“Pray always without becoming weary.”
This is a difficult thing to hear in our world of instant gratification. However, prayer — our relationship with God — does not follow the mandates of our world. Jesus uses the example of the woman nagging the judge, who finally gives in. Unfortunately, that story can be misinterpreted; it may give the impression that, if I pray long enough, with enough words, and with enough pleading, I will get what I ask for. But God is not a judge who clever words or angry suggestions can manipulate. No, prayer is a two-way encounter, a conversation within a relationship.
We’ve heard so often that there is no such thing as unanswered prayer that eventually we will come to see how God may be responding in a way I did not expect, but that was best for me. That sounds reasonable, except at the time when I need MY answer! Instead, persevering prayer, relational prayer, opens me to be available to God’s answer, to see with more clarity what it is that I am asking of God.
Do we recall that there are different kinds of prayer? (ACTS=Adoration, Contrition, Thanksgiving, Supplication.) This is why Jesus says pray always. If I only ask God for help in the middle of a crisis, I miss all the times God is there for me in the everyday. Then it’s harder for me to hear God’s answer. I expect that MY answer to my prayer is the BEST, and the RIGHT answer in MY TIME.
And that begs the question, then, why pray at all? How often do I pray because I’ve found that MY WAY is not always working and maybe, just maybe, God might have a better idea. When I can get to that stage, then my prayer can become, “Okay, God, what’s the BEST way?”
Now, there’s a question that can be asked persistently!
Sister Catherine Fedewa, CSFN
