Of the five types of prayer – Praise, Thanksgiving, Blessing or Adoration, Petition and Intercession – while I would venture that the first three types may arguably be the most important to our relationship with God, the greatest majority of our prayers fall into one of the two last categories: prayers for ourselves or prayers for others.
In a way, it is only natural. There is often a sense of urgency when we offer the last two types of prayer that we don’t feel present for the first three. If something happens that is beneficial to us or to those closest to us, we will thank God after the fact; we might praise Him out of awe and reverence just because of our witness of His goodness throughout all of creation; and we should adore God out of sheer love of Him.
But there is a sense of timelessness associated with these prayers. There is no expectation that something should happen as a result of them, other than our development of a closer personal relationship with God, which, by the way, is crucial for us to get to Heaven. It is through these three types of prayer that we get to know God the Father and His Son, Jesus through the interaction of the Holy Spirit. That is why the first three prayers types are so important and should not be neglected. We NEED them if we expect God to listen to the last two types of prayer.
We offer prayers of petition or intercession asking God to grant our request whenever we, or someone we love, have a problem to be faced or an obstacle to be overcome, or there’s something we think we need or desire strongly. And while all five types of prayer need it, the last two will always call for persistence.
What is persistence? First of all, persistence doesn’t mean stubbornness. It isn’t likely that God, unlike the dishonest judge in the Gospel, will be worn down by our prayers and just give into our demands. I’ve known people (myself included) who have thought, “If I just pray harder and more often, God will give into me.” And if I don’t get what I want, I’m not praying hard enough.”
It’s not as if we can manipulate God like a puppet on a string. God isn’t a puppet, but a loving Father who “knows what we need before we do” and grants our requests “according to His Will”. But He also wants to know if we are serious in our prayers and if WE have the right mindset when we ask them. And that’s where persistence can come into play.
If there’s one word which can be used to describe the theme of all three of our readings today, it is persistence.
• Persistence in prayer, as seen in the parable from today’s Gospel;
• Persistence in action, as seen in our 1st reading about the Israelites at war; and
• Persistence in faith, which we are encouraged to have as seen in St. Paul’s letter to Timothy.
Of what value is persistence to us? We’ve all probably heard the little ditty that has been taught to school children since the mid 1800s: “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.” (I love the scene in the original “Miracle on 34th Street” where a young Natalie Woods recites it to her mother in response to her mother’s statement that she needs to have faith. Of course, she was referring to Santa Claus, but you get the idea.)
So, why keep trying? Why not W.C. Field’s version; “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again – and then give up”? Can you imagine the old recruiting slogan, “When the going gets tough, the tough give up”? But it seems that that has become the mantra for far too many people today.
St. James stated the reason quite clearly: “Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.” (Ja 1:12)
We live in a world that is full of challenges, but despite what some people think, the challenges of today are no more or less severe than those faced by previous generations. War, natural and man-made disasters and life-threatening illnesses were part of the world that faced those in Jesus’ time and the early Christians, just like we do today. So what’s different?
Maybe it is because as a society, we are losing a sense of hope for a better world. And that loss begins with our loss of faith.
In a Pew report from 2018, while 80% of adults in the United States said they believed in a “god”, only 56% believed in the God of the Christian faith, while a total of 33% said they believed in some other sort of god or some higher power. And about 10% stated no belief in a higher power at all! Sadly, I believe the numbers are even lower today.
Unfortunately, as belief in God diminishes, so does hope. A recent report from the Center for Disease Control states that despair is at an all-time high, especially for young men and women in the ages between 15 and 34. That’s OUR children! Is it any wonder that our world seems to be more cynical and less loving today?
BUT, there really is HOPE. God has promised to never abandon us, and Jesus is the fulfillment of that promise. The Gospels are full of hope, and with every generation God continues to call upon his saints-in-the-making to help us see the brightness of our futures, or, as God said through the prophet Jeremiah: “For I know well the plans I have in mind for you – plans for your welfare and not for woe, so as to give you a future of hope. When you call me, and come and pray to me, I will listen to you.” (Jer 29:11-12)
Which brings us back to our readings. The hope of our future lies in our persistence in the face of adversity, as seen in the three examples given to us today:
1. St. Paul calls to us to “proclaim the Word of God and to be persistent in doing so, whether it is convenient or inconvenient” – in other words, whether we, or others, like it or not. We must persistently live our faith; we must persistently profess our faith. And we must do so with humility and charity.
2. Jesus tells us that in order to proclaim the Good News, we too must reach out to God and “pray always without becoming weary”, for God will always listen and answer our prayers, and will give us the strength to persevere in our efforts.
3. Finally, we are reminded that we cannot do it alone – it takes the Church to help us. Moses, although God’s favored one, was still unable to sustain his “prayer” in the heat of the battle without the help of Aaron and Hur, his priests. If we ever think that we don’t need our “religion” because we can go “directly to God”, this should remind us that we need friends of faith to sustain us. God has placed others in our lives to help us to get to heaven. Just as important, He has provided us to others to help them as well. We should not be afraid to turn to others when we need help – and to be persistent in our efforts to help others in need.
This is what gives meaning to life – a belief in God, the promise of heaven, and help for the journey. And we need persistence in our lives: persistence in our prayers, persistence in our actions; persistence in our faith. Praying to God leads to Faith; Faith leads to Hope; Hope leads to Action; and Action leads to God.
And it is God Who gives meaning to our lives. Because He loves us, He is persistent in His pursuit of us.
One final thought. As I said earlier, persistence isn’t stubbornness. God ALWAYS answers our prayers, although it may not be with the answers we want. I think I’ve shared this poem before, but it bears repeating:
“Our prayers to God, they come and they go.”
Sometimes with “Yes”, sometimes with “No”.
But when we demand that He do our bidding,
Sometimes God answers, “You’ve got to be kidding!”
