Persistent Prayer

(Plain Text Version)

Why Doesn’t God “Answer My Prayers”?
There is no easy answer to this question. We have many needs. Some of these needs are very serious. We ask our loving God for help and we don’t hear Him or see an answer. We are not alone in having this problem.
Sometimes it seems as if God is asleep or busy taking care of other peoples’ needs. While in a storm-tossed boat, the Apostles feared for their lives, and woke Jesus from His nap. Jesus asked them why they had so little faith (Mark 4: 35-40).
Sometimes God is granting our request, but we need to wait for it. In a homily, Pope Francis pointed out that Abraham was 99 years old when God finally granted a son to him and his wife (Genesis 17: 1-22).
Sometimes, we are asking for something which isn’t good, or isn’t the best for us. When James and John asked for the top positions in Christ’s kingdom, Jesus replied that the positions were saved for others (Matthew 20: 20-23).
Sometimes, we need to put discouragement aside and simply keep asking for what we need. Jesus gave us the Parable of the Persistent Widow (Luke 18: 1-8). In this story, a woman hasn’t been able to get a judge to do his job. The judge finally settles her case when he realizes that she is not going to leave him alone. Jesus then reminds us that God is not like a lazy official, but will certainly give us what we need.
So, let’s pray for what we really need. Let’s believe that God hears us. Let’s keep praying, even if it takes 99 years.
We hope that this advice will be helpful. Your editor is still trying to learn these things!