Prayer. It\u2019s one of the three pillars of our Lenten observance. And it is the topic of both readings today. In fact, both readings are about asking for something in prayer. And both give us key advice about what kind of prayer works.<\/p>\n
The story of Esther is fascinating. I recommend that all of you read the book of Esther- it is short. But let me just put today\u2019s reading in context.<\/p>\n
Esther is a beautiful Jewish maiden living in exile in Persia with the Jews. The King is smitten by her and makes her his Queen, not knowing that she is Jewish. Her Father gets on the wrong side of the King\u2019s right hand man, a ruthless, arrogant, hateful person This man tricks the King into signing a decree that would put all the Jews to the sword. And that is where we join Esther this morning- as she prays for deliverance of her people.<\/p>\n
Although Esther is the Queen, the King has a concubine and doesn\u2019t see Esther all that often. She cannot approach him; he must approach her. Hence, her dilemma.
\nNotice several things about Esther\u2019s prayer. First, Esther is giving her whole attention to her prayer. All distractions and everything else have been put aside. Second, she is humble before the Lord, prostrating herself and her entourage. Then she blesses the Lord and recognizes Him as the Lord of her ancestors. Only after all that does she ask for something. Lastly, she is not asking for a miracle- she is only asking for inspiration. She says \u201dPut in my mouth persuasive words in the presence of the lion and turn his heart\u201d. So Esther recognizes the need for her to act. She is asking God to enable her, not for God to work miracles. And we get the impression that she trusts that God will help her.<\/p>\n
Esther\u2019s prayer is answered, as you will find if you read the book. But the events that unfold are truly unexpected. There is no way anyone could have foreseen these events. God\u2019s solution solves all Esther\u2019s problems, and makes things better than she could have expected. And this makes a very important point. When we ask for God\u2019s help, our expectations can get in the way. God will answer our prayer, but will not necessarily meet our expectations. God knows what is best for us and that is what he will give us. In the long run, we are better off with God\u2019s solution and not our expectations.<\/p>\n
Now the Gospel comes after Jesus presentation of the Lord\u2019s Prayer. He explains the Lord\u2019s prayer after presenting it. Then in this chapter Jesus goes into detail about when we ask for something. He tells us to \u201cAsk and it will be given to you; seek and you shall find.\u201d But what will be given to us is what we need, not necessarily what we want. We are, after all, God\u2019s children. We often respond to a child\u2019s request with what they need, not what they want; And it is no different with God and his children.<\/p>\n
It may seem to you that some specific expectation is the thing that is best for you- a home or place, a job, a promotion, a relationship with someone, a skill, and any number of other things. But when you pray for such things, keep an open mind. God may have a better place, a better job, another person, or a different skill for you. And in the long run, God\u2019s way will be better.<\/p>\n
God is big on trust. We tell our children the same thing- trust us. But sometimes that can be hard. Because, just like our children, we are disappointed that things don\u2019t go our way even after prayer. But consider this: When Jesus says the law and the prophets is \u201cDo to others whatever you would have them do to you\u201d, then be assured of this. God will always do right for you, because He is beyond the law and the prophets.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Thursday of First Week of Lent (U) Esth C: 12, 14-16, 23-25; Mt 7: 7-12 Dc. Larry Brockman Prayer. It\u2019s one of the three pillars of our Lenten observance. And it is the topic of both readings today. In fact, both readings are about asking for something in prayer. And both give us key advice […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[5],"tags":[538,51],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1060"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1060"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1060\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1061,"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1060\/revisions\/1061"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1060"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1060"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1060"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}