cover of episode Day 317: Persistence in Prayer (2024)

Day 317: Persistence in Prayer (2024)

2024/11/12
logo of podcast The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)

The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)

Key Insights

Why does Jesus emphasize the importance of persistence in prayer?

Jesus emphasizes persistence in prayer to highlight the need for a shameless refusal to quit, mirroring the relentless pursuit of a friend in need. This persistence reflects a deep trust in God's providence and a commitment to continually seek His will.

What does Jesus mean when he talks about the return of the unclean spirit?

Jesus uses the parable of the unclean spirit to illustrate that merely removing evil without replacing it with good can lead to a worse state. The spirit returns to an empty, swept, and orderly (ornate) soul, symbolizing a superficial cleanliness without true virtue, which invites even more evil.

Why does Jesus say he came to bring division rather than peace?

Jesus acknowledges that his teachings and presence can cause division within families, as different members may align with or against his message. This division is a natural consequence of the radical nature of his call to discipleship and the transformative power of the Gospel.

How does Jesus' teaching on persistence in prayer relate to the Holy Spirit?

Jesus teaches that persistent prayer is not just about asking for material needs but also about seeking the Holy Spirit. He assures that the Father will give the Holy Spirit to those who ask, emphasizing the spiritual dimension of persistent prayer.

What is the significance of the parable of the persistent friend in the context of prayer?

The parable of the persistent friend illustrates that persistence in prayer, even when initially met with resistance, will eventually be rewarded. It underscores the idea that God values and responds to our relentless pursuit of Him, mirroring the shameless refusal to quit.

Shownotes Transcript

How and his brother mikchich z and you're listening to the bible in a year podcast where we encounter god's voice and live life to the lens s bcr pure, the bible in your podcast brought by ascension using the great adventure vivo timing will read all the way from genesis revelation, discovering how the story of salvation unfold to now we at IT into that story today IT is day three hundred and seventeen, or reading two chapters from the ghost ital orders.

Look that luke chapters seven and twelve, also probably sheppard twenty six verses seven, three, nine. As always, the bubble translation we're reading from is the revised standard version. Second cathos condition are using the great adventure bible.

From a sense, if you want to download your own bible in the year reading plan, you can visit essential press outcomes lash bible in the year because you have about a page in a quarter to go roughly. Ly, give her take. I think i'm estimating about that um if you want gosh, you know don't pass up this opportunity to be able to mark off every day every day.

Also you can submit to this pot gas by clicking on, subscribe and receiving daily epo des and daily updates. Today is day three seventeen reading look chapters eleven and twelve, probably chapter twenty six verses seven three nine, the gospel according to look chapter eleven, the lord's broer. He was praying in a certain place, and when he seized, one of his disciples said to him, d, teach us to pray as john, to had his disciples and he said to them, when you pray, say, father, hello, be your name, your kingdom, come give us each day our daily bread and forgive us our sins for we ourselves.

Forgive everyone who is indebted to us and lead us not into temptation, perseverance and prayer. And he said to them, which of you who has a friend will go to a mp midnight and say to him, friend, lend me three loves for a friend of mine has arrived on a journey, and I have nothing to set before him and he will answer from within. Do not bother me.

The door is now shut and my children are with me in bed. I cannot get up and give you anything. I tell you though, he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend. Yet because of his opportunity, he will rise and give him whatever he needs.

And I tell you, ask and I will be given, you seek, and you will find knock and IT will be opened to you for everyone who asks, receives, and he who seeks, finds, and to him who knocks, IT will be opened. What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, well, instead of a fish, give him a serpent. Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a if you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children.

How much more will the heavily father give the holy spirit to those who ask him? Jesus and beels ble. Now he was casting out a demon that was mute when the demon had gone out.

The mute man spoke in, the people marvelled, but some of them said he cats out demons by the osio, the prince of demons, while others to test him sought from him a sign from heaven. But he, knowing their thoughts, said to them, every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and house follows upon house. And if state also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand for? You say that I cast out demons by BIOS ble.

And if I cast out demons by simple, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they shall be your judges. But if IT is by the finger of god that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of god has come upon you when a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are in peace.

But when one stronger than he assails him and overcomes him, he takes away his armor in which he trusted and divides his spoil. He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters the return of the unclean spirit when the unclean spirit has gone out of a man, he passes through waterless places, seeking rest and finding none. He says, I will return to my house from which I came.

