20220310 CONFIDENCE IN PRAYERS
10 March, 2022, Thursday, 1st Week of Lent
First reading | 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.’
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.’
CONFIDENCE IN PRAYERS
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [Est 4:17; Ps 138:1-3,7-8; Mt 7:7-12]
Today, the scripture readings invite us all to pray with confidence, believing that our prayers will be answered by our Lord. Clearly, Jesus had no doubt that those who ask, search and knock will have their prayers answered. 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.” There is no hesitation on the part of our Lord with respect to God answering our prayers. There is no ‘ifs’ and ‘buts’. This too seems to be the testimony of the psalmist as well when he said, “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. 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.”
How can we have this confident faith that our prayers will be answered by God? Firstly, we need to have a personal relationship with God. Confidence in God hearing our prayers is dependent on whether we know Him well enough to trust in His wisdom and faithfulness to us. If faith is lacking, it is because our relationship with Him is shallow and weak. We do not believe that God is our loving Father. Hence, the Lord rhetorically asked, “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?” The answer is obvious.
And so the Lord concludes, “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 fact remains that even when our earthly parents desire to give us what is good, yet in their blindness, they give what is detrimental to their children. We see this so often when parents spoil their children, give in to their demands; and not give them what is truly good for them. Out of the desire to please and to receive approval from their children, parents succumb to their whims and fancies. However, our Heavenly Father in heaven is different. He gives us not only what is good but He knows what is truly good for us. And so, the Heavenly Father will not answer prayers that are detrimental to our well-being. He will only grant us those petitions that give us true happiness and not just apparent happiness or just to satisfy our desires.
This, then, is the fundamental requirement in efficacious prayer. We need to strengthen our relationship with Him. We must seek to know our Father more and more so that our confidence in His love and wisdom will not be compromised even when things do not work out the way we think is good for us. Instead, we can accept His holy will since His divine plan for us is what truly brings us real happiness. And the way to know our Father is through Jesus who reveals to us the heart and mind of the Father. We come to appreciate the Father’s love more and trust in His divine plan when we reflect on how the Father worked in the life of our Lord when He was on earth. Jesus drew strength from His Father and when He prayed, He knew that the Father would hear His prayers because He did not seek things for Himself but for His people and for the glory of His Father.
Secondly, confidence in prayer depends on whether we are consciously dependent on Him. The reason why some people do not pray is because they rely on themselves. They feel self-sufficient without the help of God. Some reduce prayer to worship and glorifying God. In truth when we do not turn to God for help, it shows that we do not depend on Him like a child. If God does not act, then such a God is very distant from us. Perhaps, underlying the reason why people do not pray to God for help is the belief that God cannot help us much. If that were so, then such a God can hardly be said to be our “Father”, and neither is such a God all powerful or good since He is helpless to answer the cries of man and unable to change the situations in our lives. If that were the case, could that God still be god and could He still be love when He does not intervene in our lives?
Queen Esther shows us the way of efficacious prayer. 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.” She knew that no one could help her except God alone. She came to the Lord in her helplessness and desperation. She believed that God would be able to change the precarious situation her people were in because of the wicked Haman who influenced the King to give him the power to exterminate all the Jews.
She expressed her confidence and reliance on God by ordering a fast. Esther ordered Mordecai to gather all the Jews to fast for three days. And this happened during the Passover when it was meant to be a time for feasting as they celebrated their deliverance from Egypt. Instead a fast was necessary because the conditions were serious and they depended totally on the mercy of God to change the decree of the king. They needed to show their absolute commitment to the Lord. Their fasting is their way of committing themselves to each other and to the Lord. It is a summon for heavenly intervention. This also explains why everyone had to join in the fast, including Esther’s servants.
Thirdly, efficacious prayer requires our cooperation with His grace. Esther teaches us that trust in God is not a passive act but an active act. Her faith in God was not a cop out matter, as if she had no meaningful responsibility to bring about a change in the situation. Rather, she committed herself and her people, to work with God for the change in situation. She ordered a fast as she planned to see the king uninvited, which could mean death to her, for according to the King’s decree, she could not see the king unless she was summoned. She understood the daunting and risky task ahead of her. It would cost her her life if the king did not override the decree. Faith entails total trust and surrender. But this trust is expressed in complete cooperation and dependence on God even as we work with His grace. It is a reminder that we must commit ourselves to the work of God.
Fourthly, Esther teaches us that faith requires proper discernment. Having faith in God is not a blind faith. She did not go to the King immediately without thinking through what she could do to help her people. She had to discern whether she was the one whom God had appointed to act for His people. Initially, she was reluctant to intervene as she felt it was not within her power to effect change. She did not presume to be the one who could save her people. Mordecai was the one who seemed to be in charge of saving the people. But it was through his persuasion and his intervention relaying to Esther the need of her people that she began to understand that God had placed her in the palace not for her own comfort but to save His people. When she began to understand God’s purpose for her, she immediately assumed the role of leadership, taking over from Mordecai, giving out instructions to him and the people.
Indeed, the failure to discern is the cause of great disappointment and foolish mistakes that people make in the name of faith. As the Lord said, we must not mistake the stone for the bread, a snake for an eel or a fish. When we ask for the wrong things from God, we cannot expect Him to give us what is detrimental for our well-being. When we make presumptuous decisions in the name of faith without an informed decision, we will pay the price for our folly. Rather, faith requires us to understand the price we have to pay. Faith means knowing the options and what it would entail for us. Jesus always reminded His disciples on the cost of discipleship. Faith is never foolhardy or presumptuous. Taking risks after studying the means available to us is what is required before we take the leap of faith. We must not decide what we want, then test God to see whether He would hear our requests. This is not faith. Faith is to discern what He wants of us, then realizing the cost, we still say “yes” to Him anyway.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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