SEVENTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME, YR C
Gen. 18:20-32; Ps 138
Col. 2:12-14; Lk 11:1-13
CHRISTIAN PRAYER
For the seventeenth Sunday in ordinary time, the church invites us to reflect on prayer. This is obvious in the readings selected for this day.
We read the story of Abraham’s bargain with God. in this bargain, Abraham pleaded on behalf of the people of Sodom and Gomorrah. It happened that the visitors that Abraham hosted were not ordinary visitors. It was a Divine visitation. And since he did a good job in hosting them, the Lord decided to reveal his plans to Abraham. Abraham pleaded with the Lord to be merciful to the people.
In this reading we read one of those rare moments where we learn about God’s own internal dialogue. Actually, this whole “self-dialogue” of God begins from Genesis 18:17. But the important thing about this is that prayer can start with God’s word. We can always begin our prayer with the word of God. Indeed, the Liturgical celebration begins with the word of God. In the Liturgy of the Hours, we pray Gods word as our prayer.
In the year 2002 which was declared the year of the Holy Rosary by Pope John Paul II, will always be a memorable one for me for the many experiences and encounters of God’s love and mercy. One of those moments was when after Rosary prayers on one of the evenings, a woman began to go through some violent spiritual manifestations. It was quite difficult to restrain her. After about twenty minutes of prayer for her, Rev. Fr. Michael went for his Bible and began to read out passages of scripture for about ten minutes. This brought deliverance, peace and calm from the violent manifestation, to this woman. There is power for deliverance in the word of God. Indeed, the word of God is alive and active. (Hebrews 4:12)
Prayer is dialogue. I am sure you may have heard this over and over again. But it is a truth that we cannot take for granted. Dialogue is a conversation between two persons. In prayer we enter into a conversation with God. In this dialogue we open up to God as his friend and child. This dialogue must become personal in a way that we are able to have a prayer life beyond the communal prayers like the Holy Mass, prayer meetings and devotional meetings. In fact, true communal prayer is a result of a spirit filled personal prayer. This personal prayer relationship begins when we recognise God as a loving Father. Indeed, we can also have a personal relationship with God because Jesus shares his Father with us. We must set aside sometime in the day to be in God’s presence.
Your daily actions cannot be detached from your relationship with God. They must both be in tandem. Your personal relationship with God should naturally influence the daily decision of your life. When you encounter very difficult moments of decision in your life, God grants you the gift of discernment to be able to make the right ones. Note that Abraham had this moment with God after he has shown hospitality to the strangers. His relationship with God proved itself in the hospitality he showed. You cannot be a prayerful Christian and be a terrible human being without love and compassion. You cannot be a prayerful Christian and condone what is evil and sinful.
God revealed his plans to Abraham regarding Sodom and Gomorrah. Prayer is the principal means by which God reveals his plans and wills to his children. While Scripture grants us the knowledge and nature of God’s will, prayer reveals his will for our lives. One of the most common questions every Christian would ask him/herself once in a life time is “what is the will of God for my life” or “how can I know Gods will for my life”. The answer is “turn to God in prayer”. Many are perplexed as to what direction should their lives take, wondering what is the purpose of their lives, others are torn by many thoughts when it comes to marriage or otherwise. I propose to you that you commit it all to the Lord in prayer. Turn over to the Lord all your fears and uncertainties and he will reveal his will and his plans to you. Do it under the guidance of your spiritual director and you will discover his will for your life.
Prayer is both supplication and intercession. Supplication is when we come before the Lord in prayer for our personal needs. Intercession is when we come before him praying for the needs of others. A Christian who prays only for his or her own needs have a very defective or incomplete prayer life. You should pray for others as much as you pray for yourself. You should pray for the conversion of sinners, the leaders of our nations, the needy, the poor, refugees and even your haters. In deed Jesus said “you have heard that it was said “You have heard that it was said, love your neighbour and hate your enemy. But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” (Matthew 5:43-44).
In our first reading we read about Abraham’s intercession for the people of Sodom and Gomorrah. These are people who were so sinful that God himself decided to check what was actually wrong with them. We should be like Abraham. We should go on our knees praying for those we consider sinful and condemned. It is a beautiful thing to pray than to gossip, to pray than to complain,
God listens to our prayers. When we pray God does not ignore us, he listens with patience even if we do not make sense. God never stops answering until Abraham stopped asking. God is never tired of answering our prayers. He listens, he is patient. In prayer we must not give up. We must keep praying because God always listens and he always answers.
God bless you.
BY Rev. Fr. Delight Arnold Carbonu
