OT XVII [C]  Gn 18:20-32, Col  2:12-14, Lk 11:1-13

The main themes of today’s readings are the power of intercessory prayer, the Our Father as the ideal prayer, and the necessity for persistence and perseverance in prayer, with trusting faith and boldness.

The first reading, taken from the book of Genesis, gives us the model for intercessory prayer provided by Abraham in his dialogue with God. Although Abraham seems to be trying to manipulate God through his skillful bargaining and humble, persistent intercession, God is actually being moved to mercy by the goodness of a few innocent souls. 

Abraham assumes that it is unjust of God to “treat the innocent and guilty alike.” Yet we all know of cases where God appears to do so.  Jesus himself tells us that God “sends rain on the just and unjust,” and furthermore, that people who die in natural disasters are not necessarily more wicked than those who survive (Luke 13:4).  The fact is that often in this life we do not see obvious differences in the fate of the wicked and righteous (Ps 73).  The “moral logic” of God and the universe only holds if there is an afterlife.  Without faith in the life to come, it is not possible to justify the ways of God on earth.  Belief in a final judgment and an afterlife is a courageous affirmation of the moral justice of God and therefore of all reality.  

One thing that is sometimes overlooked in today’s gospel story of the man persistently asking his neighbor to give some bread for feeding his hungry guest, is that this, like the story of Abraham bargaining with God for the lives of Lot and his family, is primarily a story about intercessory prayer. One friend goes to another friend on behalf of someone else. Intercessory prayers express our concern for others and make us less self-centered. In the Mass we always pray for others in the general intercession after listening to the word of God and confessing our Creed. In our parish we often get prayer line calls. It is not just to let us know that someone is sick or in the hospital, but it is a request to pray for them. Jesus said: when two or more pray together that has greater power before the Father.

Bishop Sheen says that “The man who thinks only of himself says prayers of petition. He who thinks of his neighbor says prayers of intercession.

One may ask, if God is so generous a Father, why does He insist on our persistence in prayer.  Why not give everything immediately?  Or better, why make us ask at all?  Why not give us everything we want and need without our asking?

Dr. Stump points out that parents who give their children everything they ask for end up spoiling them; but on the other hand, parents who always say “no” estrange their children from themselves.  God is a good parent, and the dialogue of prayer actually fosters relationship between God and his children, in which God permits the participation of his children into his providential guidance of the universe.  God is neither a “sugar daddy” nor a “scrooge,” but a Father who encourages us to make our needs and desires known, always trusting in His goodness. 

The purpose of prayer is to be in harmony with God, to have a sense of God’s presence; to feel the assurance that God is in, around and greater than any circumstance; that, come what may, we belong to Him.

A colleague asked C.S. Lewis if he really thought he could change God with his prayer for the cure of his wife’s cancer. Lewis replied: “Prayer doesn’t change God; it changes me.” William McGill summed it up this way. “The value of persistent prayer is not that God will hear us but that we will finally hear God.”

Pastor Tom Rietveld tells an interesting true story about prayer. He says that when he was pastoring in Missouri his church needed approximately $10,000 beyond what they were able to give to close out the year. And so, Pastor Rietveld asked the church family and their church leaders to pray for that amount, specifically—$10,000.  Unexpectantly, a few weeks before the end of the year, a gift came in the mail. It was for several shares of stock worth $5,000. Pastor Rietveld put out the word that God had supplied half of what they needed, and they now needed to pray for $5,000 more to meet their need.

Their church board was to meet the next week regarding the gift of the stock as they were the only ones who could give approval to sell the stock. But a snow storm hit, and snowed them all in, and delayed their meeting for a week. When they finally met they approved the sale of the stock. So the next day Pastor Tom went to a broker to sell the stock. But in the meantime, says Pastor Tom, God did His work. During the delay from when they were given the stock and when they finally could sell the stock, it had doubled in value, and was worth $10,000. Says Pastor Tom, “God had specifically taken care of the specific need we brought to Him.”

The best gift of all is God’s gift of Himself through his Spirit.  This is what we have received in baptism, and we continue to receive through the sacraments.  St. James urges us not to waste prayers on material acquisitions for the sake of our pleasure; instead, let’s focus our prayers at this Mass on a greater reception of the Spirit, the best gift God can give us.