19-Jul-2016 Dear Friend, While most of us are convinced of the need of prayer in our lives there are moments when we wonder whether prayer can bring about any change. This doubt creeps into our minds especially when God does not grant what we ask of Him. While some people are blessed with the gift and the ability to pray, others find it a burden. Let’s reflect on how we need to pray, and say “Lord, teach us to pray!” Have a prayerful weekend! -Fr. Jude Sun Ref. Seventeenth Sunday: “On the day I called, you answered me O Lord!” 24-Jul-2016Gen.18: 20-32; Coll. 2: 12-14; Luke 11: 1-13;
There are several insights about prayer in the first reading where Abraham intercedes with God for Sodom and Gomorrah. Firstly, Abraham pleads not for himself but for the needs of others. Secondly, what comes across is the belief that good people matter and have a tremendous influence on others. Thirdly, we see in Abraham a man who does not give up, he perseveres in his pleading with the Lord. It would appear at first glance that Abraham is bargaining with the Lord. But he is not asking something for himself nor is he offering to do something in return. The point of the passage is not that prayer changes God but that it changes us so that we can accept whatever is God’s will for us. Prayer: A Share in God's PowerJim was given the job of saving a failing hotel. Other managers had tried, but failed. Jim decided to try something different. Each night he drove to the top of a hill overlooking the hotel, parked his car and sat there for 20 minutes praying. Jim prayed for the hotel guests and the hotel employees. He prayed for the people, who did business with the hotel. Finally, he prayed for the city and its people. Night after night, Jim drove to the top of the hill he parked his car and prayed the same prayer. Soon the situation at the hotel started to improve. Confidence radiated from its employees and new warmth welcomed and greeted each guest. A new spirit permeated its operation. The hotel experienced a remarkable rebirth. I credit the hotel's re-birth to the nightly prayer of Jim Johnson.Norman Vincent Peale The Gospel of today has three sections, all dealing with prayer. While the first part deals with the prayer that Jesus taught his disciples, ‘The Our Father’, the other two sections go on to illustrate the attitude and dispositions for prayer. The ‘Our Father’ is considered the perfect prayer and despite its brevity has been called by Tertullian, a ‘summary of the whole Gospel.’ In it we are shown not only the things we can rightly desire and pray for but also the sequence in which they should be desired. It is the model of all prayer. The prayer of Jesus starts with calling God ‘Father’, which was something unique that Jesus could say and which we have the privilege to say in and through Jesus. Our prayer becomes like Jesus’ when we can with faith call God our Father, our ‘Abba’, ‘Papa’, ‘Dada’, the term of endearment that we use at home. Next, the model prayer reminds us of what should be our priorities. The perfect form of prayer is praise, acknowledging God and working for the spreading of His Kingdom. It is only in the second part that the model prayer of Jesus turns to asking for human needs. The daily bread implied not only the physical food we need but also the nourishment provided by prayer, the Word of God and the Eucharist. The last part of the ‘Our Father’ reminds us that just as we need physical and spiritual nourishment we also need God’s mercy and forgiveness, because, in spite of our best intentions and promises, we falter and fail often in life. I was waiting for you to call on me!The boy walked along the ocean shore... trying not to stray. He looked up to his father saying, "Dad, I want to play." His father looked at him and said "Do what you want to, my son... but do not leave my side." But the boy took a step away, out of his father's range of touch. He walked through the surf, the waves tickling one toe. "If I take one more step in..." he thought, "Father will never know." His father called out to him, "Son, remain close to me!" The boy thought... "At the moment I don't need you!" His father felt a sadness, but he held his tongue. The boy stepped out a little further... the water covering his waist. His father spoke with urgency... "My son, come back to me," he said, "The day is almost done!" "Not yet, Dad," the boy yelled, "I'm having fun!" The boy did not have his father's insight... so he could not yet tell, the tide was coming in fast... there would be no time to yell. "Father!" he tried to scream, as the water covered his head. "I need you now, Daddy!" was what the boy had said. And in a single instant his father was by his side. "I thought you left me, Daddy... I thought you went to hide." The father looked upon his son... a tear streaming down his cheek. The boy looked upon his father... and cried the sobs of the meek. "I would never leave you son... for I love you just the same." "I was only waiting... for you to call upon my name."Author Unknown Bargaining with GodSome years ago a young man in his early thirties found himself bargaining with God. He was a fairly well to do banker whose values were centered in the goods of this world. He had two children and a wife and he felt that life was good and that all things were going as he had always hoped they might. Then everything changed in a split second when a large truck ran a stop sign and hit his car broadside. He was grateful that he had been alone in his car, but on the way to the hospital in a speeding ambulance he knew his life was ebbing away. "I made a bargain with God," he said, "I promised that if I was allowed to survive this accident so that I could be there to raise my son and daughter, I would faithfully serve God in the church for the rest of my life." To this point, he had not been a churchgoing person. I met Douglas years after the accident and it was during a church retreat that he told me about his bargain with God. "I kept my end of the bargain just as God did," he said. And it was clear that Douglas had made a complete turn around in his life and values after his promise to God. -Was God swayed by Douglas' offer to turn his life around? Though we may not understand fully how our pleading with God in difficult times works, we can always trust that the steadfast love of the Lord is everlasting.Prince Rainy Rivers in 'Text this week' What is Prayer?Warren Wiersbe tells of the time when he was helping to paint the outside of his neighbour’s home. His neighbours had a small black dog that had a ritual of going to the back door of the house to bark and bark until someone finally got the message and let him out. One day, Wiersbe was painting the outside of the house when no one was home. The neighbor's little dog, who was inside the house, took up his station at the back door and barked and barked all day long. The sad thing, Wiersbe said, was that it never dawned that all his barking was totally useless -no one was at home to hear!! Perhaps many of you feel like that dog. You have prayed and prayed for something and there seems to be no answer-there seems to be no one at home! And maybe you have this nagging wonder why your prayers are going unanswered! -Prayer is one of the most misunderstood and misused practices of our faith. And like the black dog mentioned earlier, until we understand the nature of prayer and how God answers prayers, all our barking and praying for an answer will leave us frustrated. The truth is, our wondering about unanswered prayer is often about a misunderstanding of what prayer is. There is an old story of a monk who was bothered by mice playing around him when he prayed. To stop it, he got a cat and kept it in his prayer room so the mice would be scared away. But he never explained to his disciples why he had the cat. So, one day, the monk walked down the corridors of the monastery and noticed that each of his disciples had a cat in their prayer room. After seeing the monk with a cat, they thought having a cat was the secret to powerful praying. I believe this is a parable for many Christians today. Many believe they have to do something special in order for God to hear them and have their prayers answered. So, you will often see folks running here and there to learn the latest prayer gimmick from self-proclaimed spiritual gurus.Rev. Charles Reeb in ‘Text This Week’ May we pray as we live and live as we pray! Fr. Jude Botelho [email protected] PS. The stories, incidents and anecdotes used in the reflections have been collected over the years from books as well as from sources over the net and from e-mails received. Every effort is made to acknowledge authors whenever possible. If you send in stories or illustrations I would be grateful if you could quote the source as well so that they can be acknowledged if used in these reflections. These reflections are also available on my Web site www.NetForLife.net Thank you.
