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Saturday 6th Week Easter
Dominican Retreat House
May 16, 2015
QUESTIONS ABOUT
PRAYER ++++++++++++++++++++
Ø
Yesterday’s
Gospel said there’ll come a day when we will have no more questions to ask of
the Lord
Ø
Even
the most devout Christian must have questions at times about how prayer works,
how effective it is, about why we should pray at all!
BELIEF, MORALS,
& PRAYER ++++++++++++++++++++
Ø
1
of most trustworthy signs of a believer is the willingness to pray, to continue
to pray, after all, that’s probably why we come away on a retreat
Ø
R
beliefs & R morals R less convincing signs of R following of J than R praying
is
Ø
Belief
can, at times, be simply a mental thing
Ø
The
morals we practice are often duplicated and even surpassed by many nonbelievers
Ø
But
prayer shows a profound confidence there is a God and that this God is
concerned about all that we pray about
Ø
Prayer
is a practice that make absolutely no sense apart from a genuine trust in God
and in God’s willingness to help
Ø
It’s
true that none of us may have a sure grip on how prayer works, but a belief in
it is essential
PRAYER IN TIME OF
NEED ++++++++++++++++++++++
Ø
When
cancer strikes, when someone loses a job, when a marriage is in trouble, when a
teenage grandchild seems headed for disaster, when an accident or illness
worries us, we pray
Ø
We
trust that someway & somehow God will help
Ø
Out
trust does not mean we have to expect God to change the laws of the universe
Ø
It
will more likely be something much more subtle
Ø
Perhaps
as a result of prayer someone for whom we pray learns how to deal with some
disaster or big worry
CONCLUSION ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Ø
We
are better off in the long run not trying to figure out what God might or
should do
Ø
Instead,
we trust that God has ways of which we know so little
Ø
“Ask and you will receive, so that
your joy may be complete” Jesus assures us in John 16:24
Ø
It’s
in silence, in retreat from noise of daily life…
Ø
It’s
in prayer we recapture & experience joy that is already within us!
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
