Scripture Reflection 13 March 2014, Thursday, 1st Week of Lent PRAYER OF PETITION IS SUBORDINATED TO THE PRAYER OF PRAISE SCRIPTURE READINGS: Esther 4:17; Mt 7:7-12 universalis/20140313/mass.htm In the gospel today, we have Jesus speaking on perseverance in prayer. He exhorts His disciples to ask, search and knock. This is necessary because the heavenly Father wants to give us things, but only if we ask. However, such a teaching on prayer poses three difficulties, namely, scriptural, theological and ethical. Scripturally, the teaching on perseverance seems to contradict the earlier teaching on prayer in Tuesday’s gospel when Jesus told His disciples explicitly not to “babble as the pagans do, for they think that by using many words they will make themselves heard.” And He warned us: “Do not be like them; your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.” If that is the case, why do we have to keep on asking, searching and knocking? Why do we need to persist in prayer, since the Father knows what we need even before we ask Him? In another text, too, Jesus told His disciples to seek first the Kingdom of God and all other things will be given to them. Furthermore, it is interesting to note that Jesus never prayed for His own well-being. In fact, in the temptation story, Jesus refused to change stones into bread to satisfy His hunger. Theologically, it is difficult to understand why we need to trouble the heavenly Father so much. Why does He make life so difficult for Himself and for us? Since He knows what we need even before we ask, why doesn’t He simply grant us our prayers without us having to beg of Him? Surely, if He wants us to pray in that persistent manner, it could not be due to the fact that He wants to feel good the way we do when we make others beg so that we can be condescending towards them! But God our heavenly Father has no ego problem. Thirdly, we have an ethical problem. For in the first reading, we see how Queen Esther prayed fervently and she prayed believing that Yahweh would answer her prayer. But what was her prayer? She prayed that when she appeared before the King of Persia, God would “change his feeling into hatred” for her enemies, so that “the latter and all like him may be brought to their end.” Such kind of prayer certainly makes us squirm because they are so unchristian. It contradicts the teaching of mercy, forgiveness and love. How can we circumvent these dilemmas? The key lies in the second last line of today’s gospel when Jesus said, “If you, then, who are evil, know how to give your children what is good, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him.” Take note, Jesus says, if we pray for things that are detrimental to our well-being, we cannot expect God, who is the Father will only give good things to those who ask Him , not bad things. Thus, our loving Father, to grant them to us. This will only contradict His Fatherhood and His wisdom and love for us. What then can we learn from today’s gospel teaching on prayer? Firstly, the prayer of petition must begin and end with a prayer of praise. Better still, the prayer of petition must be subordinated to the prayer of praise . For this reason, after the instruction on how one should not pray as the pagans do, Jesus instructed His disciples to pray the Lord’s Prayer, which begins by praising and hallowing the name of the Father. This attitude is also found in the life of Jesus whenever He prayed to His Father. For example, when He prayed to the Father to raise Lazarus from the dead, it was so that others might believe in Him. It would not be wrong to conclude therefore that the only prayer uttered by Jesus was the prayer of glorification. This is found especially in the priestly prayer of Jesus in the gospel. But how can we bring glory to God in our prayers? When we pray that His will be done! This was the way Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane. It is not coincidental that the teaching on prayer, especially the Our Father, begins with glorifying the name of God, which is linked to the carrying out of His will, “holy by your name, your kingdom come, you will be done.” Thus, if we were to pray truly, then the only prayer that is truly deserving of its name is when what we pray for is for the greater glory of God, which is to do His will. By doing His will, God’s name is praised. Secondly, the gospel also teaches us the importance of prayer in terms of clarifying our needs and our relationship with God. Very often, we ask God for things that would harm us. We do not know what we are asking, just like James and John when they asked to be seated on the right and left hand of Jesus. Precisely, because of our ignorance, perseverance in prayer is necessary, not so much to pressurize God to hear our pleading, but to help us to clarify the nature of our asking and to discern further whether what we pray for is truly for the greater glory and honour of God, meaning that it is in accordance with His will. Anything to the contrary would not bring Him honour and glory. But if it does bring about His glory, it will be for our good as well, because God’s glory is seen in the fact that we live happy and liberating lives. God would not grant us anything that contradicts His wisdom and love. Thus, persistent prayer is a way by which we come to a greater understanding of ourselves, our needs and the love of God for us. It gives us the opportunity to really evaluate whether what we are asking for is truly the expressed desire of God, or to our own detriment. Furthermore, if we have subordinated our petitionary prayer to the prayer of praise, then we will also gain a better perspective of our needs. In praising God, we come to realize His goodness and His love for us. When we consider our petty needs within the context of the overall goodness, providence and love of God, then we do not get too affected by the narrow needs that we pray for. Praising not only helps us to appreciate His providence better, but it also enables us to love and trust Him more in His divine wisdom, love and plan for us. Hence, if Jesus asked us to persevere in prayer because our heavenly Father desires us to ask Him, it is simply His way of helping us to recognize the Father as the source of all life and blessings. Only in recognizing God as the provider of all our needs, and also that His will is also His wisdom and love, then we will desire everything that God wishes for us. In recapitulation, we must say therefore that all prayers must begin with praise, seeking the glory of His name in doing His will. All prayers of petition, when subordinated to the prayer of praise, will always be effective and efficacious, because all prayers will be truly made in the name of Jesus. WRITTEN BY THE MOST REV MSGR WILLIAM GOH ARCHBISHOP OF SINGAPORE © ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Posted on: Thu, 13 Mar 2014 04:36:03 +0000
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