Saturday, November 12, 2016 32nd Week in Ordinary Time First Reading: 3 Jn 5-8 Gospel Reading: Lk 18:1-8
Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should pray continually and not lose heart. He said, “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor people. In the same town was a widow who kept coming to him, saying: ‘Defend my rights against my opponent.’ For a time he refused, but finally he thought: ‘Even though I neither fear God nor care about people, this widow bothers me so much I will see that she gets justice; then she will stop coming and wearing me out.”
And Jesus explained, “Listen to what the evil judge says. Will God not do justice for his chosen ones who cry to him day and night even if he delays in answering them? I tell you, he will speedily do them justice. Yet, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”
D@iGITAL-EXPERIENCE
(Daily Gospel in the
Assimilated Life
Experience)
Delay in the arrival of God’s answer to our prayers does not invalidate the maxim “No prayer is left unheard”. God always waits for the perfect time. Prayer granted on demand would not carry warranty against the defects that untimeliness brings.
Our concept of time is often too linear. We think of time as the lapse of succession of events. God, on the contrary, goes spiral. He takes time to go deeper into the mystery of our existence, like spiral drill bit that burrows deep into the core of a thick iron slab. It is more profound than the mere chronological succession of events. In spiral time, God gets the chance to open our eyes to the right thing to pray for. This makes delay to the answer of our prayers beneficial to our soul. It is during this period that the Holy Spirit can enlighten us to see the quality of longings that lie deep within us. God can then supply the corresponding grace that would align our values to his Will.
Since spiral time involves a lot of linear time, we are also given enough chronological time to reflect and respond to God’s grace. This way prayer becomes a process of emancipation as it liberates us from slavery to petitions tied to material things. When we are finally liberated, the time is perfect to grant what is asked for in prayer. This explains why God prefers to answer us in spiral time. The answer to our prayers must happen in the context of spiral time if what we ask for in prayer is to redound to our spiritual growth.
No prayer is left unheard. It is just a matter of time – God’s time. The next time you pray, let delay not shake your faith to its foundation. –(Atty.) Rev. Fr. Dan Domingo P. delos Angeles, Jr., DM., MAPM., MMExM., REB., Email: dan.delosangeles@gmail.com.
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