Pray without ceasing 

Sunday Reflections

Pray without ceasing

1. Jesus told his disciples a parable

about the necessity for them to pray always without becoming weary.

He said, “There was a judge in a certain town who neither feared God nor respected any human being. And a widow in that town used to come to him and say,

‘Render a just decision for me against my adversary.’

For a long time the judge was unwilling, but eventually he thought, ‘While it is true that I neither fear God nor respect any human being, because this widow keeps bothering me I shall deliver a just decision for her lest she worry me to death.’”

The Lord said, “Pay attention to what the dishonest judge says.

Will not God then secure the rights of his chosen ones who call out to him day and night? Will he be slow to answer them? I tell you, he will see to it that justice is done for them speedily.

But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”(Lk18:1-8). Taken from today’s Sunday gospel for Sunday week 29 C.

2. Praying without ceasing is the theme of today’s readings. The first reading (Ex17: 8-13) presents some features of prayer. Moses was shown as being on top of the mountain with hands lifted up towards heaven. That is a prayerful gesture that we still use today. He did not go alone. As long as he raised his hands in prayer, Israel dominated the battle. But there came a time when tiredness set in. Because he was not alone others came to his aid. They sustained him till Israel won the battle. But while Moses and his supporters were praying Joshua was in the battlefield fighting with other Israelites against the Amelekites. The battle was fought and won on two fronts: prayer and sword. We must therefore sustain one another in prayers while taking the necessary actions for solution to be found concerning our problems.

3. While the first reading dwells on the need to pray till a particular problem is solved, the gospel dwells on the need to pray without ceasing. Using a parable of a widow who won over a judge who neither fears God nor respects human being Jesus shows that consistency in prayer will certainly bring God to listen favorably to our prayers. The message is that if a widow can, through her persistent disturbance bring a wicked man to action on her behalf, the good God should do better. “Will not God then secure the rights of his chosen ones

who call out to him day and night?

Will he be slow to answer them?” Jesus never told us to work without ceasing but he told us to pray without ceasing. Why? Is it that God can forget our problems or that he does not hear until he is disturbed? None of the above. God knows everything and he hears once we call upon him. We cannot exist a minute without the support of God.

4. Prayer is not informing God of our needs. It is rather an act of faith. It is the recognition that God is ever present with us and battles with us against evil. It is showing support to God for him to make things better. The fights against evil are continuous, they never cease. They are new every moment and prayer is our number one weapon against the enemy. Praying without ceasing means not giving up the battle which God consistently fights for and with us. A story was told about a saint who had a dream in which he was moving with Christ through a journey. In the dream the holy man, looking back as he journeyed with Jesus noticed four foot prints on the sand when he traversed a calm moment. He equally noticed that during stormy times he only saw two foot prints. He felt that the Lord was with him only in good times but disappeared in hard times. He then asked Jesus the reason for such demeanor. The Lord told him that when things are good they both matched together but when things went bad he carried him up, not allowing his feet to touch the ground. That explains the reason for the two foot prints during stormy times. Prayer is therefore the acknowledgement of this divine accompaniment.

5. Jesus concluded the parable in a worrisome tone: “But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” This brings us to the problem of majority of believers today. Many do not believe that God is capable of solving the problems they present to him in prayer especially when God delays in giving a quick and expected response. When God delays in answering can we wait for him? Some feel easily disappointed. They abandoned their faith, they run from altar to altar, from Church to church, from native doctor to native doctor, such that when God comes he finds them absent. A story was told of a man who was childless for a number of years. He was so restless that he visited a number of places of worship and traditional practices, making pledges and engagements. His wife eventually gave birth to twins. His problem became knowing which God to honour for the answered prayer. He decided to go for thanksgiving in his church and secretly did another thanksgiving to the deity of his village. This is exactly what Jesus lamented in the last verse of today’s gospel. Can we be patient with God as the widow was with the judge?

6. You already know that you ought always to pray and not lose heart. Prayer is important and it should go hand in hand with action. Moses prayed but Joshua fought and the two brought total victory. So pray as if everything depends on prayer. Then work as if everything depends on your effort. When you are weak in prayers seek the help of others as Moses did. Remember that God may delay but he will never be late. Keep your faith till the end.

©Vita, 16/10/22.

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