Episode Transcript
[00:00:05] Speaker A: This is Sundays with Bishop Ken.
Thanks for sharing some quiet time with the Lord today. We welcome guest reader Deacon Eric Bissette.
Deacon Eric is a beloved spiritual leader in his home parishes of the Diocese of Rochester, New York.
Little Book's listeners will recognize Deacon Eric as a regular narrator for our daily reflections.
And now, here is today's gospel and homily.
[00:00:45] Speaker B: A reading from the Holy Gospel According to Luke.
Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, lord, teach us to pray. Just as John taught his disciples.
He said to them, when you pray, say, father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come.
Give us each day our daily bread and forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone in debt to us and do not subject us to the final test.
And he said to them, 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 the visitor 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, 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?
The Gospel of the Lord Luke probably put together in one place teachings about prayer that Jesus spoke on different occasions.
As a result, this relatively long Gospel passage about prayer is one of the most beautiful texts in all the Gospels.
First of all, Jesus teaches his disciples and us how he prays.
That would be something like having the world's finest chef come into our kitchen and take some time with us to explain some of the things he does to produce gourmet food.
Imagine Jesus teaching us how he prays.
Then Jesus tells us, God always, always answers our prayer.
He doesn't hedge on this. He doesn't waffle with complete certitude. He says, God Always, always answers our prayer.
Jesus not only states this flatly, but then backs it up with two parables.
So there's no room for doubt about prayer.
We have it straight from Jesus.
And what we have is prayer always, always has an effect, and it's always a good effect.
Even though Jesus is as clear as clear can be on this, I'm not sure we fully believe it.
We live in a sophisticated society, and we have learned much about causality, what makes things happen.
Chemistry, technology and the psychosocial sciences have taught us a great deal about cause and effect.
God doesn't make it rain.
Meteorologists can explain what causes rain anywhere in the world.
Technologists can explain how we can send a message to someone halfway around the world.
Psychologists can explain what it takes to change a person's behavior.
As a result, we have devalued the causality of prayer.
We still believe it's a good thing to do, to pray, but it's hit and miss now and then. It might have an effect on people we're praying for or situations we're praying for, but most of the time it doesn't.
We pray the same way we play the lotto. We hope to hit it, even for a small payoff, but we know most of the time we won't.
Now face that off against the clear words of Jesus.
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.
It's as clear as clear can be.
But in practice, based on our own experience, it doesn't seem to work that way.
Sometimes it works, but most of the time it doesn't.
Let's see if we can figure this out.
When we pray for someone or something, we shine upon the person or situation, the love of God.
We direct the love of God upon that someone or something in a special way.
And God's love always has an effect, a good effect.
It's like the sun.
The sun has power within it. And when the rays of the sun are directed upon someone or something, they always have an effect.
I came across a true story that isn't sensational, but it's striking.
And it makes you think.
There was a fellow sent to save a failing hotel.
The situation was so bad he decided upon desperate measures.
Each night he drove to a hill overlooking the hotel.
He parked, sat in the car and prayed for 20 minutes.
He looked at the lighted windows and prayed for the hotel guests who were in those rooms.
He prayed for the employees and their families.
He prayed for himself.
Gradually, changes started to take place in the hotel.
A new spirit radiated from its employees.
A new warmth greeted each new guest.
A new hope permeated the operation.
Within a year, the hotel was back on its feet.
When we doubt the effectiveness of prayer, we don't underestimate the power of God.
We underestimate our own power.
You see, we have God's life within us.
We all know that, and we have no trouble believing it.
This means God's love is within us.
What we do when we pray is direct God's love in a special way on a particular person or a particular situation.
We're more powerful than we think we are.
We have the power to bless another person with God's love.
When we do that, something good happens.
God's love always, always has a good effect.
It may not be exactly the result we want, but in exactly the way we want it. But it brings about a result.
And always, always a good result.
So when we pray, we know something good happens.
What father or mother would give their son or daughter a snake if they asked for a fish?
Or a scorpion if they asked for an egg?
Well then, if that's how we act with our limited ability to love, imagine how God acts.
God, who is infinite love.
There's one more part to this.
Our prayer not only brings about a good effect in the person or the situation we're praying for, it also produces a good effect upon us.
We become more aware of the presence of God within us and around us.
We become more aware of God's love within us, around us.
It makes us more loving and we draw closer to our loving God.
Prayer is a great gift.
It's there for the asking and it always has a good effect on others and upon us.
I pray we will appreciate this gift more fully and make use of it even more often than perhaps we have done up till now.
[00:09:50] Speaker A: Thanks for joining us today.
If you like this week's reflection, subscribe on your favorite podcast platform.
Sundays with Bishop Ken is a free broadcast from Little Books to help support our ministry. Please consider clicking the donate button.
Sharing this podcast with a friend is another great way to help our ministry grow.
Our Little Books app features our Little Books daily reflections during Advent, Christmas, Lent and Easter.
Here you can read, listen and journal in a prayerful digital environment.
Sundays with Bishop Ken is produced by Little Books of the Diocese of Saginaw.
For more about Little Books and scripture based prayer resources for the whole family, visit littlebooks.org have a great week and pray with us again soon.
