my hands.
‘I
have been taught from my earliest years, in the bosom of my family,
that
you, Lord, chose
Israel
out of all the nations
and
our ancestors out of all the people of old times
to be
your heritage for ever;
and
that you have treated them as you promised.
‘Remember,
Lord; reveal yourself
in
the time of our distress.
‘As
for me, give me courage,
King
of gods and master of all power.
Put
persuasive words into my mouth
when
I face the lion;
change
his feeling into hatred for our enemy,
that
the latter and all like him may be brought to their end.
‘As
for ourselves, save us by your hand,
and
come to my help, for I am alone
and
have no one but you, Lord.’
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Responsorial
Psalm
|
|
Psalm 137(138):1-3,7-8 ©
|
On
the day I called, you answered me, O Lord.
I
thank you, Lord, with all my heart:
you
have heard the words of my mouth.
In
the presence of the angels I will bless you.
I
will adore before your holy temple.
On
the day I called, you answered me, O Lord.
I
thank you for your faithfulness and love,
which
excel all we ever knew of you.
On
the day I called, you answered;
you
increased the strength of my soul.
On
the day I called, you answered me, O Lord.
You stretch
out your hand and save me,
your
hand will do all things for me.
Your
love, O Lord, is eternal,
discard
not the work of your hands.
On
the day I called, you answered me, O Lord.
|
Gospel
Acclamation
|
Joel2:12-13
|
Glory
to you, O Christ, you are the Word of God!
Now,
now – it is the Lord who speaks –
come
back to me with all your heart,
for I
am all tenderness and compassion.
Glory
to you, O Christ, you are the Word of God!
|
Or:
|
Ps50:12,14
|
Glory
to you, O Christ, you are the Word of God!
A
pure heart create for me, O God,
and
give me again the joy of your help.
Glory
to you, O Christ, you are the Word of God!
|
Gospel
|
Matthew 7:7-12 ©
|
Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find
Jesus said to his
disciples, ‘Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock,
and the door will be opened to you. For the one who asks always receives; the
one who searches always finds; the one who knocks will always have the door opened
to him. Is there a man among you who would hand his son a stone when he asked
for bread? Or would hand him a snake when he asked for a fish? If you, then,
who are evil, know how to give your children what is good, how much more will
your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him!
‘So
always treat others as you would like them to treat you; that is the meaning of
the Law and the Prophets.’
THE EFFICACY OF
PETITIONARY PRAYER
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [Est 4:17; Ps 138:1-3, 7-8; Mt 7:7-12 ]
The question often in
the mind of most people including so-called believers is whether God answers
our prayers. Many
of us who pray often feel abandoned by God because we feel that God does not
care or is powerless to intervene in our crises. If this God does not
care, it does not matter anyway whether He exists or not. So the question
of God’s divine intervention in our daily life is an important consideration.
Indeed, some are shaken in their faith because they cannot comprehend why God
allows innocent people to suffer. As a result, some turn to other
religions or give up on God completely, declaring that He does not exist.
Indeed, we must be weary
of those intellectual “believers” who reduce faith in God to one of ethical
guidance in life. God,
for these people, is simply some esoteric knowledge that they gain about life,
which some call “enlightenment.” That is why some reduce prayer simply to
meditation, finding peace in their heart and gaining insights on how they can
live a better life. This is not to say that prayer does not lead us to an
experience of peace, calmness, a deeper knowledge of God and of ourselves.
But to reduce prayer simply to the cerebral level is to compromise our
relationship with God.
Then there are believers
who claim that the only worthy prayer is the prayer of praise and
adoration. They
say that petitionary prayer is for infantile Catholics whose faith is
weak. One only needs to praise God and worship Him since He knows what we
need even before we ask of Him. (cf Mt 6:7f) Whilst it is important that our
prayer must also include praise and adoration for His transcendence and
majesty, yet one cannot truly praise Him unless one comes to know His power and
His love.
Consequently, if we can
praise God in worship and thanksgiving, it presupposes that we have already
encountered His love concretely in our personal life. This is why petitionary prayer remains the
first spontaneous prayer of the human heart. Whenever we feel insecure,
threatened by our enemies, or in a crisis, in need of help, we naturally turn
to God and cry out for help simply because God is our creator and the source of
life. It is to Him that we seek for help. “I thank you, Lord,
with all my heart: you have heard the words of my mouth. You stretch out
your hand and save me, your hand will do all things for me.”
