Ask in Faith

“But ask in faith, never doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind; for the doubter, being double-minded, must not expect to receive anything from the Lord.” James 1:6-8

“The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective.” James 5:16

It may seem that the situation for the unborn is very grim in Canada. There are still approximately 100 000 abortions every year. The unborn have no legal recognition or protection, and it does not appear that they will obtain any status in our legal system in the foreseeable future.

The culture of death is thriving in Canada.

But we have something that is stronger than death. And that’s faith in Jesus Christ.

We forget that the Church began with nothing. Jesus did not entrust his church to the rich, the powerful and the politically savvy. He entrusted it to people who, in a worldly sense, were “average”.

Just like us.

It does not seem likely that an enterprise led by his modest apostles and disciples could ever become the most influential cultural force the world has ever seen.

But here we are. The apostles defied the odds.

Jesus said to the apostles “remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20).

Jesus is always with us. Just as much as he was with the apostles.

But Jesus will not act without our faith. We need to rely on his power if we are to vanquish the works of the evil one.

Sometimes, we are weak in faith. The world tells us it’s ridiculous to count on God to help us in this fight. It says that this fight is entirely political, and we have lost.

And so we don’t know what to think, or how to pray with this thought hanging over us.

St. Paul writes “the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought.” (Romans 8:26). We must ask God for the Spirit to increase our faith. We must see this fight as God sees it, not as the world sees it. Of course the world wants us to give up.

But God does not want us to give up on his little ones.

The Lord says: “The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective.” If we seek faith and to live according to the Word of God, our prayers will hold sway.

Jesus is with us to help us. It only requires that we ask with a pure heart. Let’s all join together and do so for the 40 Days for Life, and we can defeat the culture of death together.