13TH NOVEMBER 2021
Memorial of Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini, Virgin
Most of the Christian faithful face challenges and disturbance concerning the delay of God’s answer to their prayer. Many have given up praying. Not few have lost heart in praying and have lost their trust in Goodness and Love of God.
If God knows everything about us, if He hears our prayer even before we ask Him, Why does he delay his answer to our prayer?
God is so loving and so great. God always responds to our prayer but the problem is our way of praying. God knows what is good and best for us. He knows us through and through. He knows our past, our present and our future. But we know only our present.
Therefore, we do not know how to ask what is good for us. We ask what might lead us to destruction or something that can harm us and others. We confuse what we need to what we want. Just like a baby who asks the sharp knife from his butcher father, because he saw the knife beautiful and attracting. Of course that father, because of his care and love for his child will not give the knife but something else which the child does not want nor expect. The same is true in our prayer.
Sometimes, God delays to answer our prayer because He wants to teach us to have a proper view and trust about him and to know our attitudes. He wants to teach us to shift our focus on Him not on us. He wants us to seek for his will not for ours.
All this does not mean God does not answer our prayer; He knows the best time and the best condition for us to receive his answer because sometimes we are
not yet ready to receive God’s answer to our prayer. The Gospel of today gives us beautiful teaching and encouragement about our perseverance in prayer.
Jesus tells the parable of the wicked judge and the persistent woman. The judge did favor to the woman not because of his free will but because of her perseverance that disturbs him at all times.
We would be greatly mistaken thinking that Jesus was teaching that God is like this self-centered, callous judge. That would be a danger for the biblical revelation of the character of God as a loving and tender Father in relation to His children.
If this widow could get justice from this hardened,
crusty, uncaring old judge, doesn’t it follow that the loving, tender, gracious Heavenly Father will hear and answer His own children whom He has chosen when they cry out to Him for relief? Therefore we need to endure in prayer that makes us closer and closer to God.
First, we need persistence in our prayer. Persistence is often needed in prayer. The widow keeps coming to the unjust judge; we need to keep coming to our ever just Father. She has access to the judge, the same; we have access to the Father. The judge is unjust; our Father is totally Just and True. God knows what is best for us. He knows what we need!
Second, we need patience. Patience is important in prayer. We need to wait for His response, until we have understood His answer and his decision. Make no hasty decision on our own. Do not act without clear direction from God
Third, we need perseverance in our prayer. Perseverance shows that we are convinced and serious in our prayer. God’s providence will come about soon or later. We need to have faith in his divine will. Watch God at work in our prayer life by understanding His response to our petitions.
God cares for us and is more than ready to grant our requests. So keep on praying and don’t lose heart. He will bring about justice for you speedily, according to His timetable, not yours.
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