Persistence and Prayer in Turbulent Times

Eternal God, in whom mercy is endless, and the treasury of compassion inexhaustible, look kindly upon us and increase Your mercy upon us, that in difficult moments, we might not despair, not become despondent, but with great confidence, submit ourselves to Your holy will, which is Love and Mercy itself, Amen.  This prayer from the Divine Chaplet of Mercy as prayed by Saint Faustina is quite appropriate today.  I remember some months ago,  a fellow Catholic Blogger member asking that we pray this for our nation in midst of the political turmoil and the contentious election season. Since I can't remember who it was, I want to thank you for this prompting,  for this prayer pamphlet had been sitting on my bedside table for years without use.

Today as I reflected on the Old Testament reading from Exodus, I visualized a tired Moses as he tried to keep his hands up in order to spur on Joshua's troops as they battled with Amalek. Persistent in his efforts, he still needed the assistance of Aaron and Hur in order for his people to be victorious.  Again we hear in the Gospel of the woman who unceasingly badgered the judge for a righteous decision against an adversary.  Paul urges us in his letter to Timothy to be persistent whether it is convenient or inconvenient and again in Philippians 4:5-7 to offer all in prayer to God without anxiety.

I am sure we all have moments in our life in which the effort to put into prayer our petitions seemed beyond reach. The feelings that God was not listening to us, that He did not care, or just general malaise about the events surrounding us. I have encountered some very dark moments in my own life where I just screamed at God, "take this feeling or thorn in my side away, " over and over again.  None of my prayers seemed to be heard or were they? For myself I was looking for the quick fix or answer, not willing to subscribe to the idea of persistence.

Our society is full of quick fixes, but this in itself is contrary to the will of God. If I were given quick answers I would have no need for God after a while. I would as I had experienced in my self-centered world,  that if an answer came quickly it was of my own doing thus I create the image of myself as a knowing God. Many years of brokenness and anger toward God prevailed. But for a merciful God, I have learned some prayer requests are not always answered in my time.  Perhaps this is the lesson I needed. I needed assistance in making my requests known much like Moses who needed to rely on the help of Aaron and Hur or support from fellow Christians who are on the eternal journey.  I also needed and still need to be persistent much like the woman in today's Gospel even when it is not convenient. To the dismay of many in our world today, the Truth is in the Word of God which is life. I face daily challenges in this for it is easier to shrink and not proclaim the Gospel for fear of not being accepted. Prayer and faith as we are told today are the only answer for me, even when I find each and every day as our nation becomes increasingly divided as we approach the November election.