The liturgy yesterday gave the opportunity to reflect on two different ways of approaching God in prayer — that of Zechariah and that of Mary. Today the contrast is between asking something of God and not asking. Mary asked “How can this be?” She wanted to understand God’s will. King Ahaz said, “I will not ask! I will not tempt the LORD!” He does not ask because he has his mind made up on what he wants to do and doesn’t want God to interfere with his plans. While not quite a blatant as Ahaz I notice my tendency to ask help of God only after I have made my plans. We should follow the example of Mary and bring God in from the beginning.
