01-10-2012, 09:25 AM
Tuesday, 10 January, 2012, 1st Week, Ordinary Time
FINDING PEACE IN OUR TRIALS THROUGH PRAYER IN FAITH AND SURRENDER
SCRIPTURE READINGS: 1SM 1:9-20; 1 SM 2:1, 4-8; MK 1:21-28
We all have our trials and struggles in life. Quite often, we are faced with situations humanly impossible to resolve and we feel helpless and often in despair. This was the same experience of Hannah in today’s first reading. She was barren without children and short of a miracle, she could not overcome her sense of inferiority, especially when she was taunted by Penninah, the other wife of her husband. As a result, we can become angry, resentful and bitter not only with God but also with people in our lives.
Unfortunately, most of us rely on ourselves to solve our problems instead of turning to God for divine assistance. In most situations, people would turn to God, not as the first thing they should do when faced with difficulties but only as a last resort like Hannah. If only she had turned to the Lord earlier, she would have found peace as she did after ventilating and imploring the Lord to hear her pain and anguish. We read that after her prayer, “She returned to the hall and ate and was dejected no longer.” We too can find peace if only we too seek the Lord as early as possible in all our undertakings and challenges.
Most of all, the Lord heard her prayer, for she conceived after returning home from the temple. Indeed, the “Lord was mindful of her. She conceived and gave birth to a son, and called him Samuel ‘since’ she said ‘I asked the Lord for him.’” Indeed, we can be assured that the Lord will hear our cries and will answer our prayers just as He did for Hannah.
What then can we learn from Hannah about efficacious prayer so that our prayers not only give us peace but allow the Lord to work in our lives? The first important pre-requisite about prayer is having the right disposition. Hannah, when praying, bared her soul totally to God, keeping nothing from Him. Before God, she did not put on any masks but expressed her deepest sentiments, fears, emotions and the state she was in. Not only did she pray with outright honesty but with fervour as well. Her prayer was truly the prayer from the heart and of the heart.
Indeed, it is necessary that when we pray, we must pray with the heart. We must simply be ourselves before God. To do this, we must get in touch with our feelings. There is no need for us to stand in ceremony before the Lord. He knows our hearts better than we know ourselves. In fact the real obstacle to prayer is that often we mask our real feelings. We are fearful to recognize our deepest feelings simply because we feel embarrassed by them. We are too proud to acknowledge our imperfect love for God and for others.
Knowing ourselves helps us to move to the second stage of prayer, which is from self-interest to the needs of others. Most of our prayer is self-oriented. We only need to examine what we pray for each day. For many, prayers are concerned with asking primarily for material things, success, money, fame, etc. For those who have gone higher, they would ask for peace, joy and freedom from harm. Although we should pray for our own needs, if our prayers remain focused on “me” alone, then such prayers cannot liberate us. As such, praying for oneself in the final analysis will not bring us the peace and joy we desire.
It is essential that our prayers must go beyond our own needs and interests to that of others. This was what happened to Hannah. She was initially more focused on herself because of the humiliation she suffered at the hands of Penninah. She was praying for the restoration of her dignity. But note that she began praying for herself but ended praying for others for she made a promise to the Lord that “If you will take notice of the distress of your servant, and bear me in mind and not forget your servant and give her a man-child, I will give him to the Lord for the whole of his life and no razor shall ever touch his head.” She surrendered her child for the service of the Lord.
Yes, when we pray we must not simply ask for things solely for our benefit. This was the greatest mistake of Penninah. Instead of being grateful to God for giving her children, she became arrogant and boastful. Her gifts made her self-centered, proud and thereby alienated her from God and others. In prayer, we must progress from self-interest to selflessness. We must remember that whatever we pray for ultimately should not be for ourselves only, but for the service of others. God will definitely answer such prayer when the gifts are for the benefit of his people. No wonder, that very day, Hannah conceived Samuel.
Besides having the right disposition in prayer, we must consider the qualities of prayer. Firstly, we must pray with fervent and expectant faith. Such a faith requires trust and surrender to God. Hannah was helped in her prayer of faith when Eli the priest of God assured her in the name of the Lord saying, “Go in peace and may the God of Israel grant what you have asked of him.” To this, she responded. “May your maidservant find favour in your sight” and with that she was at peace, believing that her prayers were answered.
