29^th Sunday in Ordinary Time [C]

October 19, 2025

Luke 18:1-8

In the parable of the persistent widow and the unjust judge, Jesus gives us a clear command: “pray always without becoming weary.” He invites us to persevere, especially when God asks us to wait for an answer. But why does a loving Father, who knows our needs, allow this waiting?

This period of waiting is not a sign of God’s absence, but His profound love. Here are three reasons God may allow us to wait.

1. Time Heals and Purifies Our Prayers

Often, our initial prayers are born from intense emotion—grief, distress, or even anger. In our urgency, we can confuse our genuine needs with our selfish wants. We do not always know what is truly good for us.

God uses the gift of time to help us settle our hearts and purify our intentions. He reforms our prayers, transforming them from demands into dialogues, from pleas for personal gain into words of trusting surrender, from “Be it done according to my will.” to “Be it done to me according to Your will.”

2. Time Builds Essential Virtues

We live in a world of instant results, and we can carry this impatience into our relationship with God. When we don’t get what we want immediately, we can become restless and frustrated.

Waiting teaches us the true meaning of patience—which is not just the ability to wait, but the ability to keep a good attitude while waiting. As St. Francis de Sales reminds us, “Every one of us needs half an hour of prayer each day, except when we are busy… then we need an hour.” The more we patiently pray, the more recognize that many things are beyond our control. The more we patiently ask, the more we realize how powerless we are. Yet, though we are powerless, we are not helpless or hopeless since we are now relying ourselves on someone beyond us, God the creator of heavens and earth.

3. Time Deepens Our Intimacy with God

It is easy to treat God like a heavenly vending machine, focused solely on the gifts we seek. Waiting refocuses our attention from the gifts to the Giver.

The more time we spend in prayerful waiting, the more we seek to know God for who He is—not just as a wish-fulfiller, but as a loving Father. We begin to focus less on our list of needs and more on our relationship with Him. This is the heart of prayer, which St. Teresa of Ávila defined as “nothing else than being on terms of friendship with God.”

A Story of Purified Prayer:
A senior nun once shared how, as a young novice, she wanted to leave the convent to get a job and support her mother financially. Her prayers were consumed with this plan. Her spiritual director gently asked her: “Would leaving truly be the best help? Is God limited to only one way of providing?”

She began to change her prayers. She stopped telling God what to do and started entrusting her mother entirely to His care. In time, relatives and friends came forward to support her mother, and she found the peace to persevere in her vocation. This simple story shows how God uses time to purify our prayers and draw us closer to Himself.

Valentinus Bayuhadi Ruseno, OP

Guide Questions for Personal Reflection:

• Do I pray? Is there a consistent, daily space for God in my life?
• How do I pray? Is my prayer a list of requests, or is it a conversation that includes listening?
• How long do I pray? Do I give up when an answer isn’t immediate?
• What do I ask from God? Are my prayers focused on my will, or on seeking to understand His?
• How do I react when I don’t get what I prayed for? Does it lead to doubt, or to a deeper trust in His wisdom?
• Do I ask for grace? Do I pray not just for specific outcomes, but for the strength, peace, and trust to endure the wait?