July 25, 2010 17th Ordinary Sunday Gen. 18:20-32; Col. 2:12-14; Lk. 11:1-13 _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________   Readings:  http://www.usccb.org/nab/072510.shtml   ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________   We cannot learn to pray simply by learning the words of a prayer, but the repetition of such words may be part of this discipline. Certainly it is true that effective prayer is in a real sense an art - and to learn an art always require careful method and persistent practice. Definite forms of prayer may be a very useful part of Jesus method and practice; surely this prayer of Jesus will be such.   Jesus is inviting his followers to share in his own prayer life; he is assuming that they will approach God just as he himself does. Christians have always been unable to think of Christ’s relationship to God as being of the same kind as their own - which may be part of the explanation of the substitution of “Our Father...”   Jesus teaches us to pray - with persistence and boldness. His parable of the friend at midnight reflects a common experience. Often a friend or family member (especially a child) will be so persistent in making a request that we find it easier to give in rather than continue to resist. The surprising point of Jesus’ parable is the idea that if we are persistent and bold enough in prayer, God will eventually give in to our petitions.   The best reason why we should pray is that God wants to answer our prayers. This point is made by the parable about the father who wants to give good gifts to his son. If human parents naturally want to give good gifts to their children, how much more does God want to give us good gifts. And God wants to give us the greatest gift of all, the Holy Spirit. These are indeed surprising teachings on prayer.   The Bible tells us that without faith we cannot please God. It is out of faith in God that we are able to ask confidently and know our prayers will be answered. It is vital that we as Christians understand the importance of praying in faith and equally so to understand just what it means to pray in faith. Jesus guarantees that we will have everything that we ask. We are promised that we can move mountains, “therefore believe you receive them and you will have them”.   As followers of Christ, we can walk in absolute confidence in God and know our prayers are making an impact according to God’s design. Lets first look at the purpose and focus of our prayers.     <<   Previous: 16th Ordinary Sunday  | Next: 18th Ordinary Sunday >>   Go Back to SERMONS (Year C)