There is an American writer called Scott Hahn, who used to be a Presbyterian and was very anti-Catholic. He was an excellent preacher, so much so, that his church asked him if he would consider preaching full-time. He agreed and began studying more, to help him preach better. When he began to study the Fathers of the Church, who were some of the earliest writers who came after the Apostles, he kept noticing that the various aspects of the faith that they wrote about, the Catholics believed. As he came across more and more teachings of the faith that the Catholic Church believe, he realized that the Catholic Church had got it right and he converted, much to the consternation of his church. He is now a lecturer in theology in Stubenville, University. His conversion story called, Rome Sweet Home, is well worth reading. It is especially good for addressing arguments against our faith, because he has both sides.
In one of his talks he mentions that he had arranged to have a public debate with a Muslim about the differences between Christianity and Islam. Before they had the debate he met the Muslim and he mentioned to him that he would be talking about the fact that Christians understand God as a loving Father who looks after his children. Before he was able to go any further, he said that the other man got extremely upset and said that it is not right to talk about God as a Father. He said God is master and that it was insulting to speak about him as Father. The Muslim ended up refusing to have the debate at all. Scott says that this really brought home to him the difference in the way we understand God.
Jesus taught us to see and address God in a way that was difficult for many people then and now, to understand. The Jews in Jesus’ time were scandalised that Jesus would talk about God as Father, especially the way Jesus used the word ‘Abba’. A few years ago I was on a pilgrimage to Israel and I remember hearing a boy jumping up and down in front of his dad saying ‘abba’. It really brought home to me what it meant and how extraordinary it was of Jesus to tell us to address the Father in heaven in this way.
While God is all-powerful and doesn’t need us in any way, yet He invites us to be involved in what happens in the world. He asks us to take part in his creation, by interceding for each other, by being responsible for our actions, by making his world a better place; his world. That is the action of a good father with his children. Any parent doesn’t need their children’s help, especially when the children are small, but they love to allow the children to take part in things, for the sheer joy of having them there and helping them to learn. God does the same with us, even though there is the risk of us making a mess of things, which we regularly do.
In the first reading Abraham intercedes for the people of Sodom and Gomorrah. The towns have become so evil and depraved, God reveals to Abraham that He is going to wipe them out completely and in the classic Middle Eastern way, Abraham bargains his way down to the best deal. The wonderful thing is that God is happy to let him do this. God wanted him to intercede for the people. God wants us to intercede for the people around us. That’s why in each mass we have the prayers of intercession and they are general prayers, for the Church, world leaders, the needs of our community, those who have died.
When the Apostles ask Jesus to teach them how to pray, He teaches them what we know as the Our Father. But the Our Father is not just a prayer, but a template for how to pray. To me one of the most important things is that it doesn’t start by asking for our needs. It begins by acknowledging God’s existence, God’s holiness and that He is our Father, meaning someone who has created us and is intimately interested in our wellbeing. It is only in the second half of the prayer we ask for our needs.
Throughout the Bible it is striking how in so many situations where people are in need of God’s help, they don’t begin by praying for his help, but by acknowledging him and praising him. Only then do they ask for their needs.
Daniel
In the prophet Daniel, when God reveals to Daniel the interpretation of the king’s dream, his first reaction is to praise God:
May the name of God be blessed for ever and ever,
since wisdom and power are his alone...
To you, God of my fathers, I give thanks and praise
for having given me wisdom and strength (Dan 2:20, 23).
The three men in the furnace
In the same book, Daniel and two others refuse to worship a statue of the king. As a result they are thrown into a fire to be burnt alive. As they begin to pray to God to help them, Azariah begins:
May you be blessed and revered, Lord, God of our ancestors,
may your name be held glorious for ever. (Dan 3:26)
Then the other men begin to sing as well:
May you be blessed, Lord, God of our ancestors,
be praised and extolled for ever.
Blessed be your glorious and holy name... (Dan 3:52)
Tobit’s prayer when he goes blind
When Tobit goes blind, he prays to God to restore his sight to him, but he begins by saying:
You are just, O Lord, and just are all your works.
All your ways are grace and truth,
and you are the Judge of the world.
Therefore Lord, remember me... (Tobit 3:2-3)
And St. Paul writes, ‘Give thanks in all circumstances. For this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus’ (1 Thes 5:18). He doesn’t say, give thanks when things have worked out well for you, but ‘in all circumstances.’
That is also why we begin the Sunday mass by acknowledging that we are sinners and then we praise God: ‘Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to people of good will. We praise you, we bless you, we adore you…’ No matter what the situation, begin by praising God for his greatness and holiness and all He has done for us and then ask for your needs.
Then we come to the question that everyone wonders: 'Does God hear and answer my prayers?' So often I have heard people say, ‘God doesn’t answer my prayers.’ If that is true then Jesus was lying, because He said: ‘Ask and you will receive,' and 'The one who asks always receives.’ And something else he said, which is almost surprising, is where He told us to pray to the point of being annoying. If someone comes to the door to ask you for something, even if you don’t want to help them, if they ask often enough you will give it to them just to get rid of them. That’s how Jesus tells us to pray, which is not what you would expect. Don’t stop asking.
Then the question comes up with most of us, ‘How come I’m always asking for things and those prayers often aren’t answered?’ God sees all things and what we ask for is not always the wisest thing to ask for, or maybe it’s not the right time to get what we are asking. If your eight-year-old son asked for a chainsaw for his birthday, would you give it to him? Hopefully not. Now your child may think that you are really mean and never give him what he asks for, but you can see a bigger picture than he can, because you are older and wiser and God is the same with us. God does answer our prayers, but He doesn’t always answer them in the way that we expect, or understand, or even recognise. That is where we have to believe and trust that God knows what He is doing, even though it often makes no sense to us. The answer may not be what we want, or like, but we have to trust that when we get to heaven, or maybe before, we will understand why God answered us the way He did.
So, the Our Father teaches us to acknowledge and give praise to God first and only then to ask for our needs and we should keep asking for our needs, because the Lord always answers our prayers.
‘And I tell you, ask and you will receive; Seek and you will find. Knock and the door will be opened to you.'
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