07 October 2021 LUKE 11:5-13
Thursday of the 27th Week in Ordinary Time
LESSONS ON PRAYER
Last Tuesday gospel (Luke 10:38-42) took us to the house of Bethany to teach us about the twin dimensions of the virtue of hospitality namely ‘domestic hospitality’ and ‘contemplative hospitality’ manifested in the gestures of Martha and Mary respectively.
Today’s gospel takes us to the prayer school. Prayer is essential in life. In our relationship with God prayer is like breath. The disciples are so impressed seeing Jesus praying and so they ask Him, ‘Lord, teach us to pray’. Today’s gospel gives answers to three fundamental questions related to prayer.
*When to pray? *What to pray for? *How to pray?
1. When to pray?
Jews prayed on certain hours of the day like 3rd, 6th, and 9th hours of the day. Muslim brethren pray 5 times a day. In the gospel we find someone asking for help ‘in the middle of the night’. It means God is always ‘on call’. Sometimes people ascribe holiness to certain days namely some to First Fridays of the month, some to Saturdays of the week etc. participating in Eucharist and attending prayer services. All days are holy and sacred and all moments are salvific. Connectivity with God is 24 hours and so we are called to be prayerful all moments of life.
2. What to pray for?
“Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? (Luke 11:11-12)”. If a human father cannot seek his son’s harm/destruction how much more would the care of Heavenly father be? His concern is about life-giving gifts. We may not be granted all material things we are asking for. Because God is not a spoon-feeding father. He gives us life-giving gifts (1) forgiveness of sins (2) deliverance from evil, (3) salvation etc.
3. How to pray?
Prayer is basically an attitude of the heart not a verbal recitation of words. Prayer becomes meaningful only in the context of love not fear. Thus, Jesus teaches his disciples to call God ‘Abba’ (Father). It was a revolutionary inspiration brought by Him in the human outlook towards God. Jewish tradition looked at God as a fear factor and often taught the Jewish believers to tremble with fear while being in the presence of God. But Jesus advises disciples to take such freedom and easiness like that of a child in the presence of a loving father while being in front of God.
The Gospel presents Jesus’ parable of a person knocking at the door of his friend for loaves. The person knocking symbolizes a prayerful person, the friend God Himself and the gifts the blessings/ graces from God. Someone knocking at your door becomes a friend of yours only in the context of love. Outside the context of love the one who knocks at your door is a stranger. Your persistence in asking, seeking and knocking would represent the depth of your prayer in love (bargaining power of love) where the blessings would be showered upon you! The demand of continued asking, seeking and knocking is not a demand to like a beggar in the presence of God! But they help us to enlarge the capacity of my heart to receive the graces God intends to give me.
In short, prayer is not offered to change God’s mind, it is to transform us, strengthen us and enable us to embrace all that God calls us to do. Amen.