Praying so that God cannot say “no”
When they had crossed
over, Elijah said to Elisha, “Ask for whatever I may do for you, before I am
taken from you.” Elisha answered, “May I receive a double portion of your
spirit.” “You have asked something that is not easy,” Elijah replied. “Still,
if you see me taken up from you, your wish will be granted; otherwise not.” As
they walked on conversing, a flaming chariot and flaming horses came between
them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind. When Elisha saw it happen he
cried out, “My father! my father! Israel’s chariots and drivers!” But when he
could no longer see him, Elisha gripped his own garment and tore it in two.
I think if you’re going to pray,
pray for something big, something bold and daring, pray God will give you the
moon! Fr. Benedict Groeschel works in
the Bronx and is a smash-mouth New Yorker. He often says, “I pray one day God
will touch Madonna (the singer) and she will repent, change her life and become
a cloistered Carmelite nun.” Madonna has
a better chance of becoming a Carmelite than I do. Groeschel explains, “If you’re going to pray,
pray big.” The trouble with prayer is,
of course, God doesn’t always give us what we ask for, does he? Indeed, it seems he says “no” more often than
he says “yes.” So, we’re tempted to give
up on prayer, and think, “Why bother? He’ll just say ‘no’ anyway.” C. S. Lewis even wrote an essay on this
dilemma titled, “Petitionary Prayer: A Problem without a Solution.” But I think there is a solution. A friend told me in the seminary, “When God
says ‘no’ to what we ask, it’s only because he wants to give us something
better.” Just like when parents tell
their child “no more cookies,” it’s because they want to give their child good
health and avoid diabetes! When God says
“no” he says “yes” to something better.
In the first reading today, we see
Elisha praying very boldly. He requests
“a double portion” of the spirit of Elijah.
Talk about asking for the moon!
Elijah even cautions: “You have asked for something that is not easy.” The crazy thing is Elisha gets what he prayed
for. Why? Well, it’s because Elisha asked for the best
thing possible, and God couldn’t say “no.”
God couldn’t think of anything better to give him. It’s as if Elijah says, “Bingo! You’ve asked for the best! It won’t be easy for God to come up with
anything better than that!” When you
pray, pray big.
Folks, what are you praying
for? Do you pray to win the lottery and
become rich? Do you pray for a good job
and a promotion? Do you pray for your
children to be successful and happy? Do
you pray to be able to wear skinny jeans?
I just pray for our softball team to win one more game this season. (We’ve only won one.) But do you know the best thing to pray
for? Pray God will give you his Holy
Spirit, which is what Elisha was really requesting; that was “the double
portion of the spirit of Elijah.” I
think God will grant you that prayer because there’s nothing better for him to
give you. When you have the Holy Spirit,
you’ll know what else you should ask for, if anything. You see, the problem of petitionary prayer is
not that God says “no,” but that we pray for too little. C. S. Lewis said in another essay: “We are
half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when
infinite joy is offered us…We are far too easily pleased” (The Weight of
Glory).
Pray like
Elisha for God to give you the Holy Spirit.
Make it hard for God to say “no” and find something better to give you.
Praised be
Jesus Christ!
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