Prayer
Israelites
were on a journey from Egypt to the Promised Land that is breaking away from their
slavery in Egypt. We are journey from this earth to heaven. Ours is breaking
away from the slavery of sin to live a life of eternal bliss. The goal of
Israelite was the Promised Land; our goal is in heaven.
Vatican Council II Light of all
nations Chapter VII says that ours is “a pilgrim Church.” We are on a pilgrim
to a heaven.
Many and powerful enemies are trying to prevent the Christian community from reaching its destination: we need a powerful weapon to overcome those enemies: the weapon of prayer.
This prayer must last as long as
the battle of life last, until the sunset of our life, the end of our life.
Victory is the combination of action
and prayer, of our own effort and of God’s help.
In this pilgrimage Moses was
their leader. In our case Jesus is our leader.
On
the way to the Promised Land there were powerful enemies who were blocking them
on their journey. In our case the greatest enemy is our pride. In their pride
the Israelite refused to obey Moses. In our pride we refuse to obey Jesus.
How
do we pray? Do we pray at all? Is our prayer too little or prayed very badly
limited to formulas.
Since
our enemies never relent, neither should our prayer. Our personal and family
prayer follow the pattern of our community prayer on Sunday: it should be based
on the scripture.
Today’s
readings teach us to be persistent in our prayer and persevere in our faith.
Moses persevered in lifting the staff and there was victory. The widow in the
gospel used the weapon of perseverance.
We
live in an age of instant coffee, fast food, 4G speeds. We are losing the
virtue of patience. We also want instant result for our prayers.
We
should not expect to get whatever we pray for.
Faith
is not a private possession. It is to be at the service of the community as
Moses faith in God was at the service of his people during the battle.
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