Believing in the Power of Prayer - by Fr Tom Rouse, Lower Hutt

April 26, 2022

Believe in the power of prayer

 

 

Reflecting upon the passage from Exodus 32:7-14 about Moses pleading with God to spare Israel, the question comes to mind: Can we change the mind, the intent or the plan of God? Just off hand, it hardly seems likely! God is the creator of the universe.

So, what difference will a squeak from puny little creatures on a little planet, tucked away in an obscure solar system within a galaxy that floats around in a space that is so great we haven’t got to the end of it yet, make. Mind you, the writer of this story in Exodus probably thought that the earth was the centre of a universe that barely extended beyond the sky.

Nevertheless, the question is still hanging there. Can I or we persuade God to make a U-turn in regard to his plans for the universe, for our planet or for our human history? Well, why not? What’s the point of prayers of petition? Through prayer we believe that we can turn God’s attention to someone who is seriously ill, to a situation that seems to be out of control, like the present war in Ukraine.

This brings me to the Gospel of John 5:31-47 where Jesus challenges his people to believe that he was sent by God. “You have never heard God’s voice, you have never seen the shape of God, and so God’s word finds no home in you because you do not believe in the one God sent.” Later in this speech, Jesus points to Moses and says, “You put your hope in him and he will unfortunately end up testifying against you. If you really believed in Moses, you would believe in me too”. So, the challenge is to believe in the power of prayer, especially the prayer that is offered to God in Jesus’ name. In the end, the challenge is to believe in what we call the incarnation, the belief that God chose to become human in order that we may share in divine life.

If this is true, if we believe this, then God is not far away in some distant galaxy or planet. God is to be found in our hearts and in our lives, in our minds and in our prayers. Yes, God extends to the end or the boundaries or the extent of this ever-expanding universe. But God is also the one whom we believe entered into our human history and enabled us to trust through faith that prayer is basically a conversation with a companion or a mother or father and we say, “Please take care of my friend who is ill; please look upon the brutal devastation of war being experienced by the people of Ukraine. Even though we find it hard to believe that things can get better, we trust that you hold these people in your hands and that our plea will be heard.”

Fr Tom Rouse - Columban Mission, Lower Hutt

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