17th Sunday Ordinary Time – Year C

Deacon Tom Vert

Preached: July 27, 2025

“Why don’t I get what I want?”

I hear the readings today that say:
Ask and it shall be given
Knock and the door shall be opened
Seek and you shall find
Persist and your neighbour will give you bread
If we know how to give gifts, then our Father in heaven will give us gifts
Abraham negotiated with God for what he wanted, and God agreed
In the psalm we hear “when I called, you answered”

All of these tell me that if I pray to God, I will get what I want – then why don’t I?
Why don’t I get the new job or promotion at work?
Why don’t I get the perfect girlfriend, husband or friend that I keep asking for?
Why don’t I get immediate healing of my ailments or cure from my pain?
Isn’t God listening to me or am I asking poorly?
Isn’t this what we think? I know I have thought this way, and it makes sense!
And then when we don’t get the answer we are looking for, then we can be mad or upset with
God!

So, let’s look more closely at the readings…is this what they are really saying? Let’s start with the same request we hear the disciples ask Jesus in the gospel: “Lord, teach us to pray.”

And at this moment, he teaches them the Our Father prayer, but you may have noticed that certain phrases here in Luke 11 are not the same as the ones in Matthew 6.

Father hallowed be your name, your kingdom come.
Give us each day our daily bread and forgive us our sins
for we ourselves forgive everyone in debt to us,
and do not subject us to the final test."

What is missing?
: The phrase:  “thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven”.

It is believed that because the gospel of Matthew was at the Sermon on the Mount for thousands of people, and this message from Christ was directly to the disciples alone, that Jesus left this phrase out, as it was assumed that “they will be done” is inside the saying “your kingdom come” already.

“Your kingdom come” means that the kingdom of God is for our anticipation in heaven, but it is also available to us here in now!

The kingdom of God as we know is the ability to have a close personal relationship with God, through His Son, inclusive of the power of the Holy Spirit.

This is available to us when we love God through the action our prayer and sacramental life; and “we love our neighbour as ourselves” through the strength provided by God.

That key phrase that is missing/assumed in Luke, I think is the key to answering our question of “why don’t I get what I want”?

In the gospel, we have Christ’s assurance that prayer will be heard and answered, but with a key
restriction…if it aligns with God’s will and is good in the eyes of God. (repeat)

How many prayer requests are made by us that are “all about me” and what I think is best for my life, in my mind?

Remember St. Paul who prayed multiple times for “a thorn to be removed from his flesh” and God said no, my grace is sufficient for you, and your weakness will become your strength.

I remember in my own life praying to God that I get accepted into the electrical engineering program at McMaster, and yet I was declined. Instead, I was accepted into what was perceived a lower quality program of ceramic engineering, but the truth is that my career ended up being better than I could have hoped for.

The readings today teach us many lessons about prayer…from the first reading we are called to focus on who God is…the God of justice and mercy. We are told to come to Him with humility, persistence and prayer for others needs and not just our own.

The psalm teaches us to start our prayer with thanksgiving for what God has already done for us and is doing for us in our daily lives.

The gospel finally shows us how to direct that prayer… “seek ye first the kingdom of God and all these things will be granted”

We are to seek God’s presence and the joy of relationship with Him here and now and our prayer will become more effective, not because of our persuading and/or the perfect words, but instead because we have a Father who loves us and knows what we truly need, not just what we want, before we even ask for it.

So, this week, when we pray, let us focus on our connection with God and aligning with His will and His kingdom, and then we won’t have to ask: “Why don’t I get what I want?”