Today,
when the last days of the liturgical year are getting near, Jesus
exhorts us to pray, to open ourselves to God. We may think as the
family parents who —every day!— are expecting to receive
from their sons some words showing their loving affection.
God, who is our Father,
also expects these words. Jesus says it quite often in the Gospel and
we know that to speak with God is to pray. Our prayer is the voice of
faith of our belief in him, also of our confidence, and it would be
great if it would always be the manifestation of our love.
For
our prayer to be trustful and persevering, St. Luke says that «Jesus
told his disciples a parable to show them that they should pray
continually and not lose heart» (Lk 18:1). We know we
can pray by praising our Lord, by thanking him, or by acknowledging
our human weakness —the sin—, and imploring God's mercy,
but most of the time, we shall be demanding some grace or favor. And,
even if we do not immediately get what we are asking for, only the
very fact of being able to address ourselves to God, to explain to
this Someone our sorrow or our worries, will already mean we have
achieved something. And, surely —even if not immediately, but
eventually— we shall get a reply, because «Will God not
do justice for his chosen ones who cry to him day and night even if
He delays in answering them?» (Lk 18:7).
With regard to this
evangelic parable, St. John Climacus says «that judge who
feared not God, finally yields to the widow's insistence so that she
stops coming and wearing him out. God will do justice to the soul,
his widow because of sin, in front of the body, his first enemy, and
in front of all the devils, his invisible adversaries. The Divine
Trader will certainly know how to properly trade in our good wares,
to place his great goods at our disposal with amorous solicitude, and
to promptly hear our prayers».
Perseverance in prayer,
confidence in God. Tertulian said «God can be overcome only by
prayer».
