"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.” Matthew 7:7-8
On my last blog post, I wrote about praying for something just once, and then just surrendering it to God and trusting Him. I have tried to do this, I really have, but I have found it very difficult not to keep asking Him and nagging Him. As my friend Lourdes told me: “I repeat it and I repeat it… to make sure He understands.”
Today’s gospel reading gave me hope that I don’t need to pray it just once and then surrender. Bishop Robert Barron explains it perfectly in his daily gospel reflection: “Today’s Gospel urges us to persist in prayer. The Lord wants us to ask with persistence, even stubbornness. We must not think of God as becoming exasperated by our prayer of petition, but the clear implication is that we will get what we want through persistence: ‘Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.’"
I am so happy that God has just given me permission to be stubborn and to continue nagging Him. “St. Augustine said that God doesn’t always give us immediately what we ask for, and in fact, he compels us to ask again and again.” Thank You God. Here I am at four in the morning asking You again and again.
“The Lord wants to stretch us, expanding our desire so as to receive the gift He desires to give us. If we got everything we wanted, right away and without effort, we wouldn’t appreciate what we’ve received.” My prayer is a three part prayer. And last night God gave me a glimpse that He is working on the first part of my request. However, He doesn’t want me to surrender just yet.
I will not surrender, Lord. I will persist in my prayer. I will continue to nag you to the point of stubbornness. Now that You have sent me the clear message that You are not becoming exasperated by my prayer of petition, I will continue to pray. And yes, I will trust You. I know that You are working on my request.
So if just like me you are in a situation of desperation, keep on praying with persistence, even stubbornness. As Bishop Barron concludes, “If the gift doesn’t come right away, don’t despair; rather, feel your very soul expanding in anticipation.”
Copyright © 2023 Christy Romero. All rights reserved.
Thank you for sharing your message in the Encuentristas chat. I read it after this morning’s reflection from Fr. Richard Rohr: “The wisdom the desert mothers offer us is that by staying with ourselves, with our inner ups and downs, with our hurts and our fears, we will bring forth the new life that God is creating within us.” Allowing life to simmer, trusting prayer from my cell is what I need to remember. I’ve been there before; I just forget. and I appreciate being told again. So, thanks.
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