Fr Paul Gooley reads from the Gospel of Matthew (7: 7-12) in which Jesus says, ‘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; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened’.

Fr Paul says a prayer that is a petition can seem to be a problem theologically. We address our prayers to God as a child would try to persuade a parent, by asking again and again and again for something. But do we really think that God is going to change the course of the world, put the normal causes into reverse just because I ask? What happens if we pray for fine weather at the beach while a farmer just outside of town is praying for rain for his farm? What about two opposing teams praying for victory in a sports game? Whose prayer wins? Which one is answered? God cannot please both of us.

Then we might think well God knows everything, so God knows what I want. Is there any point in telling him about it?

These are just some of the reasons that a prayer of petition can seem to be a bit of a problem.

The reason we have prayers of petition though is to tell God that we trust him, and trust that God will do whatever is best for us and for others. So, underlying our petition prayer is the same as what we pray for in the Our Father, and that is – ‘thy will be done on earth as in heaven’. We do pray that our prayer may be granted, but at the same time we pray that we may have the trust in God to accept whatever God sends us, granting that we may not know what is best for us in these particular circumstances.

Today’s Gospel Lesson – Lent is a time to pray and trust in God.