Bearing in mind that the Lord our God already know what we need and that He will surely answer even if it is a no, how then shall we pray?
Queen Esther’s prayer in today’s first reading is inspiring because it is a prayer fully surrendered to the Lord our God, in love and reverence! It is one that shows complete confidence and dependence on His divine Will.
Learning from her, having united ourselves fully with Him; we ask, and it will be given to us; search, and we will surely find; knock, and the door will be opened to us. We love because he first loved us. 1 Jn 4:19 Any by our love through Him, with and in Him all will know that we are His disciples. Amen
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First reading
Esther 4:17 ·
I am alone, Lord, and have no-one but you
Queen Esther took refuge with the Lord in the mortal peril which had overtaken her. She besought the Lord God of Israel in these words:
‘My Lord, our King, the only one,
come to my help, for I am alone
and have no helper but you
and am about to take my life in my hands.
‘I have been taught from my earliest years, in the bosom of my family,
that you, Lord, chose
Israel out of all the nations
and our ancestors out of all the people of old times
to be your heritage for ever;
and that you have treated them as you promised.
‘Remember, Lord; reveal yourself
in the time of our distress.
‘As for me, give me courage,
King of gods and master of all power.
Put persuasive words into my mouth
when I face the lion;
change his feeling into hatred for our enemy,
that the latter and all like him may be brought to their end.
‘As for ourselves, save us by your hand,
and come to my help, for I am alone
and have no one but you, Lord.’
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Gospel
Matthew 7:7-12
Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find
Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you. For the one who asks always receives; the one who searches always finds; the one who knocks will always have the door opened to him. Is there a man among you who would hand his son a stone when he asked for bread? Or would hand him a snake when he asked for a fish? If you, then, who are evil, know how to give your children what is good, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him!
‘So always treat others as you would like them to treat you; that is the meaning of the Law and the Prophets.’
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