The Relationship Between Prayer and Faith
When read in very small chunks, Sacred Scripture, especially the Gospels, yields so many subtle wrinkles and wonderful insights. This morning, I happened to read 10 short verses, Matthew 21:18-27, in which the Holy Spirit allowed me to see a deeper contour that I had not considered much before. Specifically, I was brought to ponder the intimate relationship between prayer and faith.
In this short section, Jesus begins teaching His disciples by announcing the power of faith to cause fig trees to wither and mountains to move. Most Christians are aware of this basic teaching of Christ on the virtue of faith. However, the next sentence provides depth of understanding that is less often considered. Jesus states: "And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith" (Mt 21:22). Quite clearly, the power of faith must be coupled with prayer, as it seems that the two are mutually cultivated.
The passage of Matthew's gospel that follows sheds more light on what Christ intends to reveal. After His bold statement on the unity of prayer and faith, the Lord engages in a dialogue with "the chief priests and the elders of the people" regarding His entry into Jerusalem and his cleansing of the Temple (Mt 21:23). The inquirers wish to know the authority by which he does these things, and from whom His authority comes. To their question, Christ poses a question in reply, and they are confounded because they cannot find a loophole by which to trick the Messiah.
This brief exchange reveals the very limited nature of human understanding. Jesus' opponents sought to use legalistic trickery to ensnare the God-Man, yet they could not. Quite often, I suspect, we are guilty of doing the same thing in our own relationship with Christ. We bargain, we have ulterior motives, we try to hold "trump cards" as in a card game. I know that I have been guilty of such. As my pastor has said many times, "We would rather have Christ's answers than have communion with Him." It seems that we think that if we just have the right bargaining chip, God will "see my point."
So, the relationship between prayer and faith is accentuated more clearly. As we seek answers from on high, we must remember that they will only be revealed in prayer and via the virtue of faith. The Catechism of the Catholic Church reminds us, "One enters into prayer...by the narrow gate of faith" (paragraph 2656). Faith is the gateway to prayer, but prayer also enhances faith. In prayer we grow ever closer to the Trinity. We become sons of God, and we make requests in filial boldness (CCC 2610). By being closer to God, we know and understand more about what he wants for us and from us; and we begin to desire those same things. We ought only to ask for what we desire.
If we desire God's answers more than a relationship with Him, we will continue to play legalistic "slight-of-hand" with the Almighty and Omniscient Lord. (Actually, we will be playing slight-of-hand only with ourselves, because we cannot trick God.) If we want to maintain control and authority over our own lives, we will never grow in faith or prayer or filial boldness. We will be like the elders of Jesus' day: we will be utterly confounded.
However, if we learn to surrender in faith to God's providence, and if we learn to pray that God's will is done (remember that line from the "Our Father"...), then we will grow in faith; then we will receive those things that we request in prayer. Ultimately, we must come to terms with the fact that God knows better than we do before our questions will be answerd. For this we must develop faith and we must take time to pray.
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| Jesus Curses the Fig Tree (Matthew 21:19) |
The passage of Matthew's gospel that follows sheds more light on what Christ intends to reveal. After His bold statement on the unity of prayer and faith, the Lord engages in a dialogue with "the chief priests and the elders of the people" regarding His entry into Jerusalem and his cleansing of the Temple (Mt 21:23). The inquirers wish to know the authority by which he does these things, and from whom His authority comes. To their question, Christ poses a question in reply, and they are confounded because they cannot find a loophole by which to trick the Messiah.
This brief exchange reveals the very limited nature of human understanding. Jesus' opponents sought to use legalistic trickery to ensnare the God-Man, yet they could not. Quite often, I suspect, we are guilty of doing the same thing in our own relationship with Christ. We bargain, we have ulterior motives, we try to hold "trump cards" as in a card game. I know that I have been guilty of such. As my pastor has said many times, "We would rather have Christ's answers than have communion with Him." It seems that we think that if we just have the right bargaining chip, God will "see my point."
So, the relationship between prayer and faith is accentuated more clearly. As we seek answers from on high, we must remember that they will only be revealed in prayer and via the virtue of faith. The Catechism of the Catholic Church reminds us, "One enters into prayer...by the narrow gate of faith" (paragraph 2656). Faith is the gateway to prayer, but prayer also enhances faith. In prayer we grow ever closer to the Trinity. We become sons of God, and we make requests in filial boldness (CCC 2610). By being closer to God, we know and understand more about what he wants for us and from us; and we begin to desire those same things. We ought only to ask for what we desire.
If we desire God's answers more than a relationship with Him, we will continue to play legalistic "slight-of-hand" with the Almighty and Omniscient Lord. (Actually, we will be playing slight-of-hand only with ourselves, because we cannot trick God.) If we want to maintain control and authority over our own lives, we will never grow in faith or prayer or filial boldness. We will be like the elders of Jesus' day: we will be utterly confounded.
However, if we learn to surrender in faith to God's providence, and if we learn to pray that God's will is done (remember that line from the "Our Father"...), then we will grow in faith; then we will receive those things that we request in prayer. Ultimately, we must come to terms with the fact that God knows better than we do before our questions will be answerd. For this we must develop faith and we must take time to pray.
