Prayer Opens The Heart Of God

𝐅𝐄𝐁. 𝟐𝟔, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔: 𝐅𝐈𝐑𝐒𝐓 𝐖𝐄𝐄𝐊 𝐎𝐅 𝐋𝐄𝐍𝐓

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝟏: 𝐄𝐬 𝟏𝟐, 𝟏𝟒-𝟏𝟔, 𝟐𝟑-𝟐𝟓

𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐦: 𝐏𝐬𝐚 𝟏𝟑𝟖:𝟏-𝟑, 𝟕-𝟖 “𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐝, 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐈 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩, 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐞.”

𝐆𝐎𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐋: 𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐭 𝟕:𝟕-𝟏𝟐

𝐊𝐞𝐲 𝐕𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞: “𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐅𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐠𝐢𝐟𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐚𝐬𝐤 𝐡𝐢𝐦!” (𝐯.𝟏𝟏) 

         Will you believe me if I tell you that the topic of prayer is a boring proposition, and you can only get the attention of the people in a room if you invite a powerful speaker who can introduce new disciplines in prayer that will not compromise the busyness of the people’s everyday life.

         Perhaps this is the reason why our current political and social environment has been corrupted not just by secularism but by relativism, which has practically destroyed the moral fibers of society, and we can safely point out that this is all because the people, especially our leaders, are no longer praying as they should.

         I grew up in a purely Catholic home, studied in a Catholic school and my mother kept badgering me about the importance of prayer and I’m perfectly comfortable with prayer and praying. But those who may not be predisposed to prayer should know that it is our lifeline to God, that it is a platform through we can come to God for our needs.

         I also take exception to claims that prayer is a boring subject because during our formative years in the community, Malou and I were fascinated by the teachings that changed our mindsets as we learned that there were many forms of prayer and not just the utterance of our lips.

         And we took our prayer life to a new different level when we were assigned to handle the Growth in Prayer (GIP) teaching when we were already covenanted disciples assigned to the Formation Apostolate. And each time we prepare for this teaching on prayer, the Holy Spirit who leads us in prayer will always provide us with new insights that expanded our understanding of what prayer is all about.

         And as we are on the subject of prayer, let me quote from what St. John Chrysostom said: “𝑷𝒓𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒔 𝒂𝒏 𝒂𝒍𝒍-𝒆𝒇𝒇𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒑𝒂𝒏𝒐𝒑𝒍𝒚, 𝒂 𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒔𝒉𝒆𝒅, 𝒂 𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝒏𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒆𝒙𝒉𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒅, 𝒂 𝒔𝒌𝒚 𝒖𝒏𝒐𝒃𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒄𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒚 𝒄𝒍𝒐𝒖𝒅𝒔, 𝒂 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒖𝒏𝒓𝒖𝒇𝒇𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒚 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒎. 𝑰𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒐𝒐𝒕, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒇 𝒂 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒔𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒃𝒍𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔.          

         𝑰𝒕 𝒆𝒙𝒄𝒆𝒆𝒅𝒔 𝒂 𝒎𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒓𝒄𝒉’𝒔 𝒑𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓. 𝑰 𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒂𝒌 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒓 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒄𝒉 𝒊𝒔 𝒄𝒐𝒍𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒅𝒆𝒗𝒐𝒊𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒛𝒆𝒂𝒍. 𝑰 𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒂𝒌 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒄𝒉 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒄𝒆𝒆𝒅𝒔 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒂 𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒅 𝒐𝒖𝒕𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒕𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒅, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒂 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒆 𝒔𝒑𝒊𝒓𝒊𝒕, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒇𝒇𝒔𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒇 𝒂 𝒔𝒐𝒖𝒍 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒕𝒆𝒅 – 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒓 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒄𝒉 𝒎𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒏.            

         𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒇 𝒑𝒓𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒓 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒔𝒖𝒃𝒅𝒖𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒕𝒉 𝒐𝒇 𝒇𝒊𝒓𝒆, 𝒃𝒓𝒊𝒅𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒂𝒈𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒍𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔, 𝒔𝒊𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒂𝒓𝒄𝒉𝒚, 𝒆𝒙𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒖𝒊𝒔𝒉𝒆𝒅 𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒔, 𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔, 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒆𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒅𝒆𝒎𝒐𝒏𝒔, 𝒃𝒖𝒓𝒔𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒅𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒉, 𝒆𝒏𝒍𝒂𝒓𝒈𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒏, 𝒓𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒅 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒆𝒔, 𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒇𝒓𝒂𝒖𝒅𝒔, 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒄𝒖𝒆𝒅 𝒄𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏, 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒖𝒏 𝒊𝒏 𝒊𝒕𝒔 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒔𝒆, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒃𝒐𝒍𝒕. 𝑰𝒏 𝒔𝒖𝒎 𝒑𝒓𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒓 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒑𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒐 𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒚 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒔 𝒂𝒕 𝒆𝒏𝒎𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒐𝒐𝒅.”        

        That God will never refuse our prayers is seen in the Gospel passage today that speaks of the kind of persistence that we need to put in our prayers. Roget’s Thesaurus defines persistence as perseverance, constancy, staying power, pertinacity, tenacity, tenaciousness, doggedness, indefatigability, boldness and relentlessness. There are other words related to persistence, but what is enumerated here more or less provides us an idea of what persistence means.

