Reflection for October 10 Thursday of the Twenty-seventh Week in Ordinary Time: Luke 11:5-13

Gospel: Luke 11:5-13

Jesus said to his disciples: “Suppose one of you has a friend to whom he goes at midnight and says, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, for a friend of mine has arrived at my house from a journey and I have nothing to offer him,’ and he says in reply from within, ‘Do not bother me; the door has already been locked and my children and I are already in bed.  

I cannot get up to give you anything.’ I tell you, if he does not get up to give him the loaves because of their friendship, he will get up to give him whatever he needs because of his persistence.  

“And I tell you, ask and you will receive; 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. What father among you would hand his son a snake when he asks for a fish?  

Or hand him a scorpion when he asks for an egg? If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?”

+ + + + + + +

Reflection:

Isn’t God all-knowing? Doesn’t He read our minds? So, why do we need to badger Him in prayer about our needs? God is all-knowing, and He reads our minds, but we still need to persistently let Him know what we want Him to do for us. Why? For the simple reason that it’s through our persistence that we develop a deep friendship with Him. It’s through our persistent prayer that we obtain the grace to know Jesus much more deeply.

What if we don’t persist? We miss the chance to know Jesus more deeply, and we miss the opportunity to develop a much deeper friendship with Him. Take, for example, our Sunday Mass obligation. What would happen if we stop attending every Sunday? We would miss the chance to know Jesus deeply, be showered by His many blessings, and grow in faith.

Yes, God knows everything about us already but we still need to be persistent before Him. For this is where He would know how deep is our love for Him. When we don’t give up on Jesus and when we continue to let Him know that we always hunger for Him. Surely Jesus will not be deaf and blind to our petitions before Him.    

Jesus will certainly smile at us and tell us: Here it is that you want I’m giving it to you now because you did not give up. – Marino J. Dasmarinas