Ask, and it will be given to you…Lk 11,9

Jesus invites us to pray today. He tells us what our prayer should be like and guarantees that it will be heard. “Ask, and you will receive; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks it will be opened” (Lk 11:9).

Our experience with prayer is often different; we feel that it “does not work” this way. Where do we make a mistake? How should we pray?

We must avoid the feeling of distrust that our prayer is ignored or not heard. The man in the Gospel knocks at his friend’s door at night to ask for a favor. Through perseverance, he receives the bread he needs. God listens to the persistent. Let us trust him because he is more than a friend; he is our Father. Jesus encourages us to believe in God’s fatherly goodness, which goes beyond human fatherly love: “If you then, although you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” (Lk 11:13). And these are the important words of today’s Gospel, to ask for the Holy Spirit and not just for material things. “How much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” This request is always heard. Blessed Brother Giles of Assisi summarized the idea of ​​this Gospel this way: “Pray faithfully and devotedly, because the grace that God did not give you once, he can grant you at another time. For your part, humbly focus your whole mind on God, and God will give you his grace when he chooses.

Thoughts related to today’s Gospel:

You tell us to cry out, and we will be heard; to knock, and it will be opened; to ask, and it will be given. Eternal Father, your servants cry out to your mercy; therefore answer them › St. Catherine of Siena.

When we need help, Jesus did not tell us to give up and close ourselves off but to turn to the Father and ask Him with trust for all our needs, even the most ordinary ones › Francis.

The Holy Spirit, who teaches the Church and reminds her of everything that Jesus said, also educates her for a life of prayer by inspiring “various forms” of prayer: praise, supplication, intercession, thanksgiving, and praise › CCC 2644.