God is Being God, Not A Snob!

Reflection on Lk. 11:5-13

This is a further teaching of the Lord Jesus on prayer. He began with a parable of a persistent friend who finally prevailed upon a friend to give him what he needs. Then the Lord told His disciples that God will give them what they ask, find what they seek, and opens for those who knock. The clincher was the last part when He said that the Father, who is good, could never deprive us of His Holy Spirit if we ask for its presence. No father would give his child anything that will harm his child. Compared to us who are still able to give good gifts in spite of our wickedness, God, who is all good, will definitely respond to our prayers.

We usually hear the explanation that God always respond in His time and in His way. He answers our prayers with a "no" if it will not be good for us. He answers us with a "yes" if it is for our good and in accordance with His Will. He also answers "wait" if what we ask for is not yet due to us. God knows not only the best but the most appropriate for us. In prayer, trust in Him should be one of our main attitude. Therefore, we must never think that God does not care if and when we do not receive yet what we prayed for. We have to admit that there had been times when we have doubted God's presence and wisdom. As a result, we abandon our faith. We stop praying. We stop going to mass. We stop doing what is good. We just go on our way as if it will be God's loss and not ours. Yes, later, we realize that to go away was not the right response. Rather, the more our prayers are not happening the way we want them, the more we cling to God. The more we must seek Him. The more we must knock to Him. For without God, we are nothing! Our only way out of darkness is to seek the LIGHT! Our only course to reach our true destiny is to find THE WAY. Our only resort to be free from all lies is to embrace the TRUTH! And our only way to find the essence of our existence is to belong to LIFE Himself. Not that we would insist what we want but to immediately make ourselves available and open to the very first response He will give to our prayers. Only when we exercise that humility can we fully benefit from His goodness. In my prayer life, I have realized that, in fact, the responses of God which were initially unacceptable to me were the right responses. I was just too happy that God did not give what I had asked!

God is God. He will never give anything that is against His very being. Jesus gave a very good point about us and about God. As human beings we have weaknesses and wickedness. But in spite of these weaknesses and wickedness we still find the goodness in our hearts operative to people we love. The goodness in us that God had given is not forever defeated nor erased from our person. While we have been wicked at times, we are still basically good because it was God, who is Goodness, who created us. Therefore, it is not hard to see that God, who is Goodness Himself, would always give to us what is Good.

That is why, for a Christian, there is no prayer that is left unanswered. But God answers them in His way. And His way is the best way. There is never a moment when God is not present. There is not a time when God had taken us for granted. God is not a snob as many would think. In fact, He is the most caring and attentive. We are the ones who do not care. We are the ones who are not attentive. We are the ones who are snobs. We do not want to accept what He gives. Fortunately, God remains to be God. When He knows it will not be for our own good even if we want it, He will not give it.

Today, we also celebrate the feast Our Lady of the Holy Rosary. We recognize the message of our blessed Mother to pray the Holy Rosary. The Holy Rosary is a very good prayer because it is a reflection on the life of and death of our Lord Jesus Christ. Praying the rosary makes us more aware of what God had done for us when we were still sinners. This love, when fully understood and appreciated, will tell us that God had never abandoned us but had done everything and the best in helping us be freed from the slavery of sin. Therefore, praying the Holy Rosary helps us understand God more and makes us trust and depend on Him more.

The next time you pray, express to God fully your feelings and pleadings. Communicate to Him your full dependence on His graces. Trust that He will respond in the best way at the best time. Commit that His answers (whether "no", "yes", or "wait") to your prayers would only make you closer and faithful to Him. In the end, prayer is not really about answers by God, but our responses to the answers of God to our prayers.