         Of these words, I particularly like tenaciousness, doggedness, boldness and relentlessness since these words aptly describe the action of the man in this parable who went to his friend and neighbor to ask for bread in the middle of the night because a friend of his who was on a journey stopped over his house and he was caught unprepared.

         We need to gloss on the culture of the people at the time so that we can at least grasp the scenario in this parable. Many travelers in those days travel at night to avoid the day’s hot temperature and this traveler went to the man’s house because the man was his friend and he knew perfectly well that he would not be refused.

         The man was embarrassed because he had run out of bread and so he, in turn, mustered all the tenacity that he could to knock and wake up his neighbor to ask for bread. Tradition has it that bread which is the primary staple of the Jews in those days was baked at home, but households would normally bake just enough for the needs of the family for the day.

         The family of the neighbor was already asleep, and he didn’t want to open his door lest the commotion wake up his family but there were two compelling reasons why he did open his door and give the man the bread he was asking for.

         One is because of the “𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞” (𝐯.𝟖) of the man. The other reason is that hospitality was a sacred duty at that time and to refuse to give bread to a neighbor in need would bring shame because it was a sign of inhospitality and the neighbor couldn’t risk being labeled as inhospitable especially to a friend who had a valid reason for waking him up even in the dead of the night.

         Which is why this parable is not just about persistent prayer, which is our common understanding of this parable, but this Gospel is also about us particularly in the way we relate to our neighbor, and we might again ask “who is my neighbor?” Well, anyone who is in need is our neighbor and in this parable the man who was traveling and who dropped in unannounced fell into the category of what a neighbor was.

         I am sure that there are some of you who were like the neighbor who at first refused to get up and open his door. There were times before in my life when I also acted in the same way when I refused to help even a friend who would pop out from nowhere and especially if they would come when I am in a bad mood.

         What this parable is telling us is that generosity knows no bounds and, similar to the tradition of the Jews we are obliged to be hospitable and help our friends and neighbors when they come to us for help even if they come at a most inopportune time which means we are not to refuse anyone who will ask us for help. In other words, we are to be ready to help 24/7.

         Such generosity on our part finds a model in the magnanimity of Our Lord Jesus Christ who said: “𝐢𝐟 𝐰𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐬𝐤 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐢𝐧 𝐩𝐫𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐫.” (𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐭 𝟐𝟏:𝟐𝟐) And in this parable, Jesus provides us with three types of cause and effect when he said: “𝐀𝐬𝐤 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮; 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐤 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝; 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐜𝐤 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐨𝐫 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮.” (𝐯.𝟗)       

          Ask, seek and knock are the causes which means these are the three things that we need to do to find answers to our prayers. And Jesus assures us he will grant whatever we ask in faith and in this parable, he shows us the effect or the result when he said: 𝒊𝒕 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆 𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒖𝒔 𝒊𝒇 𝒘𝒆 𝒂𝒔𝒌, 𝒘𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒅 𝒊𝒇 𝒘𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒐𝒏𝒍𝒚 𝒔𝒆𝒆𝒌, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒐𝒐𝒓 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆 𝒐𝒑𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒘𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒅𝒐 𝒊𝒔 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒄𝒌.        

          This parable shows that if the boldness of the man could propel his neighbor “𝒕𝒐 𝒈𝒆𝒕 𝒖𝒑 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝒂𝒔 𝒎𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒂𝒔 𝒉𝒆 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅𝒔,” (𝒗.8) how much more hospitable can God be who is sure to give us what we need.

          But such generosity on the part of God is conditioned on the level of trust and confidence that we have in God. And in this parable, God raised the bar even higher because what he is prepared to give us is none other than the Holy Spirit who will not only shower us with his many different gifts but will “…𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩 𝐮𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬. 𝐖𝐞 𝐝𝐨 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐞 𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐫𝐚𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐭 𝐡𝐢𝐦𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐝𝐞𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐮𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐧𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬 𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬. 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐬 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐭, 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐝𝐞𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐆𝐨𝐝'𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥"
𝐑𝐨𝐦 𝟖:𝟐𝟔-𝟐𝟕 (𝐍𝐈𝐕); 𝐂𝐂𝐂 𝟕𝟒𝟏.      

          The Spirit is the Father's very best gift. It is the gift of Himself to dwell with us and within us forever. The Catechism of the Catholic Church also states in 𝐂𝐂𝐂 𝟐𝟔𝟓𝟐 that: “𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐨𝐥𝐲 𝐒𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐮𝐩 𝐭𝐨 𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐩𝐫𝐚𝐲𝐬. 𝐈𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬 𝐮𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐩𝐭 𝐢𝐭 𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐜𝐞: 𝐂𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭. 𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐞𝐝, 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐬𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐂𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐮𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐞𝐧𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐮𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐨𝐥𝐲 𝐒𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐭.”        

          And “𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐰𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐭 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐬𝐢𝐧, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐞𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐢𝐟𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐬. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐨𝐥𝐲 𝐒𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐳𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐬𝐢𝐧.” (𝘌𝘥 𝘔𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘺 - 𝘍𝘦𝘣. 26, 2026)