Persevere in praying - Homily, 29th Sunday Ordinary Time, Cycle C

A few weeks ago, we heard a parable about a dishonest steward.   Today in another parable Jesus tells us, “Pay attention to what the dishonest judge says.”  What’s all this focus on dishonesty? Jesus’ focus is not so much on dishonesty, but he uses the dishonest judge to make a point of the the widow’s persistence for justice. This is a model how we’re to persist in our prayer with God. 

The widow was really facing an uphill battle.   She lived in a culture that only recognized males having the rights to own property. Since she was petitioning the judge on her own, she didn’t have any sons.  This meant she wouldn’t be able inherit her husband’s

property. Without any family, she was in a dire situation.   There were no safety nets of support like we have today. In Jewish tradition, God favors the poor, especially widows.  But the judge would not have sympathy for her plight.  He didn’t fear God or respect his neighbor.  In her distress, the widow kept after him.  She had no means of support, so what did she have to lose by being persistent? She only had something to gain.  She was not only persistent, but a bit feisty as well.   The original Greek text of the scripture translated to “the woman would give him a black eye”. I would say that’s a bit feisty.  Eventually the dishonest judge was worn down by her persistence, and he renders a just decision.

So, what can we learn from the widow’s persistence?     The widow’s plight was hopeless, but she eventually received justice.   If a dishonest judge, who doesn’t fear God or respect any human being, delivers justice to the widow, wouldn’t it make sense that a loving God would be even more just to those who persevere in prayer? Jesus told his disciples this to reinforce the necessity to pray always and not to be discouraged.

When were faced with a trying situation such as a serious illness, death of a loved one, job loss, or a broken relationship it’s a time we should turn to God in prayer?    Asking others to pray for us as well is a good idea.  The more prayers the better! But when the situation doesn’t improve, it may seem that God is not answering our prayer.  We can get discouraged and give up.    That’s just what the devil wants us to do, to give up on God and break our relationship with him.   

We need to keep in mind that God is not a genie in a bottle.  We can’t make a wish, and POOF, everything is just the way we want it. That’s an image that portrayed in stories and movies. God does listen and answer our prayers.  

But the way he answers may not be exactly what we ask or in the timeframe we desire.    This can be very difficult. When this happens, we need to be honest and let God know your feelings and frustrations.  This may be all that we can pray to God, but at least we’ll still be in relationship with him.  

Maybe the perseverance in relationship with God is part of the way your prayer is being answered.  Sometimes blessings can come out of the trials in our lives.

A few weeks ago, we celebrate the Feast of St. Monica.  She prayed for the conversion of her son, St. Augustine, to become Christian for over 15 years.  St. Augustine did convert shortly before his mother’s death and became a great saint. This was a long time to wait to see the fruit of prayer. She is a great example of perseverance in prayer.  Ask for her help when you need to persist in prayer.

So how and when should we pray? We should prayer without ceasing! 

We need to build a relationship with God when times are good, as well as when they are troubling.   Praying daily is a good practice to get into.   Pick the time of the day and place that works best for you. 

How do we pray?  It doesn’t have to be formal. Think of it as having a conversation with God.  A good format for prayer can be something I heard while watching this week’s Opening the Word video on Formed for the Sunday readings.  The priest suggested using an acronym, MATA, (Say M A T A), to help guide us in prayer.   M is for mercy, asking God for forgiveness of our sins. A is asking God’s help for our needs.  T is for offering thanks to God for the blessings in our life.  Finally, A is for adoration.  This can be the hard but may be the most important.    It’s just being quiet and adoring the presence of God.  In our world it’sso hard to do with all the noise and distractions.   But if we can be quiet for just a few minutes we can able to listen to God in the silence of our hearts.   We also need to be open to the possibility that sometimes God speaks to us in the words and actions of others. Being quiet in prayerful adoration can help us to realize when this happens!

Sometimes we may not have the words to pray.  That when our formal prayers of the Our Father, Hail Mary, or Rosary, can be very fruitful when we’re struggling for words to pray.   There may be times that we feel like we can’t pray at all, but only sigh or moan.   When this is the case keep in mind the words of St. Paul to the Romans: The Spirit too helps us in our weakness, for we do not know how to pray as we ought; but the Spirit himself makes intercessions for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in speech.

We also persevere in prayer as a community at Mass.  The Mass is the powerful prayer of all.  In it we are following the M A T A format.  We ask for God’s mercy at the beginning of Mass.  We offer up prayers of petitions asking for God’s intercession. In thanksgiving we offer gifts of bread and wine for the Eucharist.     When we receive Jesus’ Body and Blood, we can adore his presence spiritually being with us and listen quietly after receiving him in prayer.   

So, as we continue throughout the week lets presevere in prayer like the widow.  Continue daily to pray in good times and bad so we grow in our relationship with the Lord.  Pray for our own needs and support others in prayer.  And when faced with difficult situations remember St. Paul’s advice to Timothy: be persistent whether it’s convenient or inconvenient.