Satan wants us discouraged. Don't let the devil win!

DON'T LOSE HEART

Lk. 18: 1-8

One day Satan decided to sell all the tools of his trade.  But he held one back.  When he was asked why he wanted to keep that one, he replied, "That is my most effective tool.  It does the most damage.  It is called Discouragement.  If I can persuade someone to give up trying, then I've won them over and I can do whatever I like.”

No-one knows the strength of Satan better than Jesus.  This is why he told His Apostles a parable about the need to pray continually and never to lose heart.  He told the story of a poor widow who had been treated unfairly.  It was probably some kind of financial fraud.  She wanted justice done to her by going to court but the judge was a scoundrel.  He had no regard for the laws of God or the needs of people.  It didn't matter to him that this poor widow was being cheated.  Perhaps if she had been wealthy her case would have been dealt with more quickly.  But the widow would not give up.  She kept on going back to court.  Every time the judge looked up, there she was.  It was too much for him, and finally, he settled in her favour.

The widow in the story never gave up asking for justice, and her perseverance was eventually rewarded.  Perseverance is the weapon Jesus gives us to combat Satan's weapon of Discouragement.  There seems to be an even greater need for perseverance today.  People are reluctant to take on a lifelong commitment.  For example, in our Capuchin Order, and every religious Order and Congregation can say the same, we get applicants who would love to join us, but not for life.  They enter, serve for a few years and then want to move on to a different way of life.

Many young people seem to have a similar approach to marriage.  The divorce rate verifies this fact.  They promise at the altar that they will love each other till death, but when the honeymoon is over and the going is hard, they give up.  Every marriage has its problems and crises, but without the determination to persevere and face those problems together, how will they cope?

When I see a husband and wife who have been happily married for fifty years, I know that they have been fortunate.  Their choice of a partner was wiser and better than they could have possibly known at the time, and they were determined to make a success of their marriage.  They too had their ups and downs, arguments, differing views.  Despite all this, they persevered and one day they found themselves accepting congratulations from friends on their golden wedding anniversary. 

Those happy and successful couples achieved their goal because they never lost heart.  I am sure prayer was also another factor in their success.  This is the other aspect of perseverance that Jesus emphasises – continual prayer.  We must never give up praying, even when the answer seems to be delayed.  What we ask for may not be given to us immediately, because God knows it is not the right time.  We have to trust His wisdom.  Does a father give his teenage son a motorbike simply because he asks for it?  He knows he is too immature to handle it at the present moment, so he wisely makes him wait. 

Sometimes it may seem as if the answer to our prayers is never coming.  We pray for peace in the world, yet conflict and hatred continue for years.  This is when Satan brings out his powerful tool of Discouragement, telling us that peace will never come and we should give up all hope.  But history has proved that persevering prayer has brought about peace.  It has abolished apartheid in South Africa, pulled down the Berlin Wall, even witnessed the Unionists and Sinn Fein drawing up a peace deal.  Who would ever have thought these things possible?  They are all the result of continual prayer.

I'm sure we all have one special intention we've been praying for years, wondering if it will ever be answered.  It may be the return of a son or daughter to the faith, the reconciliation of a separated couple, the cure of a sick relative, the conversion of a spouse or friend, the conception of a longed-for child.  Jesus tells us, "Don't give up.  Pray continually and never lose heart.  My heavenly Father will answer your prayer if it is for your good.”

Lord Jesus, Satan wants to win with his tool of Discouragement, but we won’t let him because we are assured that You are on our side.  With You we will persevere and win.

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