Coffee With God

Reflection: Matthew 7:7-12

In the Gospel today, Jesus promises a result, provided we ask, seek and knock. “Ask and it will be given to you. Is that a little too much to believe? Because, it is also our experience that some of our prayers go unanswered. How earnestly have we been praying these days that let this pandemic be over; let there be no war in the world, let the war in be stopped… The universal Church has together been praying for these intentions. And we begin to have doubts – Is the Lord still listening to our prayers? If the Lord does not listen, why should I pray? If God does not answer, why should I believe in such a God?” The mistake we make in our prayer is, our prayers appear to be attempts to persuade God to change his plan. We would like him to comply with our ideas! But, Prayer does not change God, instead it opens our minds and changes our hearts. The ways of God are not always easy and pleasant; they require conversions, efforts, renouncement and sacrifices. It is hard to give up our way of reading the events. We find it hard to accept the light of God. We are blind and we are unable to see or rather we prefer to remain blind and refuse to change. Should God be blamed for man-made atrocities and calamities in the world? “The Abels” of the world will continue to be killed until “the Cains” decide to repent and amend their ways to care for their brethren. During this Lenten season we are invited to return to what is essential for life and make vital choices. Lent reminds us that we have a Father who cares for us and to return to the Father in prayer. He loves us without limits; is always at our side. Jesus invites us to pray – with the confidence and insistence of children before dads. We probably do not always experience this love, or by habit we have lost the meaning of the expression: “God is love.” The challenge is to become aware of this experience that heals our infirmities. Pope Francis reminds us: “We all, we all have spiritual illnesses, we cannot cure them alone; We all have in-built vices, we cannot eradicate them alone; We all have fears that paralyse us, we cannot overcome them alone. Return to him, asking, seeking and knocking for God’s will in our lives. The theme of the insistence in prayer is presented through three images: to ask, to seek, to knock. But always remember: The disease will continue, the grievance will remain, the wounds of betrayal will be painful, but when we pray, our Lord who loves us will accompany us in dealing with them.