When Jesus teaches his disciples (and us) how to pray, he tells them to be persistent in prayer. Deacon Tim Breen, SJ, reflects on the transformative power of persistent prayer and our relationship with God. Based on the readings for Sunday, July 24, 2022.
(Knock, knock). Do you hear that? God does.
Hi, I’m Deacon Tim Breen, and this is my One-Minute Homily.
How many times do you think you’ve prayed the Our Father? I think I might have prayed it a thousand times in the past year. This prayer is so familiar, it could become a bit too routine after so many repetitions. But, today, Jesus teaches his disciples, including us, not just a prayer we can pray, but how to pray. And that’s with persistence.
St. Ignatius teaches us that we should tell God what we need in our prayer. And Jesus tells us to keep on asking. God may already know what we need, but persistent prayer not only builds our connection with God, but also slowly transforms us. So, even when prayer becomes something routine, Jesus encourages us to keep going, to keep coming back and trusting in God even when we feel like we’re not getting an answer. Because God is listening. He wants us to keep knocking.
