We should note that the last thought in today’s gospel is the “Golden Rule.”  Perhaps our prayers are selfish and we should be praying not so much for our own needs but the needs of others.

Thursday of the First Week of Lent

Esther C:12, 14-16, 23-25

Psalm 138:1-2ab, 2cde-3, 7c-8

M atthew 7:7-12  "Ask, and it will be given you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. (8) For every one who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. (9) Or what man of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? (10) Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? (11) If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good  things to those who ask him! (12) So whatever you wish that men would do to you, do so to them; for this is the law and the prophets.

Meditation

J esus asks us to pray, “Ask … Seek … Knock …”  There is a persistence in this request of Jesus.  But we frankly reflect on the distraction that many times we have prayed and our prayers do not seem to be answered!

Firstly, sometimes our prayers are answered by a heavenly reason as a “NO!”  Reflect on what parents need to do when adolescents ask for permission for something that the parents know will not be good for them.  Perhaps God is answering our prayers with a ‘no’ in that same sense.

Secondly, we should note that the last thought in today’s gospel is the “Golden Rule.”  Perhaps our prayers are selfish and we should be praying not so much for our own needs but the needs of others.

Thirdly, we can pray in the mood that Queen Esther did in our first reading.  She humbly asks the Lord to protect her people as she places herself in “harm’s way” to persuade the king to be merciful.  We also should come to the Lord humbly aware of our need for his help but yet aware that we have no entitlement to receiving it.  We simply place our trust in what we hope for from the Lord.  This abandonment to divine providence helps us remember all the good the Lord gives us is a gift which we do not deserve.

So we place our prayers humbly before the Lord, praying for our needs and the needs of others, knowing that the Lord is still full of mercy and compassion and will do what is best for us.  Meanwhile we should continue to “Do to others whatever we would have them do for us!”

Supplementary Reading

Treasures in Darkness

I will give you the treasures of darkness, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the Lord, the God of Israel, who summons you by name. ~ Isaiah 45:3

"I have never been in this place before. It is new ground for me, and I find I am way out of my comfort zone. I am scared to death to trust Him at this level. I had to confess to the Lord I have not been able to accept or believe His love for me in this area." Those were the words I expressed to a friend when I was in a difficult place in my life. That day when I confessed those words, God led me to this passage of Scripture.

What we perceive as dark periods in our lives are designed to be treasures from God. They are actually riches stored in secret places. We cannot see those times in this light because of the often-accompanying pain or fear that prevents us from accepting these times as treasures. They have a particular purpose from God's viewpoint: "...so that you may know that I am the Lord...who summons you by name."

You see, unless we are cast into times in which we are completely at God's mercy for breakthroughs in our lives, we will never experience God's faithfulness in those areas. We will never know how personal He is, or that He can be trusted to meet the deepest needs in our lives. God wants each of us to know that we are "summoned by name." Every hair of our head is numbered. He knows every activity we are involved in. His love for you and me knows no bounds, and He will take every opportunity to demonstrate this to us.

Has God brought you into a place of darkness? Trust Him today to reveal that hidden treasure that can be found in this darkness. Let Him summon you by name. -- OS Hillman

For meditation/readings of the previous days/months , please click any of the following links:

http://his-ways-better-than-our-ways.blogspot.com/

http://www.mabuhayradio.com/sections/the-daily-bread.html

http://butuanglobalforum.org/cgi-bin/dboard/YaBB.pl?num=1229339492/220