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Some years ago, an extensive study was done on religion in America. Among other things, the study found that 92% of Americans believe in the existence of God.
On the surface, that’s pretty impressive… 92%!
But we all know statistics can be deceiving. There’s a huge difference between a person who believes God exists… and a person of faith.
For example, how many people believe in the existence of God like they believe in the existence of Mars, Saturn, or Pluto?
They’re all out there somewhere, but none of them have an impact on my daily life.
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What would be a much more revealing – and important – statistic is the number of Americans who pray.
Do I pray? And if so, how often?
At times our prayer may be as simple as saying, “Good morning, God. I love you and I give you this day.”
Other times, our prayer may be much more intense. Perhaps there’s been a moment when we poured our hearts out to God, hoping he’d cure cancer, open a door, help us find a partner, or a job.
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That’s where we find Abraham in our first reading.
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Abraham’s torn with grief. He knows the Lord is going to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah because of the peoples’ sinful, unrepentant behavior.
But he begs the Lord for mercy because his nephew, Lot, and his family are living there. Like the other residents, Lot has done terrible things, but Abraham intercedes on his behalf.
“Suppose there were fifty innocent people in the city,” he says. “Would you wipe out the place rather than spare it?”
And the Lord replied, “If I find fifty innocent people, I will spare it.”
“What about forty-five?”Abraham says. “Forty? Thirty? Twenty? Ten?”
Look at what Abraham’s doing – he’s wrestling with God! Verse by verse, he keeps pushing and pushing until he gets what he wants. His prayer isn’t long and drawn out; it’s simple.
But it’s filled with faith and hope.
As it turns out his nephew, Lot, is saved.
Perhaps that’s something we could all do – pray for those we love who are distant from God. Like Abraham, our prayers may help bring them back.
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We must be careful, however.
Prayer isn’t magic – and we don’t always get what we want. If, for example, we prayed for a new Mercedes today and got it tomorrow, then everyone would pray!
But that’s not prayer – that’s just wishful thinking. Prayer is our conversation with God; it’s the time we spend asking for what we want or need.
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And this is where it gets tough.
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Jesus tells us in the Gospel, “Ask and you shall receive, seek and you will find.” He doesn’t say, “Ask and you shall receive whatever what you want.”
Rather, ask and you shall receive… something. At times that “something” isn’t exactly what we want… But other times it is!
What’s something I want from God?
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Maybe we’re hoping for healing in our marriage, the remission of cancer, a job, renewal in our Church, or inner peace.
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“Ask and you shall receive,” Jesus says, “seek and you will find.”
Who knows, we may get exactly what we’re looking for.
But if we never ask, we’ll never know.