For perseverance in prayer

Anne O’Brien reads and reflects on today’s Gospel from Luke (11:5-13) in which Jesus tells his disciples ‘Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you’.

Anne begins her reflection reminding us of the value of sayings such as, ‘go the distance’ and ‘persevere to the end’. She says many champion athletes and sports professionals train and prepare their races and team events for long periods of time before they see the results of their hard work.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus teaches his disciples to always ask and to seek out what they desire.  It is all too easy to give up and accept defeat when we do not get what we want or when we fail to achieve our aspirations.  Anne says, it is easy to become discouraged and quit when things become difficult in our relationships, in our places of work and in our efforts to be people of faith.

Today, Jesus is encouraging us to have a patient heart and an openness to keep trying to keep our trust up.  Take some to think today, are there situations in my life that could benefit from a little perseverance and faith?

Anne concludes her reflection today with a prayer:

Father,
Your Son taught us to be persistent with our prayers; and, in faith, we bring our prayers to you today. Grant them, we pray, in accordance with your Holy Will and give us the grace of your Holy Spirit, through Christ our Lord.
Amen.