“Will not God then secure the rights of his chosen ones who call out to him day and night? Will he be slow to answer them? I tell you, he will see to it that justice is done for them speedily.” // Luke 18:7-8
“Sister, you don’t trust the Lord.”
My face must have given away my reaction of shock, perhaps indignation, because the next thing he said was, “I’m not putting words in your mouth. Everything you just confessed has lack of trust at the root.”
He was right. But his frank declaration of my lack of trust after I had just vulnerably laid out my sins stung a bit. I mean, I am a Religious. I know God is trustworthy, a good and loving Father Who keeps his promises. The reality, though, is that I often pray more out of a spirit of desperation than one of trustful hope. Knowing God is trustworthy and actually trusting Him are very different things.
How often do we go through the motions of praying for the resolution to a situation or a particular person’s conversion because “it’s what we’re supposed to do”? Do we really pray in true trust and confidence that the Father will accomplish all in His will and His time? Do we keep praying in a spirit of trustful hope day after day, month after month, year after year, confident that Our Heavenly Father has not abandoned us, even when we see nothing happening, practically speaking?
Sister, He is at work. He hears you, and He is waiting for you to keep coming to Him, seeking a resolution. But He also delights in you and knows that with every act of faithful prayer, He is growing trust within your heart; He’s revealing Himself as your Father.
Beloved daughter, do not lose hope, do not waver in trusting that your Father hears you. Your Father gazes in love upon you. And you, chosen and beloved one, will receive from Him whatever you ask for in faithful trust. But remember, when the Gospel promises that justice is done for them speedily, one day within His house is as a thousand elsewhere.
Father, help us to trust You more and more each day that we might confidently come to You with our every prayer, knowing that You hear us and will answer us, even when it seems that You are not near.
He’s revealing Himself as your Father. // Sister Maria FatimaClick to tweet
Sister Maria Fatima grew up in Rhode Island and entered the Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist in 2005. She holds a MA in Theology from the Saint Paul Seminary School of Divinity. Sister is in her eleventh year of enlightening middle school minds and drawing hearts to Jesus while teaching religion and history. She currently resides at the motherhouse in Ann Arbor, MI, having previously taught in Texas, Florida, and Ohio. She is a contributing author to our Lent devotional All She Had.
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