Immediately

The life of St. Benedict, as described by Pope Gregory the Great, is a story with many miracles and many interventions by God himself in the lives of monks and people. There is a special feature in this story: whenever Benedict prays for help in a difficult situation, God acts fast and immediately. In Latin it is called “subito” or “protinus”, “celeriter” or “festinatio”.

This characteristic touched me and I began to consider whether God, when he acts in my life, always acts immediately, without delay. And I found: Yes! Of course, there are things I pray for that don’t happen; it seems that God doesn’t want to fulfill them. My faith and my hope is: he does so for my good. But there is not the slightest movement in my soul, not the slightest sigh that I raise to him, not the slightest need that I share with him that he would not answer.

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.”  Matthew 7:7

“What father among you would hand his son a snake when he asks for a fish?” Luke 11:11

In general, we believe that God hears our prayers, even if he does not always follow our will – just as he did not when Jesus asked him to let the cup pass. This may be the reason why we often don’t expect a positive answer from him, at least not immediately. But here too, every hair on our head is counted. The father is not at all indifferent to what his son or daughter does and how they are doing. Perhaps a key to this question can be found in the fourth petition of the Lord’s Prayer: “Give us this day our daily bread.” Jesus recommends that we pray in this way: He knows that we constantly need bread, but he gives it to us “today”. He asks us not to look back or too far ahead in our prayers. “Do not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself.” (Matthew 6:34). He gives us exactly what we need and what we pray for – now! He can do it, because he is beyond space and time and can intervene at any time. If he does it “today”, why shouldn’t he do it tomorrow? It is a good exercise to really watch how and when God answers our prayers. Sometimes we overlook the traces of his answers. They may be subtle, but they are effective. According to Gregory, it is a characteristic of God’s nature that he acts immediately.

Lord, strengthen my trust in you. Never let me doubt your fatherly mercy. Thank you for giving me what I need today. Come quickly and hasten to the aid of all those who have no voice to cry out to you.