Luke 11: 5-13
Jesus said to his disciples: "Suppose one of you has a friend to whom he goes at midnight and says, 'Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, for a friend of mine has arrived at my house from a journey and I have nothing to offer him,' and he says in reply from within, 'Do not bother me; the door has already been locked and my children and I are already in bed. I cannot get up to give you anything.' I tell you, if he does not get up to give him the loaves because of their friendship, he will get up to give him whatever he needs because of his persistence.
"And I tell you, ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. What father among you would hand his son a snake when he asks for a fish? Or hand him a scorpion when he asks for an egg? If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?"
Dawg's Thought:
Today's prayer intention - for the conversion of souls for those you know who have fallen away from the faith.
I am terrible at asking for help, which you could say is a "childish" trait. I have seen children who, when you ask if they need help, they respond with, "no, I can do it myself."
Of course, when I realize that I'm in over my head, or I am at a loss, I ask for help. It is humbling to accept help, and in today's reading, I am reminded that God wants us to "seek" and "knock" and do what we can to acknowledge that we need Our Lord. He wants us to purse with such persistence to the point of thinking that we may be bothering Him. That's the type of fervent prayer God wants from us.
Today in the Church is the Memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary. On October 7th, 1571, Turkish fleets, hoping to conquer Europe, were defeated. This major victory over Muslim forces was achieved through praying the Rosary.
The Muslim forces were strong, which brings us back to knowing when we need to turn to prayer. Christians in Europe, in humility, turned to the Our Blessed Mother for help. They knocked.
In our world today, we seem to love to talk about about the issues of our world today: abortion, gay marriages, etc. We would rather talk about how bad a job a politician is doing versus turning to prayer. We would rather read more about the evils of what is going on in our world today than being humble and recognizing that we are powerless unless we become humble and turn to God in prayer.
Knock at the door with persistence, humbly recognizing that we need God's intervention in our world today. Remember the power of Our Blessed Mother's intercession in defeating the Turkish Muslim fleet, and allow her to "knock at the door" of her Son, Jesus Christ, on our behalf.
Take care and God Bless.
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