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There is a story about St. Monica, the mother of St. Augustine who is said to have prayed for him for forty years before he accepted Christianity. He later became one of the earliest and most influential theologians. Her prayers were answered, although I’m sure she would have liked it to have happened in less time. I think the message for this passage is that we shouldn’t give up. Of course, it does make a difference if we are praying for something that is not going to advance God’s plan. After all, in Matthew’s Gospel he tells us that we need to seek the Kingdom of God first. God knows what we need and what will be best for us, but we do need to keep praying. We need to pray for our country, we need to pray for our elected leaders, whether we agree with them or not, and pray for Christians the world over. And we shouldn’t stop praying just because things don’t seem to be happening quickly enough for us. We don’t know God’s timing. Remember that the Jewish people prayed for many years for a Messiah, but they had to wait until the time was right. We have to have patience as well as perseverance in our prayers. All we need to do is trust that God knows what’s best. It is important to pray that God’s will be done in all situations. We often think we know what’s best, however that’s not always the case. Trust can be hard! Let us ask for God’s guidance when we pray and not give up!Prayer: Lord, you invite us to persevere in prayer, and to have patience with you when the answers seem long in coming. Give us the wisdom to pray that your will be done and trust that you know what is best for us. Amen.