onthly MeditationMeditation for August 2009
Leave a comment at the bottom if you wish.
Judith reads:
The parable of The Friend at Midnight was told by Jesus to his disciples in response to their request that he teach them how to pray. This parable, following our present theme, appears only in the Gospel of St. Luke.
Suppose, Jesus said, you went to a friend’s house at midnight, wanting to borrow three loaves of bread. You say to him, ‘A friend of mine has just arrived for a visit, and I have nothing for him to eat.’ And suppose he calls out from his bedroom, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is locked for the night, and my family and I are all in bed. I can’t help you.’ But I tell you this—though he won’t do it for friendship’s sake, if you keep knocking long enough, he will get up and give you whatever you need because of your shameless persistence. Luke 11: 5 – 8 (New Living Translation).
On first reading of this parable, it sounds as if Jesus is saying that God answers our prayers only in order to get rid of us or to keep us quiet. But, if we remember that Jesus is not telling us how God answers our prayers but rather how we should pray, then we realise that the parable is saying that we shouldn’t give up on praying for what we need, even when it seems as if there is no immediate answer to our prayers.
The answer to our prayers may be different from what we expected and so it may take some time for us to recognise God’s response. We have to be open to an answer that we don’t expect—an answer that meets our needs but is not the specific 2 X 4 box, wrapped in the specifically described polka-dot paper, and tied up in a specific red bow. The answer God gives us maybe so different from what we expected that it might take some time for us to realise that God has indeed answered our prayers.
God’s answer is always so much greater than we hope for. We need to persevere in prayer so that our eyes will be opened and our hearts will adjust to the more rarefied response that God gives us.
Jesus goes on to say, So I tell you, keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. Luke 11: 9, 10 (NLT).
When you persist in your prayers—asking, seeking, knocking—your understanding grows and you realise the greater gift that God is giving you, greater than you could ever conceive for yourself.
© Judith Lawrence August 2009
Comments:
Total number of comments: 2
| FROM | AT |
|---|---|
| Judith Lawrence | 2009-07-29 07:21:57 |
| My August Meditation is above, in text and audio. I hope you will make a comment on it. I would like to hear from you, my readers and listeners. | |
| Ian | 2009-08-10 05:36:27 |
| It seems to me then that what is required, to a great deal, is the patience to see the results as a response. Sometimes what is provided does not always seem match up with what is asked for. Patience is required for the learning to take place. | |
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