Pray in Earnest

A Reflection on the First Reading for Sunday, October 23rd, 2022:
Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time

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Sirach
35.15-17, 20-22

​The Lord is the judge, and with him there is no partiality. He will not show partiality to the poor but he will listen to the prayer of one who is wronged. The Lord will not ignore the supplication of the orphan, or the widow when she pours out her complaint.

The person whose service is pleasing to the Lord will be accepted, and their prayer will reach to the clouds.

The prayer of the humble pierces the clouds, and it will not rest until it reaches its goal; it will not desist until the Most High responds and does justice for the righteous, and executes judgment. Indeed, the Lord will not delay.

I have a number of care needs in my home. I know things could be far worse, but there were moments last year when their combined weight was overwhelming.

It was a humbling and fraught time. I found it difficult to pray or to pray in the scheduled, consistent way Christianity encourages. I’ve never been great at keeping much in life consistent, let alone daily prayer time, and I spent more time trying to distract myself from uncomfortable feelings and realities, rather than sitting with them, with God.

This story line is predictable. Another “Come to Jesus” moment was fast approaching. Comically, it came while lying on my basement floor after exercise when I was trying to look after just one more thing – myself. Completely spent, my anger not at all dissipated by the physical exertion I’d just put myself through, I glared at the ceiling as if I could bore holes through it.

“Are you trying to break me?!” I snarled.

A bit dramatic, maybe (and an incorrect assessment) but it was probably the most sincere thing I’d said to God in months. 

I felt God breathe: “Finally. Now I have your heart.”

Prayer is an enigma sometimes. There are so many different forms and experiences of it: silent, singing, rote, devotional, lectio – you name it. You never know when the Lord will knock you off your feet, or when you’ll find yourself knee-deep in desolation. I do know that there is no bad or unproductive prayer and that the most effective prayer is the one we actually undertake. And, of course, prayer is not always as emotionally laden as the one made on my basement floor.

The point Sirach makes is that God loves prayer made in earnest, that is to say, with one’s whole heart. He particularly holds dear our cries of injustice. He is a just and fair God and, while we may not always see or understand how prayers are answered, He will not delay in responding justly in His perfect time. 

Sirach also reminds us that genuinely pouring out our hearts, or praying for someone else’s, is never done in vain. Prayer does not dissipate off into some void with no meaning. Genuine prayer is good. It is alive, the expression of the heart of a living person to God. It has the ability to "pierce the clouds” and "reach its goals" not by content, length, eloquence or austerity, but by sincerity and humility, which move the heart of the Father.

Prayer is just as much one of our needs as is the thing we are praying for. It is much like breathing. It keeps us alive. People have been praying for me and the ones I love, especially when I felt I couldn’t. It has been like spiritual CPR, keeping me going. I may have been actively engaging with what needed tending in my home, but I know there are many things that could not have happened without God’s hand over them. I am grateful.

Count me among those who have poured out my complaint to the Lord. I am one whose supplication has not been ignored. I have been held up by the prayer of others. 

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Michelynne Gomez

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