However, the prayer of faith must also include the element of thanksgiving, praying as if the prayer is answered. Wasn’t this the attitude of Hannah after her prayer? Hence, the responsorial psalm, which is the prayer of Hannah taken from the book of Samuel, was appropriately adapted by St Luke, who placed this same prayer of faith and thanksgiving on the lips of Mary as well, which we renamed as the Magnificat. This prayer expresses faith and confidence in the power and mercy of God who would come to the rescue of the lowly and the despised.
In this respect, we have Jesus who is truly the exemplar of a pray-er. St Mark noted how Jesus taught with authority and how “his teaching made a deep impression on them.” So authoritative was Jesus’ teaching that even unclean spirits obeyed Him. If Jesus, unlike the scribes, taught them with authority, it was because of Jesus’ personal identification with His heavenly Father. He knew who He was, the Son of God, as the unclean spirit acknowledged rightly.
The authority of Jesus in effecting miracles and power over the unclean spirits issued from His personal authority; not just because He was divine. He was confident that the Father was with Him. With that assurance, He could go about doing the works of His Father.
What about us? How can we pray like Hannah, moving from absorption of self to a keen concern and awareness of the needs of others, especially the people of God? The key to maturity in prayer is to ground our prayers in scriptures, in the Word of God. Only in Jesus, the Incarnate Word, can we come to a greater self-consciousness of who we are, and especially our inner motives in whatever we do. Without grounding and rooting our prayers on the Word of God, we tend to focus too much on our narrow interests instead of having a wider world view of reality and life. Relying on ourselves in prayer without reference to the Word will make us always fearful of the future and diffident in believing that God can make the impossible possible.
Scriptures indeed is the soul of prayer. A deeper appreciation and understanding of the Word of God will help us to look within ourselves in prayer, searching and discerning His will for us; to look beyond to others by feeling with them in their needs and finally to look up to God in faith, for only God can resolve all issues and help us to overcome the problems of this world. Without God’s grace and His divine intervention, we cannot save ourselves. Most of all, the Word of God will strengthen our faith in Him, for we know that God does not lie. We can hold on to His promises.
FINDING PEACE IN OUR TRIALS THROUGH PRAYER IN FAITH AND SURRENDER
SCRIPTURE READINGS: 1SM 1:9-20; 1 SM 2:1, 4-8; MK 1:21-28
We all have our trials and struggles in life. Quite often, we are faced with situations humanly impossible to resolve and we feel helpless and often in despair. This was the same experience of Hannah in today’s first reading. She was barren without children and short of a miracle, she could not overcome her sense of inferiority, especially when she was taunted by Penninah, the other wife of her husband. As a result, we can become angry, resentful and bitter not only with God but also with people in our lives.
Unfortunately, most of us rely on ourselves to solve our problems instead of turning to God for divine assistance. In most situations, people would turn to God, not as the first thing they should do when faced with difficulties but only as a last resort like Hannah. If only she had turned to the Lord earlier, she would have found peace as she did after ventilating and imploring the Lord to hear her pain and anguish. We read that after her prayer, “She returned to the hall and ate and was dejected no longer.” We too can find peace if only we too seek the Lord as early as possible in all our undertakings and challenges.
Most of all, the Lord heard her prayer, for she conceived after returning home from the temple. Indeed, the “Lord was mindful of her. She conceived and gave birth to a son, and called him Samuel ‘since’ she said ‘I asked the Lord for him.’” Indeed, we can be assured that the Lord will hear our cries and will answer our prayers just as He did for Hannah.
What then can we learn from Hannah about efficacious prayer so that our prayers not only give us peace but allow the Lord to work in our lives? The first important pre-requisite about prayer is having the right disposition. Hannah, when praying, bared her soul totally to God, keeping nothing from Him. Before God, she did not put on any masks but expressed her deepest sentiments, fears, emotions and the state she was in. Not only did she pray with outright honesty but with fervour as well. Her prayer was truly the prayer from the heart and of the heart.
