Listening in Prayer

Homily for Saturday of the Thirty-Second Week in Ordinary Time

As I have mentioned several times since we began reading the Gospel of St. Luke, the topic of prayer, as well as incidents where we find Jesus at prayer, are quite numerous. Today’s Gospel text speaks of the need to be persistent in prayer.

Prayer can be effective in our lives if we have a relationship with God. Relationships are built on a foundation that makes it possible for us to build our spiritual home on rock. We must remember, however, that prayer is not a monologue. Prayer is a dialogue where we both speak and listen. It is very easy for us to do all of the speaking in prayer. However, if we are constantly speaking, we will not be able to listen we must turn the ears of our hearts to the Lord. He wants nothing else other than to pour his love, mercy, grace, and wisdom into our heart. Listening to the voice of the Lord presumes a stillness of our own voice.

St. Luke sets a scene between a widow and a dishonest judge. The widow persists in her quest for justice, and the judge eventually relents and gives her that for which she asks. This Gospel text becomes a little clearer to me when I imagine that God is the widow. If we imagine God in this role, it becomes evident that the judge listens to what God has to say. He may not be doing it for the right reasons, but he is actually listening to the pleading of the widow.

God cries out for justice in our world. When we pray about our need for peace and our concern over the violence of our world, God’s voice joins with hours in this plea. No one could be more persistent than God. God never relents, never turns away from, never abandons those who cry for mercy.

As we pray today at this liturgy, we are told that we should never forget the marvels that God has done. We know that God has acted in the past, a knowledge that gives us certainty that God listens to our prayers. Let us never forget that we need to must be listening to God’s voice.