And when he comes, he finds that swept and put in order. Then he goes and brings seven other spirits, more evil than himself, and they enter and dwell there. And the last state of that man becomes worse than the first true blessin ness.

As he said this, a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said to him, blessed is the whom that born you and the breasts that you sucked. But he said, blessed rather are those who hear the word of god and keep IT the sign of jonah. When the crowds were increasing, he began to say, this generation is an evil generation.

IT seeks a sign, but no sign shall be given to IT, except the sign of jona. For as jona became a sign to the men of nino ver, so will the sun of man be to this generation? The queen of the south will arise at the judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them.

For SHE came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of solon. And behold, something greater than Solomon is here. The men of nini va.

Will arise at the judged with this generation and condemn, for they repented at the preaching of jonah. And we hold something greater than jonah is here, the light of the body. No one after lighting a lamp puts IT in a seller or under a bushel.

But on a stand that those who entered may see the light. Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eye is sound, your whole body is full of light, but when IT is not sound, your body is full of darkness.

Therefore, be careful, less the light in, you be darkness. If then your whole body is full of light. Having no part dark, IT will be holy bright, as when a lamp with its rays gives you light.

Jesus denounces the hypocrisy of the therapy y and lawyers, while he was speaking, a therapy asked him to die with him. So he went in and SAT at table. The ferry y was astonished to see that he did not first wash before dinner.

And the lord said him, now you ferries, cleans the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside you are a full of extortion and weakness. You fools did not, he who made the outside, make the inside also, but give up for alms, those things which are within, and behold, everything is clean for you. But what to you, ferris, for your timely and rue and every erb and neglect justice and the love of god, these you ought to have done without neglecting the others.

Wow to you, ferries for you love the best seat in the synagogues and salutation in the marketplaces vote to you, for you are like graves which are not seen and men walk over them without knowing IT. One of the lawyers answered him, teacher, and sitting this, you approach us also and he said, well, to you, lawyers also for you, load man with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the curtains with one of your fingers well to you, for you build the tombs of the profit whom your fathers killed. So you are witnesses and consent to the deeds of your father's, for they kill them and you build their tombs.

Therefore, also, the wisdom of god said, I will send them profits and a puzzles, some of whom they will kill and persecute, that the blood of all the profits shed from the foundation of the world may be required of this generation, from the blood of able to the blood of zakaria who parishes between the altar and the sancy. Yes, I tell you, I will be required of this generation will to you, lawyers for you have taken away the key of knowledge. You did not enter yourselves, and you hinder those who are entering as you went away from there describes.

And the ferries began to press him hard and to provoke him to speak of many things, lying, and wait for him to catch him in something he might say. Chapter twelve, a warning against democracy. In the meantime, when so many thousands of the multitude had gathered together that they draw upon one another, he began to say to be his disciples first, beware of the eleven of the heracles, which is hypocrisy.

Nothing is covered up that will not be revealed or hidden that will not be known, whatever you have said in the dark shall be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in private rooms shall be proclaimed upon the house tops. Whom to fear? I tell you, my friends do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do.

But I will warn you whom to fear, fear him, who after he has killed, has power to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him are not five sparrows sold for two pennies, and not one of them is forgotten before. God, why even the hairs of your head are all numbered? Fear not, you are of more value than many sparrows.

And I tell you, everyone who acknowledges me before men, the son of man, also will acknowledge before the Angels of god. But he who denies me before men will be denied before the Angels of god and everyone who speaks a word against the son of man will be forgiven, but he who blast beans against the holy spirit will not be forgiven. And when they bring you before the cinna's gues and the rulers and the authorities do not be anxious about how or what you are to answer, or what you are to say for the holy spirit will teach you, in that very hour, what you ought to say.

The parable of the rich fool, one of the multitude sedum teacher, bit my brother, divide the inheritance with me. But he said to him, a man who made me a judge or divider over you and he said to them, take heed and beware of all covers ness for a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions and he told them a parable saying the land of a rich man brought forth plentifully. And he thought to himself, what should I do for I have nowhere to store my crops.

And he said, I will do this. I will pulled out my barns and build larger ones. And there I will store all my grain and my goods, and I will say to my soul, soul, you have apple goods laid up for many years.