Indeed, it is necessary that when we pray, we must pray with the heart. We must simply be ourselves before God. To do this, we must get in touch with our feelings. There is no need for us to stand in ceremony before the Lord. He knows our hearts better than we know ourselves. In fact the real obstacle to prayer is that often we mask our real feelings. We are fearful to recognize our deepest feelings simply because we feel embarrassed by them. We are too proud to acknowledge our imperfect love for God and for others.
Knowing ourselves helps us to move to the second stage of prayer, which is from self-interest to the needs of others. Most of our prayer is self-oriented. We only need to examine what we pray for each day. For many, prayers are concerned with asking primarily for material things, success, money, fame, etc. For those who have gone higher, they would ask for peace, joy and freedom from harm. Although we should pray for our own needs, if our prayers remain focused on “me” alone, then such prayers cannot liberate us. As such, praying for oneself in the final analysis will not bring us the peace and joy we desire.
It is essential that our prayers must go beyond our own needs and interests to that of others. This was what happened to Hannah. She was initially more focused on herself because of the humiliation she suffered at the hands of Penninah. She was praying for the restoration of her dignity. But note that she began praying for herself but ended praying for others for she made a promise to the Lord that “If you will take notice of the distress of your servant, and bear me in mind and not forget your servant and give her a man-child, I will give him to the Lord for the whole of his life and no razor shall ever touch his head.” She surrendered her child for the service of the Lord.
Yes, when we pray we must not simply ask for things solely for our benefit. This was the greatest mistake of Penninah. Instead of being grateful to God for giving her children, she became arrogant and boastful. Her gifts made her self-centered, proud and thereby alienated her from God and others. In prayer, we must progress from self-interest to selflessness. We must remember that whatever we pray for ultimately should not be for ourselves only, but for the service of others. God will definitely answer such prayer when the gifts are for the benefit of his people. No wonder, that very day, Hannah conceived Samuel.
Besides having the right disposition in prayer, we must consider the qualities of prayer. Firstly, we must pray with fervent and expectant faith. Such a faith requires trust and surrender to God. Hannah was helped in her prayer of faith when Eli the priest of God assured her in the name of the Lord saying, “Go in peace and may the God of Israel grant what you have asked of him.” To this, she responded. “May your maidservant find favour in your sight” and with that she was at peace, believing that her prayers were answered.
However, the prayer of faith must also include the element of thanksgiving, praying as if the prayer is answered. Wasn’t this the attitude of Hannah after her prayer? Hence, the responsorial psalm, which is the prayer of Hannah taken from the book of Samuel, was appropriately adapted by St Luke, who placed this same prayer of faith and thanksgiving on the lips of Mary as well, which we renamed as the Magnificat. This prayer expresses faith and confidence in the power and mercy of God who would come to the rescue of the lowly and the despised.
In this respect, we have Jesus who is truly the exemplar of a pray-er. St Mark noted how Jesus taught with authority and how “his teaching made a deep impression on them.” So authoritative was Jesus’ teaching that even unclean spirits obeyed Him. If Jesus, unlike the scribes, taught them with authority, it was because of Jesus’ personal identification with His heavenly Father. He knew who He was, the Son of God, as the unclean spirit acknowledged rightly.
The authority of Jesus in effecting miracles and power over the unclean spirits issued from His personal authority; not just because He was divine. He was confident that the Father was with Him. With that assurance, He could go about doing the works of His Father.
What about us? How can we pray like Hannah, moving from absorption of self to a keen concern and awareness of the needs of others, especially the people of God? The key to maturity in prayer is to ground our prayers in scriptures, in the Word of God. Only in Jesus, the Incarnate Word, can we come to a greater self-consciousness of who we are, and especially our inner motives in whatever we do. Without grounding and rooting our prayers on the Word of God, we tend to focus too much on our narrow interests instead of having a wider world view of reality and life. Relying on ourselves in prayer without reference to the Word will make us always fearful of the future and diffident in believing that God can make the impossible possible.
Scriptures indeed is the soul of prayer. A deeper appreciation and understanding of the Word of God will help us to look within ourselves in prayer, searching and discerning His will for us; to look beyond to others by feeling with them in their needs and finally to look up to God in faith, for only God can resolve all issues and help us to overcome the problems of this world. Without God’s grace and His divine intervention, we cannot save ourselves. Most of all, the Word of God will strengthen our faith in Him, for we know that God does not lie. We can hold on to His promises.