It’s hard to ask for what you need, isn’t it?
What are the questions that roll through your mind each time you consider asking for help?
Some of mine are:
If I ask, will I be perceived as weak?
If I ask, will it be assumed I will always need assistance to thrive?
If I ask, will I seem needy?
Am I not the called to give and not receive?
What if I ask and the answer is no?
Tell me these questions or similar ones haven’t rolled through your brain once or twice when you thought about asking for help.
Do they roll through your brain when you think about praying for help too?
In the first reading today (Ex 16), we see the Israelites grumbling instead of asking for help. God gave them what they needed anyway as a sign of who God was. “Tell them: In the evening twilight you shall eat flesh, and in the morning you shall have your fill of bread, so that you may know that I, the LORD, am your God.”
In the Gospel, we see the disciples act a little differently and ask Jesus directly for help, and He gave it to them with the promise that He will always provide to those who come to Him and ask.
“Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life;
whoever comes to me will never hunger,
and whoever believes in me will never thirst.” (JN 6:35)
So why are we so afraid to ask?
My prayer this weekend is for all of us – may we not be afraid to open up our hands to God and say exactly what we need. God wants us to be real. God wants us to be honest.
God wants to hold our hand…
But we have to open our fist first.
