Gospel: Luke 11:5-13
Jesus said to them, “Suppose one of you has a friend, and goes to his house in the middle of the night and says, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves, for a friend of mine who is traveling has just arrived, and I have nothing to offer him.’ Maybe your friend will answer from inside, ‘Don’t bother me now; the door is locked, and my children and I are in bed, so I can’t get up and give you anything.’ But I tell you, even though he will not get up and attend to you because you are a friend, yet he will get up because you are a bother to him, and he will give you all you need. And so I say to you, ‘Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For the one who asks receives, and the one who searches finds, and to him who knocks the door will be opened. If your child asks for a fish, will you give him a snake instead? And if your child asks for an egg, will you give him a scorpion? If you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him.”
Reflection:
“Ask, and it will be given to you.”
Following on from our reflection yesterday on Jonah’s self-centredness, we can also apply this to our prayer life. Jesus says, “Ask, and it will be given to you,” so why don’t I get what I ask for? How do I react if I pray, and I don’t get what I want? Do I get impatient? Do I get angry at God? Do I doubt God’s power or existence? Jesus’ parable counters these reactions with an exhortation to persistence in prayer. Saint Francis de Sales encourages us to wait calmly and devoutly before the Lord in our prayer, and the Lord will reward our perseverance with consolation. The Lord’s delay also has a purifying purpose, which makes us reflect on whether we serve the Lord for what he gives or simply because he is our Lord and Maker. Is there a self-centred impatience to my prayer
that needs to be purified? Jesus is urging us to keep asking, to ask with hope and trust in God’s providence, but also with patience, accepting that at the right time the Lord will grant what we need to sustain us on our pilgrim way.
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