But more than just being
our creator and sustainer, God is our Father. It would not be wrong or unrealistic or
demanding to expect God our Father to look after our needs.
Isn’t this what we did when we were children? When we are in trouble, we
cry out to our parents for help and they would immediately attend to us.
The psalmist declares, “Your love, O Lord, is eternal, discard not the work of
your hands.” So we pray to God, not just as our King and Lord but in a
more intimate relationship like a Father. The Lord said, “Indeed
your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.” (cf Mt 6:33) Only when we regard God as our
Father, can we be confident that He will always answer our prayers. “If
you, then, who are evil, know how to give your children what is good, how much
more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him!”
The Father will therefore always provide for our needs and what is good for
us. We can rely on Him.
So we must turn to God
with confidence in prayer, asking for our needs. Those who do not seek
God to answer their needs could either be harbouring the sin of pride or
lacking in faith.
If we do not ask God to provide for our needs and to assist us in our daily
life, it could mean that we lack confidence that He can be of help or that He
is not bothered with us in our time of need. We prefer to rely on
ourselves and our own ingenuity. And even when we assist the Church or
the poor, we do it not as an expression of gratitude but as a condescending act
of generosity towards God. Unwittingly, we make God our debtor
instead of us being in debt to Him for His generosity and kindness towards us.
Queen Esther teaches us
the efficacy of petitionary prayer.
Her people were in a dire predicament because their enemy had manipulated the
king to exterminate the Jews. As she was given a special privilege of
access to the king, she felt duty- bound to use all her influence and power to
make the king change his mind. Otherwise, how could she continue to live,
knowing that her countrymen and relatives were killed by their enemy, Haman,
the second most powerful man in the country? But she could not approach
the king for an audience unless she was called, otherwise, she would incur a
death penalty.
In her dire straight,
she “took refuge with the Lord in the mortal peril which had overtaken her. She besought the Lord God of Israel
in these words: ‘My Lord, our King, the only one, come to my help, for I
am alone and have no helper but you and am about to take my life in my
hands.” Esther knew that without the Lord’s intervention, there was no
way she could save her people from the sword of Haman. She put her total
dependence on God alone. “As for ourselves, save us by your hand, and
come to my help, for I am alone and have no one but you, Lord.” What
about us? Do we feel the same that without God’s help we can do nothing?
The Lord said, “Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because
apart from me you can do nothing.” (Jn 15:5)
But what was the basis
of her confidence in God’s divine intervention? It was based on past
experiences especially that of her people and what she was taught. She said, “I have been taught from
my earliest years, in the bosom of my family, that you, Lord, chose Israel out
of all the nations and our ancestors out of all the people of old times to be
your heritage forever.” Thanks to her upbringing and her
relationship with the Lord, she knew who to turn to in time of distress.
This is why it is important that our prayer be supported by the community so
that we can hear the power of God at work in our lives. Unless, we form
our young people in faith and teach them how to pray and turn to God for our
every need, in times of crisis, they will only turn to the world to solve their
problems. Only through the community’s faith, can our faith grow
from strength to strength. This explains why it is important to have
intercessory prayer groups to intercede for the intentions of the Church.
Intercessory prayer groups are critical as catalysts in getting the whole
community to pray for the mission of the Church. Unfortunately, many of
us seek to do God’s work without the power of intercessory prayer.
Our prayers will be
answered if we ask with faith and fervor like that of Queen Esther. “Ask, and it will be given to you;
search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you. For
the one who asks always receives; the one who searches always finds; the one
who knocks will always have the door opened to him. Is there a man among
you who would hand his son a stone when he asked for bread? Or would hand him a
snake when he asked for a fish?” Whilst He always answers our prayers, He
will not always give us what we ask for because they are harmful for our
happiness. Perhaps, we are shortsighted and unable to see what is really
good for us now and in the future. That is why we must leave our prayers
to the wisdom of God. He knows best what is really good for our
happiness.
But we must cooperate
also with the grace of God. We must not put Him to the test. This is my answer to those who are
scandalized that we suspended masses because of COVID-19. Does it mean
that we lack faith in the power of prayer to protect our people from
harm? It is not because we do not believe in the power of prayer but we
should, like Esther, use all human means to protect ourselves rather than just
leave everything for God to do. If we have done all we could using
whatever means the Lord gives us, as in putting the precautionary measures in
place, we can then place everything in God’s hands in faith.
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All
Rights Reserved
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