DECEMBER 19, 2011
Monday of the Fourth Week of Advent
Reading 1: Judges 13: 2-7, 24-25
Psalm: Psalm 71: 3-4, 5-6, 16-17
Gospel: Luke 1: 5-25
“Do not be afraid … because your prayer has been heard”
When we were kids, we were taught that prayer is our means of communicating with God. Through prayers, we can tell Him of our concerns, happiness, experiences, as well as problems. When we receive the answers to our prayers as we had hoped, we immediately feel grateful and give praises to Him. However in times of desperation, hurt, pain, and suffering, we easily get frustrated when we feel that God has not yet answered our prayers. We feel impatient as though He might have forgotten about us, that we are unimportant to Him. What we fail to understand is that God always hears our prayers, and His answers do not come instantly.
Even if we do not realize it, God has His ways of reminding us that He is present in every minute of our existence, and all our prayers are heard. What we need to understand is all will be answered in His time. In the Gospel today, Zechariah finds out that his prayers have been heard, but did not believe the angel of the Lord that his prayers will be answered. Because of this he was punished to be mute until there was proof that his prayers were answered. Like Zechariah, we may become doubtful of God’s timing to answer our prayers. We may become impatient and some may even lose faith. In this way, we become mute in performing our duties as children of God. This season of advent, let us bring ourselves back to the awareness that Jesus is always present in our lives. Let us remind ourselves of God’s love for all mankind. May this season of joy and celebration also remind us to wait patiently until God gives us the best answers to the desires of our hearts. Until then, we should keep preparing ourselves for His arrival, and continue singing praises and songs to His glorious name.
Questions for reflection:
1. Do I become impatient when God does not answer my prayers immediately or feel that my prayers have not been heard?
1. What can I do to remind myself that God always hears my prayers especially when I feel that they seem to have been overlooked?
MS. ANGELICA KRYSTLE A. LIM
CLC Professional
