Saturday of the 7th week in ordinary time
James 5: 13-20 Mark 10: 13-16
Theme: The power of prayer
The power of prayer cannot be overemphasized in our lives as children of God and Christians. Our ancestors in faith were able to succeed in their lives because they were prayerful and lived their lives sincerely like the little children that Jesus talks about in today’s gospel. Beginning with Jesus, one would notice that even though he was God, he never took prayer for granted. Before any major decision he took in his life, he always took out time to pray first, showing that he believed in prayer and in the guidance of his father and the Holy Spirit. If Jesus who was God saw the need for prayer before making important decisions, let alone you and I who are mortals. We also see the action of Elijah the prophet, who prayed and there was no rain, and prayed again and there was rain; God honours the prayer of his children.
God does not disappoint his children who pray to him with a humble and sincere heart. He answers their prayer at his own time and in a way that is best for them. Dearly beloved in Christ, it is important that we play our own part as we present our praise and petitions to God. He is ever faithful and will never disappoint all those who come to him in faith with a sincere heart. Our own role is dependent on our lifestyle. You cannot be praying for God’s blessings when you are source of another’s challenges; there must be sincerity of heart in whatever we do. We must strive to live our life based on the golden rule, do to others what you want them to do to you. When we are conscious of this saying in our daily life, then we can pray in faith, believing that God will answer our prayers.
This does not rule out the fact that we are humans, and we make mistakes from time to time; but we must be humble enough to own our mistakes. This is when the sacrament of reconciliation comes in handy, to put us in the right state of mind to seek the mercy of God and present our petitions before him. Ask yourself, when was the last time you went for the sacrament of reconciliation and what are you doing to become a better person? May the good Lord bless his words in our hearts, in the name of the father and of the son and of the holy spirit, Amen. Peace be with you.