Homily on Luke 11:1–13: Persistent Prayer and Trust in God’s Timing (27-7-25)

Discover a touching homily on Luke 11:1–13 about a mother’s persistent prayer, trust in God as Father, and the power of never giving up in faith and family life. Keep on Knocking….

Praise be to Jesus Christ

It was a small house in a village. The mother was alone, raising her son after her husband passed away. Every night, after the boy slept, she would kneel beside his bed and whisper the same prayer. “Lord, take care of my son. I don’t have anything to offer him, only You.”

Years went by. The boy grew up, became successful, and even forgot the simple faith of his childhood. But the mother never missed a single night. Whether he called her or not, whether he believed or not, she prayed.

One day, the son returned home unexpectedly. She was asleep, but on her old wooden shelf was a torn prayer book, opened to the same page she always used. He looked at it for a long time. He sat near her bed, and without knowing why, he whispered the same words she had once whispered for him. That night, he prayed after many years. Something had returned to his soul. Not because anyone preached to him, but because someone loved him enough to keep praying.

This is what Jesus is teaching us in today’s Gospel, Luke chapter 11, verses 1 to 13. He is not giving us a prayer formula. He is giving us the heart of a disciple, a heart that does not give up. A heart that asks, seeks, and knocks, again and again, not out of fear, but out of trust.

We live in a world where people stop praying when results don’t come quickly. Many say, “What’s the point of prayer? Nothing changes.” But we need to understand that prayer is not magic nor it is a bargain, but prayer is a relationship.

The Gospel today is not about how to pray but how to hold on to God, even when there seems to be no answer. Jesus compares God to a Father, not to a judge or to a rich landlord. And sometimes, like a father, He waits, not to punish, but to draw us deeper.

In the Old Testament, Abraham was promised a son. But he had to wait many years before Isaac was born. He kept trusting God and His promise. (Genesis 15:4–6 and Genesis 21:1–3)

Hannah, the mother of Samuel, prayed for a child while others mocked her. She cried in the temple year after year. And God answered her.  (1 Samuel 1:10–20)

We cannot complete our reflection on this gospel passage without mentioning Saint Monica.  Her son, Augustine, was far from God. She prayed for many years. And her tears became her prayer. At last, her son became Saint Augustine, one of the greatest saints of the Church.

When Jesus says in Luke 11:9, “Knock and the door will be opened to you,” He does not mean after the first knock, the door will be opened. He means, the knocking that continues, the knock that carries love and trust. In our families too, we must become people who do not give up easily. A child may cry for something, and the father may not give it at once. But he watches and listens. God is also like that. He is not absent, but He is attentive. However, He sometimes waits to see if our faith is real or just a quick wish.

Saint Teresa of Avila said, “God delays not because He forgets, but because He is preparing a greater gift.”

So today, let us remember. Prayer is not a button we press. It is a door we knock on, day after day, with love and hope in our hearts   trusting that it will be opened.

Lord, teach us to pray with love that never gives up.

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God Bless…