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Jesus said, “And I tell you,
ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door
will be
opened for you. For everyone who asks,
receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the
door
will be opened. What father among you
would hand his son a snake when he asks for a fish? Or
hand him a scorpion when he asks for an
egg? If you then, who are wicked, know
how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Father
in
heaven give the holy Spirit to those who ask him?”
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Having
been captured by the White Witch, Edmund Pevensie finally begins to
understand
that he has chosen evil instead of good. He
also understands that his life is in serious jeopardy. His
only hope, as the Beavers tell his
brother and sisters lies with Aslan the Lion, the symbol for God, and
the good
leader of the
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It
is no secret that the world that we inhabit needs help. It is true
for the made-up world of evil
witches, good lions and fantasy voyages, and it is true for our real
world as
well. We have wars that should not have
happened; we have people being killed and punished for no reason; we
have
people so obsessed with power and selfishness that no one can stop
them. And in our own individual lives, we need help
to grow into maturity, safety for trips, curing from disease, and
assistance to
die with confidence. Jesus tells us that
God gives us that help if we ask for it. It requires some effort
on our parts—we must ask and seek and knock on
the door. And we must understand that we
will not always get what we want—our God will not give us poison
even if we
mistakenly demand it. But Jesus says, in
the end God will always answer our prayer.
How does it work? How can every prayer be heard, quiet individual different prayers uttered by billions of people? What about the obvious times when prayer is spoken, but not granted—the wars that still happen, the tragedies and accidents that still occur, the people who die too young? Obviously the believer does not have all the answers; the Christian person of faith does not expect to have them; he/she simply knows that prayer is always answered in some way, that God really does help. The people of Narnia confidently approached Aslan for help, knowing that the help would be given, somehow, some way. They also knew that they would have to help to get what they wanted. In the same way, Jesus advises his followers to ask his Father and our God for the help we need. God will always help somehow, some way. |
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THOUGHT
What
prayer has most recently been answered for you?
PRAYER Good
and gracious God, you tell us through your Son to always come to
you—asking,
seeking, knocking at your door. Even
though we do not understand how you work, give us the grace to trust
that you will answer every prayer we address to you in one way or
another. Be with us, we pray.
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©2007
Capuchin Province of Mid-America
Fr. Mike Scully is a member of the Capuchin Province of Mid-America |
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