SATURDAY OF THE FOURTH WEEK OF EASTER
Philip said to Jesus, "Master, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us." (JN 14:8) Oh, Philip. All this time and you still struggle to believe. If you felt a tinge of familiarity with Philip, you are not alone, how many times have we spoken to Jesus in prayer and found those prayers unanswered? Just moments later, the Lord tells his disciples, "whatever you ask in my name, I will do." When the Lord doesn't immediately answer our prayers, we, like Philip, lose sight of who we are standing before. There is more to what Jesus is telling us. He says,
"Whatever you ask in my name, I will do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything of me in my name, I will do it." (JN 14:13-14)
Often, we overlook those words in between, "so that the Father may be glorified." Jesus is always there with us; he listens to all of our prayers. Only, sometimes our prayers do not glorify the Father and will not lead us to life with Him.
When the Son does not answer our prayers, it is not because he doesn't want the best for us. It is because what we are asking of the Son is not the best for us. Our unanswered prayers should not have us question our belief in God, but rather it should encourage us to pray that the Holy Spirit will illuminate what it is that God desires for us. Faith is trusting that the Father loves us, His children, and always gives us the true desires of our heart.
Dear Lord, you always wish to give of yourself to Your children. Help us to have the faith to open wide the doors of our hearts to you, and that by doing so, you will illuminate the desires within us that lead to eternal life with you. Amen.