Persistence in Prayer. Moses Gives a Lesson For Us Today!

Persistence in Prayer. Moses Gives a Lesson For Us Today!

In the first reading today (not included within this audio), we hear about Moses and the battle with the Amalekites.

We all heard this story in which Joshua leads men into battle. Moses, who is not a traditional soldier, climbs the mountain and holds up his arms and prays to heaven.  Even in battle, there are times when there are more important things than just the soldiers.

As long as Moses prayed with his arms held high, the Israel warriors had the advantage.  When his arms grew tied, the enemy were on the advantage.  Moses would have two assistants, Hur and Aaron, help him hold and pray throughout the day.

The lesson: there is something more important than the skill, the strength, and the talent of the warrior. It is not that these characteristics are unimportant.  It is that something else is more important. Moses stretches his hands out as the people struggle.

This is important to us. This story is not just a history lesson from many centuries ago. It impacts us today!  We all struggle too. We struggle with the challenges of life.  Moses could not pray to heaven . . . alone.  He cannot do it by himself.

The warriors are out supporting the people. Moses supports the warriors with his prayers.  And someone also needs to support Moses. Note what scripture is telling us!  No one person can do it all! No single person is complete or sufficient by himself or herself.

Pray Regularly . . . and Be Persistent

The Gospel teaches us a similar lesson.  It teaches us to pray regularly, without becoming weary. The Gospel parable today is about the corrupt judge.  So, what does that have to do with prayer?  The Lord is talking about what we experience . . . even today!

When we pray, we often worry about not being heard. We worry about not being listened to in our prayer. We very often worry about asking . . . and not receiving!

These insecurities about praying to God are common.  We often ask ourselves what good is it. Maybe I should just stop praying. Again, these are common experiences and thoughts.

The Homily walks through the scriptures and provides a lesson for our own prayer life.  If persistence wears down the judge in the parable, how much will persistence do for someone that is good and faithful. Persistence does something for us!  Hear more within the audio.

Listen to this Meditation Media.