Reflection for February 26, Thursday of the First Week of Lent; Matthew 7:7-12

Gospel: Matthew 7:7-12

Jesus said to his disciples: “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. Which one of you would hand his son a stone when he asked for a loaf of bread, or a snake when he asked for a fish? If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good things to those who ask him.

“Do to others whatever you would have them do to you. This is the law and the prophets.”

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Reflection:

What do you do when your child sincerely ask something from you? You try your very best to give what he/she is asking from you. Why? Because you love your child and you don’t want to disappoint him/her. What if your parents will sincerely ask something from you? For the same reason you will also try your very best to give what your parents are asking from you.

The love of Jesus is far greater than the love of a parent to his/her child or a child’s love for his/her parents. What does this mean? If we will do everything to grant the request of our loved ones, Jesus will surely grant also whatever we sincerely ask from Him.

Our sincerity counts when we ask something from Jesus. For example when Jesus said to His disciples: “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you (Matthew 7:7). It goes without saying that Jesus expects utmost sincerity from them.

This is also what Jesus expects from us when we ask Him for something. The pureness of our desire is a major factor for Jesus to grant us what we want from Him. If Jesus sees that there’s no purity and sincerity in our prayers or if our prayers are centered  to serve our selfish ends. Then we can be assured that nothing will come out from it for we do it for our own selfish objectives.

In hindsight, this is also an invitation for us to reflect on our prayers for Jesus. He may not have yet granted some of our prayers, perhaps we need to re-assess our objectives. Perhaps we need to be more sincere and selfless in our prayers.

Are you always sincere when you pray to Jesus? – Marino J. Dasmarinas