The power of prayer in the face of the trials of Tobit and Sara
Prayer is sustenance and strength in times of trial and difficulties in people’s lives. It has the power to elevate our intimacy with God, an experience that Tobit, Tobias’s father, had at the height of his anguish when he came to express: “Saddened in my heart, I started to sigh and cry, and pray between groans ”(Tobias 3,1).
At the present time, there is a need to relate humanity to spirituality, that is, to walk in the concrete of daily life with the heart in the presence of God.
Illustrative photo: Wesley Almeida / cancaonova.com
Prayer of Tobit and Sara
It is common to see in people who are experiencing suffering and difficulties in life, the bitter experience of discouragement, anguish and the non-acceptance of a reality of pain.
In the face of these everyday misfortunes, we can learn a lot from Tobit’s experience that, instead of the complaint and despair in the midst of the trials, afflictions and insults he was going through, he decided to pray, this “is the elevation of the soul to God or the request made to God for suitable goods ”(CIC 2559). He prayed as follows: “You are just, Lord, and all your works are just. All your ways are mercy and truth, and you judge the world. Now, Lord, remember me and look at me ”(Tb 3,2-3).
After Tobit’s prayer, Sacred Scripture presents the figure of Sara, daughter of Raguel, who, on the same day of insults directed at Tobit, also received “insults from one of his father’s servants” (Tb 3,7), referring to to the fact that the men who had been given him in marriage died, because “Asmodeu, the evil demon, killed them before they had relations with her” (Tb 3,8). Sara, like Tobit, says a prayer to God, extolling His mercy and asking him to free her from insults, in the humility that “is the foundation of prayer” (CIC 2559).
Read more:
.: Fighting prayer: what does the Church say?
.: The power of women’s prayer in the family
.: Men who pray for their families know where to go
In our lives, we will often not understand the reason for the suffering that afflicts us, but we need to have clarity like that of Tobit, that God is just and His ways are mercy and truth (cf. Tb 3, 2), therefore, the best place is where God is.
With this, our home, family, marriage, community, workplace and study must be in perspective that there is a God who is with us at all times, because we are not alone, He hears us in our trials and tribulations and gives us peace.
Tobit and Sara attended
Many people, when they say their prayers, expect an immediate or instant response from God, but to pray is to go beyond simply asking for things, it is to relate and be intimate with the Lord, who loves us and leads us on the path of sanctification.
“Do not be upset if you do not immediately receive from God what you ask of him: for He wants to do you an even greater good by your perseverance in remaining with Him in prayer. He wants our desire to be tested in prayer. Thus He prepares us to receive what He is ready to give us ”(CIC 2737).
Of course, God also answers us, just look at the sequence of what happened in the lives of Tobit and Sara, who were going through great trials, afflictions and insults, but who, when appealing to the Lord, “at the same time the prayer of both was heard. , in the presence of the glory of God. And the angel Rafael was sent to heal them both: to Tobit, to remove the scales from the white spots on his eyes, so that he could see with the eyes of God; and to Sara, daughter of Raguel, to give her as a wife to Tobias, daughter of Tobit, and to arrest Asmodeu, the evil demon “(Tb 3: 16-17).
Even in the face of inner conflicts and dilemmas, it is necessary to cultivate the certainty that God is a presence in the life of each one of us, his children, whether in love, comfort, welcome and forgiveness. However, it is necessary that everyone is determined by His love and faithfulness, in order to continue seeking God for what He is, and not only for what He can accomplish in each person’s life.
Thus, in the face of trials and sufferings, prayer brings hope for a better future. As you can see in the testimony of Tobit and Sara, who even wanted to give up their life, but faithfulness and prayer to God in love, redirected them to the Lord’s will, which is always the best and only way to happiness .
