Perseverance in prayer

Saturday, November 16, 2019 32nd Week in
Ordinary Time First Reading: Wis 18: 14-16; 19:6-9 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)

The delay in the answer to our prayer should not shake our faith to its foundations. We should still believe that no prayer is left unheard. Where there is delay it is because God is looking for the right time. Were God to grant our prayer on demand, such would be devoid of any warranty against defects that untimeliness brings. “God makes all things beautiful in his time”. Because we exist in time, all requests directed to God are answered in time – in His time. So let us persevere in prayer until God’s time arrives.
To understand why our concept of time does not always match with God’s, let us be aware of the difference between linear and spiral time. Linear time is the simple succession of events. Spiral time, on the other hand, goes deeper into the mystery of our existence. When we pray, we expect God to answer in linear time. But God prefers to answer us in spiral time.
In spiral time, God gets the chance to open our eyes to the right thing to pray for. That is why delay in the answer to our prayers is beneficial to our soul. It is also during this period that God can inspect the kind of longings that lie deep within us. He 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. So you see, no prayer is left unheard. It is just a matter of time – God’s time. —(Atty.) Rev. Fr. Dan Domingo P. delos Angeles, Jr., J.D., D.M.