Take your ease, eat, drink and be merry. But god that do him fool this night, your soul is required of you and the things you have prepared. Whose will they be? So is he who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward god, do not be anxious.

And he said to his disciples, therefore, I tell you, do not be anxious about your life. What you shall eat nor about your body, what you shall put on for life is more than food and the body more than clothing. Consider the ravens, they neither sow nor rep.

They have neither storehouses nor born. And yet god feeds them of how much more value are you than the birds, and which of you, by being anxious, can add equipped to a span of life, if then you are not able to do a smaller thing. Is that why are you anxious about the rest? Consider the lilies, how they grow.

They neither toil nor spin that I tell you even Solomon, in all his glory, was not closed like one of these. But if god so closed the grass, which is alive in the field today and tomorrow is throwing into the oven, how much more will he closed you or men of little faith, and do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor be of anxious mind for all the nations of the world. Seek these things, and your father knows that you need them instead.

Seek his kingdom, and these things shall be yours as well fear not little flock for IT is your father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom, sell your possessions and give alms. Provide yourselves with purses that do not grow old with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail where no thief approaches and no nothing destroys for where your treasure is there. Will your heart be also the necessity of watchfulness? Let your loans be guarded and your lapse burning, and be like men who are waiting for their master to come home from the marriage feast, so that they may open to a map once when he comes and knocks.

Blessed are those servants when the master finds awake. When he comes truly, I say to you, he will put on his April and have them sit that table, and he will come and serve them if becomes in the second watch or in the third, and finds them. So blessed are those servants, but know this, that if the householder had known at what our the theefe was coming, he would have been awake and would have not left his house to be broken into.

You also must be ready for the sun of man is coming at an hour you do not expect the faithful and the unfaithful ful servant Peter said, lord, are you telling this parable for us or for all and the lord said, who then is the faithful and wise steward who is master will set over his household to give them their portion of food at the proper time. Blessed is that servant whom is master when he comes will find so doing truly, I tell you, he will set him over all his possessions. But if that servant says to himself, my master is delayed in coming and begins to beat the main servants and the made servants, and to eat and drink and get drunk, the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him, and at an hour he does not know.

And we ll punish him and put him with the unfaithful. And that servant who knew his masters will, but did not make ready or act according to his will shall receive a severe beating. But he who did not know and did what deserve the beating shall receive a light beating everyone to how much is given of him will much be required.

And of him to who men commit much, they will demand the more jesus, the cause of division. I came to cast fire upon the earth, and with that, IT were already kindled. I have a baptism to be baptize with, and how I am constrained until IT is accomplished.

Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division for him. Forth in one house, there will be five divided, three against two and two against three. They will be divided, father against sun and sun against father, mother against daughter and daughter against her mother, mother in law against her daughter in law, and daughter in law against her mother in law. Interpreting the present time. He also said to the multitudes, when you see a cloud rising in the west, you say at once a shot war is coming, and so what happens? And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, there will be scorching heat, and that happens, you hypocrite.

You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time settling with your accuser? And why do you not judge for yourselves what is right as you go with your accuser before the magistrate make an effort to settle with him on the way less, he drag you to the judge, and the judge hand you over to the officer, and the officer put you in prison. I tell you, you will never get out till you have paid the very last copper.

The book of problem chap twenty six versus seven, three, nine, like a lame man's legs, which hanging useless is a proper and the mouth of fools like one who bines the stone in the swing, is he who gives honor to a fool like a phone that goes up into the hand of a drunkard, is a proverb in the mouth of fools. Father and haven't to give you praise. And thank you so much for this day.

Thank you so much for the ability to be able to hear jesus, your word speak words. Thank you for the teaching of jesus. Thank you for his his example. Thank you for he's coming as we played before he's coming to fight for us. But not only that, he's coming to teach us and give us this wisdom for god.

We ask you please um be with us this day and help us to pray in the way that jesus I taught his, the cycle to pray, give us your spirit so that we can talk to you and listen to you the way that you deserve and the way that gives you glory in a way that just transforms our hearts in our lives. We make this per in the mightie name of jesus Christ, our lord, a men, and the name of the father of the sun and of the holy spirit, a man. Gash, you guys are so much to talk about, but a couple things that I think you're worth noting.

