Pray in season and out of season

Father Marcel-Divine Emeka Okwara CSsR

Homily for the 29^th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C

St. Alfonsus “Rock” Catholic Church

St. Louis, Missouri, USA

Mrs. Lucy was a good Catholic woman who believed in the power and effectiveness of prayer. She trusted God so much that every day, she would go to God in prayer. Then one day, her beloved husband became sick and was dying. Mrs. Lucy prayed day and night for God’s divine intervention and healing of her husband. Every morning, she would attend morning Mass; during Mass, she would pray for her husband. After Mass, she stayed behind and prayed to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. In the evening, Mrs. Lucy would come again to pray for her husband before Jesus in the Holy Eucharist. But despite all her prayers, fasting and supplications, her husband’s sickness did not go away. Throughout the period of her husband’s sickness, Mrs. Lucy had lost so much weight because of fasting and mortification. Everybody in the Church knew of her situation. Eventually, her husband died. When the news of her husband’s death broke out, people wondered what Mrs. Lucy would do now. The general opinion was that God did not answer her prayers which were accompanied by several fasting and mortification.

At the funeral Mass, people were amazed to see Mrs. Lucy looking so calm and beaming with smiles. During the oration, she said “First, I want to thank you all for coming here today to be part of my thanksgiving to God. I thank God from the bottom of my heart for hearing my prayers. For days, weeks and months, I had prayed for my husband’s healing. I prayed for temporary healing, but God decided to grant my husband a permanent healing. So I thank the good God for being so good to my husband, me and my family.” Later, she said “My friends, prayer actually works.”

Friends in Jesus Christ, today’s gospel taken from Luke 18:1-8 is about prayer. It is about persistence in prayer. This persistence in prayer is not essentially about praying until something happens (PUSH), that is, praying until the things you asked for in prayer are given to you, it is rather remaining in prayer, praying in season and out of season whether your intentions are granted or not. Prayer is not only a solemn request; it is also an expression of thanks to God. Prayer is dependence on God; it is deepening one’s relationship with the almighty. Prayer maintains our relationship with God. It enables us remain in God. In John 15:5, Jesus says, “Whoever remains in me, and I in him, will bear much fruit.” Our remaining in Jesus can only be made possible, strengthened, and deepened through a relationship of prayer.

Prayer is humility; humility is “less of me, more of God.” According to Father Richard Thiele CSsR (My Novitiate Director 1998-1999), “Prayer is touching God our heavenly Father.” Praying in season and out of season is touching God in season and out of season. It means touching God always. Through the constant act of touching God, we derive the powerful and electrifying current of grace. Grace enables us to carry on loving God and neighbor even against all odds.

In today’s gospel, Jesus told his disciples a parable about the necessity of praying always and not loosing heart. The parable is about a certain judge, one of those robber judges who constantly refused to grant a poor widow a just decision. The poor widow had no resources to hire a lawyer to adjudicate her case. But she had one weapon, and that is persistence. The judge, afraid of being worn out by the poor widow, decided to act.

This parable is like the parable of the Friend at Midnight (Luke 11:5-8). The parable does not liken God to an unjust judge; it rather contrasts God to such a person. Jesus was simply saying, “If in the end, an unjust judge can be wearied into giving the widow justice, how much more will your just God, who is loving and caring, give to his children what they need?” God will surely give us what we need, not what we want. And who defines and determines what our needs are? God!

Now, the image of God portrayed in today’s gospel by Jesus is that of a Father who answers every prayer. Yes, God answers every prayer. But God’s answer to our prayers may not necessarily be exactly what we asked for. When we pray, God gives only three answers: one, either yes; two, or not yet; three, or I have something better in mind for you.

We should not expect to get whatever we pray for. Sometimes, a loving and caring father has to refuse the request of his child because he knows that what the child asks for world in the end hurt rather than help. That is how God is like. We don’t even know what would happen in the next hour, week, or month, or year. But God knows. He knows yesterday, today, and tomorrow. He knows the past, the present and the future. Only God knows what is good for us in the long run. That is why Jesus urged us not to be discouraged in prayer, especially when what we asked for is not given to us. That is why the Lord wondered if our faith would remain till he comes considering the fact that not everything we asked for would be given to us.

As I already said, prayer enables us to remain in constant relationship with our Lord. Prayer is touching God in order to remain in a deep relationship with him. Therefore, we pray in order to remain in the Father, through the Son and with the fellowship of the Holy Spirit. Prayer is a longing for “more of God.” Today, Jesus wants us to pray always in order to keep our faith alive. When we pray, it is not in order to inform God about our misfortunes because God already knows those things. Prayer is not about getting the Lord to change his plans. It is incorrect to say or to think that God only helps those who pray, while refusing those who don’t. When we pray, we open ourselves up to seeing the world through God’s eyes, from God’s perspective. When we pray, we open ourselves more to the Fountain of life, and we open our eyes to see through his light; as the Psalmist says, “For with you is the fountain of life; in your light we see light” (Psalm 36:9). Prayer is also a weapon against the forces of darkness. It is a weapon of removal. Through prayer all the obstacles hindering us from receiving what God has already given to us are removed.

Throughout Jesus’ earthly ministry, he prayed regularly; he also taught his disciples how to pray. Prayer is not only about asking and asking. It is about knowledge and encounter and friendship. It is in prayer that we know Jesus personally. It is in prayer that we encounter him in a special way. It is in prayer that our friendship with him is deepened. Prayer strengthens us. The one-to-one talking and listening to Jesus enhances our relationship with him. It moves us into intimacy with him.

Prayer is not about turning God into a coke machine (once you slot in your money into the machine, your drink drops out, and if you don’t put in your money, no coke for you). Prayer is about remaining in a relationship with God. If you keep praying, you will keep your faith, and then when the Son of Man returns, he would not find you in despair but in burning love for him. And even when we make request in our prayer, we should do so bearing in mind that God would only give us what is best for us. And guess what? We will never be weary in prayer and our faith will never wobble if, after we had made our request to God, we can add the beautiful prayer of Jesus, “Thy will be done.”

When Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup away from me. Nevertheless, let your will be done, not mine.” That prayer was persistent and also trusting. But that prayer did not save Jesus from the cross, but it did lead to resurrection. If we can pray with Jesus’ faith, we will never lose heart. If God’s will is done, then it is victory for us because God’s will is the best for us. With that we can say that our prayer is surely answered.

Keep on praying in the Spirit. Pray in season and out of season.