Reflection - Prayer

By Steve Hall

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/111420.cfm
3 John 5-8
Luke 18:1-8

I’ve never been comfortable with the thought of God as judge. Probably has to do with some childhood or family thing. But a bit of serious thought tells me that my difficulty with those acting in the role of judges — namely all those in positions of authority, as well as many who have no special authority at all — is more entrenched than I would care to either admit or examine. In any case, today’s Gospel has nothing to do with God as judge even though some might easily jump to such a conclusion.

The judge in the story is pictured as a somewhat puffed up figure, being that he “neither feared God nor respected any human being.” The widow stalking him seems convinced of the rightness of her position since she insists that the aforementioned judge simply “Render a just decision for me against my adversary.” Jesus’ determination that the judge is dishonest is well within his rights as the one crafting the story. Consequently, with that bit of information we would assume that both the judge and the widow’s adversary were somehow benefiting from the judge’s inaction. In the end, nothing could offset the widow’s persistence; and if the judge was being rewarded for his failure to act, it wasn’t enough. So we come to the conclusion of this brief tale:

A widow, who, by cultural restrictions, is in a socially precarious position, is determined to get a legal verdict which will somehow benefit her. A Judge, who is no respecter of man and does not fear God, is content to let the widow continue in her distress either because of laziness or indifference or some sort of personal benefit. Ultimately the Judge, either fearing retribution or worn out with her persistence, renders the desired verdict.

A simple story which Jesus told to teach his disciples about “. . . the necessity for them to pray always without becoming weary.” God is not the Judge; but he is the one in the position of being able to respond to all our pleas and petitions. Will he do so immediately? Not necessarily. Will he respond exactly as we want? Not necessarily. Will he give us anything but good? Absolutely not. But the story is not about God. The story is about a person and his prayer relationship with God.

Prayer is not as simple as: “I asked. God didn’t come. I guess he doesn’t want to.” That’s both naive and immature as an approach prayer. It fits right along side of “ I asked Santa for a Lego set for Christmas. He didn’t bring it. I guess he didn’t want to. In writing to the Corinthians Paul admonishes them: “Brethren, do not be children in your thinking . . . , but in thinking be mature.” (1 Corinthians 14:20) Maturity in prayer has several elements though there is a notable overlap among them.

To begin with maturity in prayer means that we become part of what we are praying. In other words, we have a personal investment. The widow was not just invested in the outcome of her petitions, she was also quite personally invested in making her petition come to pass. It is presumptuous and immature to take the position: “Now I’ve asked, so God should do it. We might as well knock on God’s door with a marshmallow.

Maturity in prayer also requires the same persistence as the widow. When I was much younger I never really understood the maxim that practice makes perfect so I readily set aside many things, especially sports, because I seemed to have little natural talent. But Scripture teaches us to approach prayer differently. Elijah the prophet (1 Kings 14:41-45) prayed for rain seven times before the rains finally came. The Apostles prayed for days for the coming of the Holy Spirit. The early Christians prayed throughout the night for Paul’s release from prison. Just as practice in sports focus the entirety of our being on a goal, so too does repetition in prayer act to engage us completely in the reason for our prayer.

Finally, though by no means completely, maturity in prayer demands an acknowledgement of the real world — not the imaginary one we would like to live in — but the one which actually exists, the one in which the powers of darkness still roam about seeking souls to devour. Prayer plays a crucial role in this universe we live in, sometimes maybe even the deciding role. God waits, at least sometimes, on our prayer before he “gets involved.”

So, what is Jesus teaching his disciples and us about prayer? My reflection on the story brings to mind these three things. Our prayer becomes most adequate when we become the most spiritually mature, the most cooperative in the struggle with the forces of evil. God is least represented by the Easter Bunny or Santa Clause; he is, through Jesus Christ, more adequately represented as the Lord of Hosts, the general leading his arm against evil. For that very reason, it is imperative that we practice until we are perfect. Practice what? Practice a life of prayer until we are perfected in Christ. And finally, Jesus is teaching us that, like the widow, we are struggling against powers which are inherently evil. An awareness of the nature of that battle is essential to draw forth the kind of personal commitment that is necessary to win.

Some thoughts and ideas expressed in this reflection are drawn from the book Moving Mountains by John Eldredge. The book is well worth reading.