As the word of God is active and powerfully working, what kind of effects should we expect from a prayerful reading of the Bible?
Seeds
Wisdom 7:7-11
Psalm 89(90):12-17
Hebrews 4:12-13
Mark 10:17-30
Sapling
“‘For men’ he said ‘it is impossible, but not for God: because everything is possible for God.’”
The journey of this simple statement from our heads to our hearts is the journey of prayer.
I remember reading a book some years ago on prayer in the New Testament. All I can remember of the book is one simple lesson: anyone who isn’t prepared to ask God for the miraculous, needs to ask themselves if they believe in the same God that Jesus spoke about. I was astonished, I suppose like the disciples.
If I ask myself why I was astonished, and allow myself to be honest, it’s because I liked the idea of prayer but I didn’t actually expect or believe God to answer prayer.
Prayer, for me, was a good activity to do. It is what a good Catholic ought to do. And, maybe, in some way over time it would drag my soul more and more into step with God’s way of doing things.
But did I expect anything to happen as a result of praying? No, not really. I certainly didn’t expect miracles, and I actually thought it unlikely that small changes would result from prayer either.
If you’re honest with yourself, can you empathise with some of that? A lot of it, even?
Today’s readings challenge that way of looking at the world. Just take a pen and underline the things the psalmist asks of God in the response we’ve just made to the first reading: wisdom, pity, love, joy, glory, favour, and success.
Those aren’t small things, are they?
Look, as well, at the first reading itself: “I prayed, and understanding was given to me; I entreated, and the spirit of Wisdom came to me.”
Let’s go back to the start of Mass and our collect prayer: “May your grace, O Lord, we pray, at all times go before us and follow after and make us always determined to carry out good works.” Do you believe that God can and will answer that?
A reluctance to embrace God’s willingness to answer prayer isn’t something new. Have a look at this story in Acts 12. In verses 3 and 4 we’re told that Peter was arrested and imprisoned. Then, in verse 5, we get the simple note: “earnest prayer for him was made to God by the church.”
Two verses later an angel appeared in the prison and released Peter.
Peter went to where the church was gathered and knocked on the door. Rhoda, a woman in the church, heard Peter at the door and rushed to tell the others, but they didn’t believe her, even accusing her of being out of her mind (v15), until they opened the door and saw Peter standing outside. The people, we’re told in verse 16, were amazed.
There’s the early church praying for God to bring about Peter’s release from prison, and when God does just that, they’re reluctant to believe!
Acts is full of examples just like this one. God answers prayers. Things happen in God’s world because people pray.
The lives of the saints testify to this reality as well; think of Padre Pio, St Therese, and so many other well-known saints who prayed and saw God answer them in extraordinary ways.
But what are we to make of those occasions when God doesn’t miraculously intervene? When a loved one isn’t healed, when we don’t get that job, or when peace doesn’t seem to come to this world?
Are we to start praying smaller, more manageable things? When we look around the world and see conflict in every corner, should we cover for God, acknowledge that world peace is a bit much to expect, and pray instead for peace between you and the neighbour next door who annoys you?
This is where we need to remind ourselves that the reality that God answers prayers doesn’t mean he’s a divine computer: we type in the right code and we get what we expect. God is sovereign, and totally good.
He never ignores a prayer. But he’s too good to give us what we want at the expense of what we need. If we ask for a miracle and it’s good, right, and holy then God may well grant it. But if he doesn’t, it’s not because he hasn’t heard, but because he has something else to give, or the time hasn’t come for us to see what we’ve asked him for.
All of this is, of course, a great mystery. We mustn’t reduce it to easy answers. But in trying to honour that mystery, neither should we lose sight of the fact that God does answer big prayers, we shouldn’t be afraid to make them.
Fruit
