Scripture Reflection, July 25: Ask And You Will Receive?

Scripture Readings:
Genesis 18:20-32
Psalm 138:1-2a, 2b-3, 6-7a, 7b-8
Colossians 2:12-14
Luke 11:1-13

In writing a Scripture reflection, I want to be original, say something profound, and think of a new and creative way to address the passages before me. But then I realize we hear the same readings over and over again. Unless you are fairly new to the Church or to Christianity, it is likely that you have heard these readings many times before. Both the First Reading and the Gospel speak very clearly about prayer. Abraham bargains with God; Jesus gives his disciples the Our Father and tells them all they have to do is ask God for what they want!

Two thousand years later, I read that and think, “Why isn’t it that easy? Lord, I’m asking and asking, and I am not being given! I am seeking and seeking and I’m not finding!” There have been times when I sent a request heavenward, only to feel that it disappeared somewhere in the Divine Inbox. So when I hear this Gospel reading, I can’t help feeling confused. If Jesus isn’t promising divine intervention at my every appeal, what is this passage all about?

When Jesus’ disciples ask him how to pray, he spends little time on instruction. He gives a few brief lines, very different from the elaborate ritual that the Israelites had in the Old Testament. He gives most of his time explaining the relationship that God has with them, and with us. They ask him how to pray; he answers by giving them God as a Father and God as a friend. After Jesus gives us the words of the Our Father, he explains what fatherhood means. It means having the best interests of His children in mind and knowing how to meet them. Friendship means we can approach Him with any needs at any time.

This approach makes this Gospel passage make more sense to me. I know I’m not the only one who has found that merely asking and seeking does not get me everything that I want. I haven’t figured out why some prayers get answered affirmatively and others don’t. But it makes sense to think that I should approach prayer one of two ways: a trusting child or a persistent friend. Believe that the One to whom I am speaking will listen when I continue speaking with Him and believe that He has my best interest in mind.

In the Old Testament, the relationship between God and Abraham reflects these two attributes of prayer. God tells Abraham He is considering destroying Sodom and Gomorrah, and Abraham launches into a spirited and quite bold defense of the cities. As I prepared this reflection, for the first time I stopped to ask myself why Abraham has this conversation with God. Why does he care about Sodom and Gomorrah? We know Abraham has family in Sodom: his nephew Lot lives with his family in Sodom. Does he want to save his family? Is he merely worried that the God he is trying to trust will now prove Himself unjust? Abraham had already seen God’s promises at work; he knew that his Lord kept His word. Yet he still allowed himself to wonder, “Would this God kill innocent people indiscriminately?”

So he has a conversation with God as he would with another man. And, as he whittles the number from fifty to ten, I certainly see the persistence that Jesus taught thousands of years later. I’ve heard this discussion described as a bargaining session between Abraham and God, given as an example of God changing His mind due to human prayer. Yet, when I look closely, I see no sign of God changing His mind. Rather, Abraham is trying to figure out how much he can trust God, how this God works. God, of course, already knows how many righteous people He will find in Sodom and Gomorrah. Why doesn’t He just give a number to Abraham and be done with the conversation? God isn’t focused on justifying His decision, or defining His justice. He is focused on assuring Abraham that He does know what is just and good – the same points Jesus makes to his disciples.

How does this apply to a real prayer life? It’s not something we “do right” and get granted our wishes. It’s about relationship: the freedom of relationship that Abraham had with God, the freedom of relationship that Jesus described to His disciples.

Beth Zagrobelny

Beth is a 2010 Catholics on Call alumna. She is a graduate from The College of William and Mary, majoring in Sociology and English. She just finished a year of service with the Vincentian Service Corps and is now the Young Adult Campus Minister at her alma mater.

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