First Reading: Gal 3:1-5; Psalm: Lk 1. R. v. 68; Gospel: Lk 11:5-13

ASKING AND TRUSTING ON GOD

BY FR VALENTINE NNAMDI EGBUONU, MSP

God provides for us every day; especially what we need daily for our sustenance. God never stops doing this. But as human beings, our needs and wants are insatiable and they differ. They can pop up at any time. God also can provide these personal needs. But just as Jesus instructed, we have to ask, seek and knock for these needs to be attended to. It is not as if God cannot provide these needs without our asking. But God wants us to ask on our own as willing beings. God’s reply to these demands however will not succumb to our selfishness or bad will.  

From the parable of today’s gospel, we see that God provides our needs through one another. This needy man ran to his friend at night asking for some bread. Although his friend refused to get up to grant his wish; he however succumbed to his persistence. Drawing from this narrative, Jesus reminds us never to tire in asking God for our needs. But let us not forget that Jesus also added that God can only give what he finds good for us. “What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion.”

What lesson can we draw from this? It is that we cannot overturn the unwillingness of God to do what we want or what we are asking. Although we are called to persist in asking but it could also be that what we are asking isn’t good for us. The reason the man in the parable got up to give his friend some loaves of bread was because what his friend asked for was something good. So if we persist in asking God what will bring us harm, we shouldn’t expect to get it. Sometimes what appears good to us may not actually be good. From our parable today we can see that a serpent can look like a fish and an egg can look like a scorpion. As babies that we are before God, there are certain things we cannot see. We must therefore rely on God’s volition when we ask.   

PRAYER FOR THE DAY

Lord Jesus, grant us the willingness and disposition to accept your answers to our prayers. Amen.