30th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year B
We always talk about prayer. We always talk about its importance in our lives as Christians. We are always reminded by the Church that prayer is the key to God’s heart. But why exactly do we pray and what is the best way to pray? With the story of the healing of Bartimaeus we will know why we pray and how best to pray.
Why do we pray? We pray because prayer is our only means of communication with God, our only way of communicating with Him to praise Him, to worship Him, to adore Him, to thank Him for all He does in our lives and to ask Him for our needs. This is why Bartimaeus never kept silent as Jesus passed by. He kept on crying out saying, “Jesus, son of David, have pity on me.” Even when he was rebuked by the crowd and told to be silent, he kept calling out all the more, screaming, “Son of David, have pity on me.” He made known his need to Jesus and Jesus cured him. So if you don’t pray and communicate with God, how then are you going to make your needs known to Him? If you don’t pray and communicate with God then how are you going to adore, praise, and worship Him? If you don’t pray and communicate with God, how then are going to thank Him for all His blessings, graces and mercies upon you?
Another reason why we pray is because, “Prayer is the key that opens heaven; the favors we ask descend upon us the very instant our prayers ascend to God” said St. Augustine. Hence, we pray also because prayer is the key to heaven and there is power in prayer, because in and through prayer, we experience the power of God like Bartimaeus did in today’s gospel reading.
How should we pray? Bartimaeus shows us the best way to pray. From his example, we can infer that the best way to pray is to pray with respect and devotion to God, with perseverance, with humility and with total resignation to God’s will. Bartimaeus called on Jesus with respect, devotion and humility as He shouted “Jesus, son of David, have pity on me; Son of David, have pity on me.” He was also persevering and never gave up when the crowd rebuked him, telling him to be silent. He also trusted in Jesus Christ and totally resigned in Him saying, “Master, I want to see,” when Jesus asked him “What do you want me to do for you?”
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, let us understand and appreciate the importance and power of prayer as taught us in today’s gospel reading by always communicating with God with respect and devotion; with a spirit of perseverance, with humility, and with total resignation to God’s will.