One thing is when he comes to perseverance and prayer, I came across something, you know, so this chapter eleven in the beginning, where jesus teaches as as I was how to pray the lord's pir. But then also he goes on to perseverance. A couple of things about this, because I think this is so important. One is that when jesus uses the term persistence IT comes from, it's a word that essentially means, and this was the definition given to me, the shameless refusal to quit, that the the persistent prayer write the person who's coming back to his friend, which is the images this gives us to come to prayer.

That persistence, that shameless refusal to quit, is just, I don't know about you, but something in me, just response to that really powerfully, that sense of, okay, god, what you invited me to do, what you invited us to do, what you commanded us to do, is to have this persistence, this shameless refusal to quit, that sense of, i'm going to keep coming back. I'm going to keep coming back. I am going to trust you throw out out this whole thing.

No, also, along with that persistence, along with that shameless refused to quit. I don't want to, if I mentioned this, the other gospel, but when jesus are teachers asking, IT will be given, you seek, and you will find knock, and I will be open to you. Uh, we don't get this very clearly in our english translation, but in the original greek IT wouldn't just ask like ask ones or seek like seek ones or not IT is keep asking and you will be given, keep seeking and you will find keep knocking and that will be opened to you.

And there's something about that that just again, that highlights the shameless refusal to quit IT, highlights the fact that god wants us to keep coming back to him. Now, only one style prayer, one way of prayer is petition or intercession. We ask for something for ourselves and for someone else.

But when we do, god is said, I want you to. And that was really important. why? Because he says that, yes, would you, any of you, if your sun asks for a fish, would give him a servant.

Or if you ask for an egg, give them a scorpion. If you then who are evil, know how to give your children good things. The father in heaven knows how to give good things, in fact, not just good things, some of the best things, in fact, the holy spirit.

This is one of the big key things. God doesn't promise to give us everything we ask for. And this is really important because if we were to believe that the god just gives us whatever we ask for, then god becomes kind of like, no thanks.

I don't use this term our sugar daddy in heaven, right? He's not our fathering heaven. He's our sugar daddy I in heaven.

And that is not who he reveals himself to be. He wants our good. And so he says, definitely, father will give the holy spirit to anyone who asks.

Which means that if you ask for the holy spirit today, right now, in this moment, the father will give you his holy spirit. And I don't know you guys, I just, we need at the holy spirit. Maybe I do not say more than ever, but we, we definitely do.

Now, I know I need the holy spirit in abundance. And I think that my friends, I think I think we all do. So moving on a throughout this chapter, there's also this kind of internal a complicated teaching or maybe it's confusing teaching about the return of the clean spirit in chapter live inverse twenty four in following.

And IT says one of the time spirit has gone out of a man, he passes their waterless places seeking rest. Finding none, he says, I will return to my house so much. I came, basically goes back to that same person.

And when he comes, he finds IT swept and put in order. Then he goes to bring seven other spirits, more evil than himself, and they entry twelve there. And the last day of that man becomes work than the first.

And remember being so confused by this inking, how in the world, what is this? What does this even mean? And there is a place to same as my senior Charles pope, just in genius.

He's incredible. And at one point he wrote on this and he went back again to the original language. He's kind of an expert, a lot of languages, and he's an expert in scripture.

And at some point months in your pope, which is, I know, in ironic name, one one, if he was elected to the be the holy father, he pope, pope, but one senior child, pope, he explains what this means. So the government is delivered from this person, and his soul is left. He has left empty, swept and ordered.

Now these all mean something. In fact, ordered is going to be kind of, uh, not necessarily the most appropriate word, but every one of these things, these words, mean something. So the house is empty.

So here's the demand that delivered from the persons soul. Of course, that's great. Or the person's body to know word deem is occupy, but its empty, meaning the evil has been delivered, right, has been removed.

But nothing good has taken its place. It's simply empty. And we all know that nature of hours of vacuum, we all know that even supernature of force vacuum, that I can get rid of bad vices, I can get rid of sins in my life.

But unless I replace those vices with virtues, unless I replace those sins with acts of charity and goodness, what's gona happen as other vices will come in? So here's this person who was delivered from evil but didn't do anything to fill his life with good. IT was empty, and IT was swept and mounting.

