Weekly Reflection

Persistent Prayer

To the best of our knowledge, the authors of the New Testament did not spend much time in each other’s company following the Resurrection. They took their charge to go to the nations and spread the Good News seriously. Paul and Luke are an exception to this, having travelled together on missionary journeys. It is no accident, then, that perseverance in prayer is a favorite theme of both authors. Luke’s Gospel (which speaks most frequently about Jesus’ own prayer), Acts, and the Pauline Letters all exhort us to unceasing prayer.

Paul’s personality was certainly tenacious; he most likely would have admired the persistent widow in today’s Gospel passage. The purpose of these passages is not to make us think—as infants and toddlers do—that if we keep asking or yelling or crying we will eventually get our way. No, the point is that when true disciples believe in something, we will persist in following that belief whether it is convenient or not, even when we come up against seemingly insurmountable obstacles.

Our help is from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. - Psalm 121