But we know ultimately prayer is about love, not insight. It is meant to establish friendship. Friendship as we know is not as much a question of having insight into each other’s lives as it is of mutually connecting with each other with affection and understanding.  Friendship as St John of the Cross states is a question of attaining “boldness with each other.” In friendship when we have touched each other’s lives deeply we can be bold with each other. We can ask each other for help, ask each other to be present without needing an excuse, or share our deepest feeling, fears or concerns. Good friendship inspires boldness.

It is this kind of boldness with God - when we are comfortable enough with God to ask for help, just as we would a trusted friend.  But to reach this kind of trust we must first let God touch our heart where we feel God’s affection for us.

The persistent and bold Widow who secured justice.

Jesus, in today’s gospel, Luke 18:1-8, challenges us to keep our faith alive and never lose heart. Our good God does not take pleasure in seeing us struggle through life. At the same time, we cannot manipulate God into granting us our requests. It is only through self-surrender that we can experience God’s help. Today’s first reading [Exodus 17:8-13] emphasise the importance of praying for one another. The Israelites were able to defeat the Amalekites because Moses kept his hands raised in prayer supported at times by his friends. So also, on our faith journey we need others to raise their hands in prayer for us as we do for them.

The lack of good will in the parable of the judge invites us to understand that God will unfailingly answer the call to those who ask unlike the slowness of the judge. In the Glenstal Bible Missal we read: ‘the lessons of the parable are clear: the problem for us is that God seems to remain silent and inactive in spite of our petitions. By encouraging his followers to persevere in asking, Jesus suggest the relationship between faith and prayer …Faith has need of the breath of prayer if it is to flower in good works and remain alert and not grow weak and fade away. Faith is a living reality and cannot continue if it is to be lived, that we ‘pray continually and never lose heart.’ [pg 1358.]  

Marie Weatherall