College Chaplain

Prayer as an act of Faith

There was a story of a man who prayed religiously without ceasing to God. Even during the celebration of the Mass, he always said his rosary. He walked to the Church's altar with his knees on the floor. He told his neighbours that he wanted God to be the one to answer all His prayers.

A typhoon came into their village and flooded the whole town. It was reported that a tidal wave would come and sweep the entire village. A policeman came to inform the village people about the coming tidal wave and the typhoon, but this man did not mind the policeman would not leave the place because he wanted that God would be the one to answer his prayers.

The flood became bigger and bigger, so a boat sailed on the water, informing this person again to vacate the place, but he wanted God to be the one to answer his prayers. Later, when the water level was already on the roof, a helicopter came to rescue this man, but he did not listen to the request. So, he died and went into the gate of heaven.

He was angry with St. Peter because God did not answer his prayers. St. Peter said: “We did answer all your prayers. We sent you a policeman, a boat, and a helicopter, but you did not listen to all of them. It’s not our fault.”

There is much turmoil in our world today, leading some faithful to wonder if our Lord's return is imminent. In the last Sunday Gospel taken from the Gospel of Luke (18:1- 8), the Lord asked an important question, "but when the son of Man comes, will He find any faith on earth?”. That question tells us that prayer needs tenacity. It is not a question of "let me try". God bends down to hear our prayers whenever we invoke Him or call on Him, but how tenacious are we in our prayer? 

It is an essential question at our time in history, as many are leaving the Church, and our youth are turning away through indifference or rejection of our Catholic Faith and its teachings.

Still, on that same last Sunday, the first reading recounts the struggles of Israelites with their enemy, Amalekites. Earlier on, the book of Exodus tells the Israelite's Exodus from Egypt and God's parting of the Red Sea that delivered them from slavery. It ends by saying they left "praising you, O Lord! their deliverer."  The Israelites, without a doubt, spent their whole life praying to be delivered from slavery. Generations of people would have prayed for this same thing, “freedom from the Egyptians”. It makes you wonder why God took so long to answer their prayers. Many people might have lost their hearts or Faith because their prayers were not answered. Could one of the reasons have been that He did attempt to answer their prayers, but no one could hear His voice? They were so consumed in their agony and pains that they did not pay attention to the agents or the help God sent them. They only listened to Moses because they saw the mighty works that Lord worked through Moses, but even in that, they complained. 

 “But when the Son of Man comes will he find faith on earth?”

The kind of Faith that Jesus is talking about is born from prayer. Our prayer life is where Faith is found, and if we do not have a good prayer life, our Faith suffers. All our struggles should be brought to the Lord in prayer, even when we struggle with a lack of Faith. It is precisely in those moments that we do have a strong faith in the Lord.

Prayer and I mean consistent prayer, help us to see opportunity and breakthrough where there is none. It helps us to bear patiently or suffer with joy when others suffer with groaning and despair. We may not always receive what we ask for in prayer, but God always answers our prayers, though it may be only in retrospect that we realise and appreciate his response. In the prayer of petition, we are not trying to pressure God to get him to change his mind. We present ourselves to our heavenly Father just as we are, with our needs and concerns, and trust in his providential care to grant us what we need. The Dominican theologian, Herbert McCabe, warns us not to be sophisticated when we pray. We should come before God, like children, as honestly as we can. 'It is no good pretending to yourself that you are complete for high-minded aspirations. You have to wait until you are. If a child is treated like an adult, she will never become an adult. Prayer is how our Father in heaven leads us by different paths to be saints to be with him.

I end with these quotes.

"The value of persistent prayer is not that God will hear us, but that we will finally hear God."

- William McGillPeople.

"Work as if everything depends on you. Pray as if everything depends on God."

- St. Ignatius Loyola

"Give me faith, Lord, and let me help others find it."

Fr Cyprian Mary Onuorah