Your pope talks about this and says, well, if a good person has, by god's Grace, been able to sweep in from his life, praise the lord. But there's a temptation there that you think, wait, I cleaned to myself up. You know, I did the work.

I made IT clean. The state was delivered, and I tidy everything up. And that the sin of pride, which is one of the most deadly scenes, maybe it's the deadly, and can come in. And he can not only be empty, right, that he hasn't brought virtue, but also looks around and seize the cleanliness of his soul and says, I did that so empty and swept, and the last word is ordered. But he believes a translation that's Better is, or nate.

And that word empty, swept and ornate, seems to indicate one of the things that jesus is talking about when he talks about, describes and ferries and lawyers who are hip crates that I want to appear to be a certain way, but I want to be a certain way that I want people to think that I have virtue, but I don't want to actually live virtue. And I want to be decorated, right. I want to have this facade, this ornate room, a perception of me that seize me as being Better than I actually am.

And so here's when jesus tells this parable here, tells this teaching. It's less confusing. Once we realized to break IT down, it's empty.

So IT hasn't been filled with god, or of things of god is swept. And there's a temptation to pride and IT is or nate, meaning IT can just be all of assad. It's all just surface and nothing is penetrated into the heart and that can just be a away.

Hopefully you can understand the the parable that jesus tells in chapter eleven. Now, one last thing when IT comes to chapter or twelve, I think, would be important to highlight. There are so many teachings here, but let me just highlight one.

At the end of emperor twelve and IT, is jesus a cause of division? Jesus says, I came to cast fire upon the earth, and would that they were already kindled? Do you think i've come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you. But rather division. Hence more than one house, there will be five divided, three against two, and two against three to father and son.

Mother and daughter is a you know, one of the things that i've been reflecting on a lot lately has been that I think that there was a time in the history of Christianity when this few verses in looks gospel, when IT was, you think like, oh, that's weird. We you think like maybe at the in the beginning of the church, when people we're converting to Christianity, yeah maybe there's division and family, you know, brother inst, son and son against father, mother against daughter, but not now. And yet right now we've entered a time at least in the west, when this is completely true, when jesus is a cause of division in so many people's families, when the teachings of jesus are a cause of division in so many people's families.

And I think, you know, it's worth listening to the words of jesus and taking heart, knowing that he said this would happen. I do, with college students every single day who are grieved when their parents aren't believers. They are grieved that their parents, maybe they were raised catholic.

Maybe they will raised them. Cathy, maybe not. We have a lot of those who comment of fulness of the catholic church here on campus, but they're grieved by the fact that my mom and dad don't know jesus. My mom, dad haven't meant fully converted and that's not meant to be a judgement against the parents as much as IT is meant to be.

You know they go home and they want to go to daily mass and their parents like why in the world they go home and they they don't want IT, they're not trying to be reheard, they are not trying to make a point. But but they find that what they believe as believers in jesus seems to contradict what their parents are professing to believe, and they grieve them so much. And I know many parents who are part of this community.

What grieves you is that your children have walked away, or we just even look at the culture, right? And we realized that in our world there is so much division. Jesus says, i'm gonna a cause.

I'm going to be one of the sources of division in your families, and I know that grieves us and breaks our hearts. And yet we can also take comfort. We can take courage to our hearts, knowing that, okay, he said this would happen.

And so it's not like I rejoice and there's i'm not i'm not proud of this. I'm not happy about IT, but I knew I was coming. And what we can do is we can pray for them.

So I always invite our students. I said gently, please be patient with your family, be patient with your parents, but just pray for them. And parents, same thing, be patient with your kids and just pray for them.

Their stories is not over yet. Your stories not over yet. My stories is not over yet. We pray that we can be faithful and persevere until the end. The shame was refusal to quit.

Until our last breath, we get to step into eternity with the lord, but also your parents story, or your children's S A story, your friends story, your siblings story, god willing, is not over yet. And if IT is over, we don't know the ending, we don't know their hearts, we don't know how they ended up when I came to the lord. And so we just keep praying.

We just keep praying. Ning and asked the lord, please meet them. Meet us where we're at with his Grace.

We pray for them because we know we need IT, right? I'm praying for you. Please, please pray for me and brother mike. I cannot wait to see you tomorrow. gabbles.