GOD ANSWER PRAYERS

 *THURSDAY, October 12, 2023* 

Weekday (27)

First Reading. Malachi 3: 13-4: 2

Psalm 1: 1-4 and 6 (Psalm 40: 5)

Gospel. Luke 11: 5-13

TOPIC FOR REFLECTION

 *GOD ANSWERS ALL PRAYERS* 

The voices of our prayer we offer to God either in the secret thoughts of our heart or by the words of our mouth is never silent.

God hears and answers every prayer.

Before I continue, please let us distinguish between Hearing and Answering.

Many of us Christians do mix up these two words.

This is how we often mix it, if what we pray for is granted, we will often say God has HEARD my prayer instead of saying God has ANSWERED my prayer.

If on the contrary, what was prayed for is not yet granted, then we go with the common saying, God does not HEAR my prayer. The question is, is God deaf? NO

God is neither deaf nor blind, He hears and sees everything clearer than we might ever think.

However, our major problem is impatience.  When a person is not patient with oneself and with others, how can such be patient with God?

Many Christians believe that once a request is presented to God, He should have no option but to answer. It's funny, but remember that God who created us knows what is good and best for each one of us.

I want to convincingly tell us that God listens and hears every prayer, hence He answers accordingly in three ways.

1. No

2. Wait, not yet time

3. Grant request.

Now, let us examine parents' and children's relationship to buttress the above point.

Your toddler at home who can hardly understand what is right and wrong, even those of your children who know right from wrong, is it everything that they request you will give them, even if their requests are at your disposal?

Imagine your 12-year-old child walks up to you one day and says, Dad, I want to start driving. Will you not laugh at him?

Then as a responsible parent, what will you say? 

I guess your answers to him might be in this order.

1. You will say NO to his request because if you allow him to drive at that age, he can kill himself. But for the child, you are wicked because the car is available.

***Can you now connect to God saying No to some of our prayers because it may be dangerous to us?

2. You may tell the child to wait because he is not of age to drive, hence he may be arrested, be involved in an accident and he may kill himself. Now, imagine the child trying to convince you to see every reason why you should allow him to start driving, will you still allow him despite all his reasons?

*** Connect this with when presenting our request to God, and perhaps He delays in answering, but in our prayer points, we start to give him reasons why He must grant us the request 😆 as if we know better than Him.

3. As a father, you may permit the child to start diving once he is of age, and you are convinced that he is good at driving.

*** Connect it with when our prayer is answered, it's because God is convinced that it will not harm us.

God can never and will never give us what we wish or want which may be dangerous to us, rather he gives what we NEED that will benefit us and others.

So, let us not give up praying to God.

In today's Gospel, Jesus made it clear that if we knock (pray) patiently and persistently, God will answer us.

Another point I want to share with us is that God sometimes tests our patience if our faith in Him is genuine or not.

Therefore, when we pray to God, we should allow our faith in God to be firm as we wait patiently for his response.

I suggest we go through the Gospel again and connect it with my reflection on it.

The username of Prayer is Patience, while its password is Persistency.

Know this with peaceful rest of mind.

 *Peace ✌️ be with you.* 

 *Rev. Fr. Segun Oladeji, CRS.*