Thursday of the
First Week of Lent
(Esther C:12.14-16.23-25; Matthew 7:7-12)
Skeptics will use gospel passages like the one in today’s
Eucharist to demonstrate the folly of prayer.
They will say something like, “Lord, give me a million dollars.” Because they never receive the fortune, they conclude
that God does not listen to prayers. Of course,
they misunderstand what Jesus is saying.
Jesus’ premise is that we go to God as His children. He wants us to develop a relationship with God
that is as close as the one many enjoy with their natural parent. One man recalls how his father was the finest
person he ever met. He said the father
was not educated but intelligent and, more than that, truthful and caring. Trusting that God is eminently like this, we will
find Him responsive to our petitions.
We develop a filial relationship with God by showing Him
gratitude for all that we have. We thank
God even for our own handiwork because it can be ultimately traced to Him. Then we ask God for what we need. We will do it humbly because we recognize
that He has already blessed us abundantly.
We will find our prayers answered as surely as the sun rises.
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