Posted by The WORD in other words (2010) by Father Deva SavariyappanSVD – San Isidro, Abra
Friday 8th Week in Ordinary Time
Carlos Valles tells the story of a shepherd girl who walked across a river by simply repeating the name of God. A guru tried to imitate her, but distracted by his robe, he began to sink. The girl laughed innocently: “Not that way, Master. Not that way!” The lesson is clear: half-hearted prayer is no prayer. Faith requires total trust, not divided attention.
Prayer is faith, and faith is commitment. To pray is to entrust ourselves wholly to God, not holding back. Jesus Himself teaches: “Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt… even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ it will happen” (Matthew 21:21). Faith is not about words alone but about surrender.
Often, prayers seem unanswered. We ask, we plead, but nothing changes. Do we then give up, doubting God’s goodness? The Gospel reminds us through the cursed fig tree (Mark 11:12–14, 20–21): faith without fruit is empty. God may not answer in the way we expect, but He always works for our good. The challenge is to trust Him even when life feels hopeless.
Jesus calls us to have faith like a child (Matthew 18:3–4) — simple, trusting, wholehearted. Such faith produces the fruits St. Paul lists in Galatians: “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control” (Galatians 5:22–23). These fruits are the evidence of prayer lived out in daily life.
Faith is not half-hearted. It is letting go of our tunic, our fears, our doubts, and walking across life’s river with God’s name on our lips. Prayer is not passive waiting but active trust. When we cry out, “Lord, help my unbelief” (Mark 9:24), He strengthens us to keep believing, keep trusting, and keep bearing fruit.
“Lord, grant me wholehearted faith. Teach me to trust You completely, to pray with surrender, and to bear the fruits of Your Spirit.”
