The Apostles prayed to Christ asking Him to increase their faith… “Increase our faith!” (Luke 17:5).
There is a story told about Saint Padre Pio. Once a man who was blind visited the Saint. Upon meeting him, the blind man asked Saint Padre Pio to pray to God to restore his sight in one eye. The Saint asked him whether he was sure of this intention. And the man replied that he was indeed sure of this intention because he wanted just this small favour from God – sight returned in one eye only…
And the Saint promised to pray for the man. The man went away. The next morning the man returned to the Saint and declared that overnight his vision had returned in one of his eyes. He then complained to the Saint that God had not restored his vision completely. And the Saint replied that the man had been granted the answer to his prayer. If the man had asked for his sight to be fully restored with faith, it would have been so, but because the man had limited the power of God in this prayer, he was instead afforded only half a miracle.
And I have often reflected on this miracle, because it is so often what I do in my own life. I ask for little things. It is as though I place the restrictions of my own small life on the infinite God… And what a silly thing for me to do. After all, God is able to do anything at all. So, why do I pray my tiny prayers with my tiny faith…?
“As Jesus passed on from there, two blind men followed him, crying aloud, ‘Have mercy on us, Son of David’ ...Jesus said to them, ‘Do you believe that I am able to do this?’ They said to him, ‘Yes, Lord.’ Then he touched their eyes, saying, ‘According to your faith be it done to you.’ And their eyes were opened. And Jesus sternly charged them, ‘See that no one knows it.’ But they went away and spread his fame through all that district.” (Matthew 9:27-31).
The only limit to my God is my own faith in His ability…
There is a story about a small rural town – it may perhaps be only a story and not true at all but I have enjoyed listening to it. The town folk gathered to pray for rain (as they were in the midst of a terrible drought). And about one hundred people gathered in the church… But nobody brought an umbrella.
And I have been thinking about that prayer as I have been thinking about my own life. You see, I think I spend most of my time praying for rain and not bothering with an umbrella.
The Apostles prayed to Christ asking Him to increase their faith… “Increase our faith!” (Luke 17:5).
And I think – today – that I should pray for the same thing…
For with prayer, I stand on Holy Ground where everything is clear. Here. At the Foot of the Cross.
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