by Joe Naumann, St. Stephen’s member
Prayer, communication with God, is an essential element of the spiritual life. In Luke 18:1-8, the parable of the widow and the unjust judge, we are taught about the importance of persistence in prayer. Sometimes I got what I prayed for. Sometimes I was persistent, but I didn’t receive the good for which I was praying. That’s where the most powerful example of prayer in the Bible teaches us something more important than persistence. That is found in Luke 22:42, where Jesus, in the Garden of Gethsemane, prays, “. . . not my will, but yours, be done.”
As a senior in high school in 1960, I prayed for a scholarship to Washington University where I planned to major in Chemical engineering. In addition, I planned to take enough math courses and education courses to get certified to teach high school, chemistry and math. The engineering degree would be my safety net if teaching didn’t work out.
Washington University did accept me, but it did not offer a scholarship. However, through Junior Achievement, I was offered a four-year, full-tuition scholarship to St. Louis University which didn’t offer chemical engineering in their engineering school. With hindsight, I would see that God answered my prayer with a far better result than what I had desired.
A friend at SLU had warned me to avoid three English teachers whose last names began with the letter “M.” At registration time, I could only remember two of the names, and the only English teacher that fit in my schedule was Dr. Moissner. Every other English teacher’s class conflicted with chemistry or math. As it turned out, Dr. Moissner was the best teacher I ever had. I scheduled her for the next three required English classes. She became a life-long friend and mentor. At St. Louis University, I met many other great teachers and fellow students, the most important being the fantastic woman I married.
I had a great first year living on campus, and I planned to borrow money to live on campus after that. Several disappointments resulted in me moving back home and becoming a commuter student. I advertised round-trip rides from home to SLU to cover auto upkeep. One rider became my academic best friend, and another became my wife. Had I lived on campus in my second year, I wouldn’t have met either one. Again, God’s plan was better than my plan.
In my second year, I had a crisis concerning my math minor. I got so lost in the second semester of calculus that I had to drop the class. I ended up changing my major to geography and my minor to history. Geography was where I truly belonged, but it didn’t provide the “safety net” that chemistry would have. Had I had the calculus crisis at Washington U., they had no Geography Department.
Looking back on 56 years of teaching, I can be thankful for the fantastic Jesuit liberal arts education I received at SLU. I didn’t need a safety net because I was where God wanted me to be, teaching students geography and social studies.
So, when praying, one should be persistent with the realization that a different outcome may be a better one. Always remember, “. . . not my will, but yours, be done.”