Constant Prayer

Ephesians 6:18-20

With all prayers and supplications, pray at every opportunity in the Spirit. To that end, be watchful with all perseverance and supplication for all the holy ones and also for me, that speech may be given me to open my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel for which I am an ambassador in chains, so that I may have the courage to speak as I must.

Thoughts: We are asked to pray at all times and in the Spirit. At all times, this means everything we do, every single day should be offered up as a prayer. By the grace of God, I now consider myself first a disciple of Christ. One who's mission is to spread the word of God. I just develop software on the side to feed my family. So, it is my everyday 'being' a disciple that I offer up as prayer to the Lord including my prayer time.

What does it mean to pray in the Spirit? This means prayer from the heart. We must pray with confidence and not give up. The word supplication means to be submissive or to bow in obedience. It also means being willing to be quiet and listen for that still small voice that speaks to us in prayer. We cannot do this if we are surrounded by 'noise'. We need to be willing to turn off the television, radio, iPod, computer, and phone. Just sitting with Jesus is important, to put ourselves in His presence waiting to hear his message for us.

Finally, our prayer must be one that is submissive to God’s will. We must surrender our will to the Father. I pray the prayer of abandonment almost daily. This helps me to daily surrender myself to His will. When remain submissive to God, He will give us a boldness to proclaim His word to the world. It is through this constant prayer that we find courage to speak as we must. 

Prayer of Abandonment

Father,
I abandon myself into your hands; do with me what you will.
Whatever you may do, I thank you:
I am ready for all, I accept all.
Let only your will be done in me, and in all your creatures.
I wish no more than this, O Lord.

Into your hands I commend my soul;
I offer it to you
with all the love of my heart,
for I love you, Lord,
and so need to give myself,
to surrender myself into your hands,
without reserve,
and with boundless confidence,
for you are my Father.

Charles de Foucald

Ambitions and Agendas

Mark 10:35-45 (Ambition of James and John)

Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him and said to him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.” He replied, “What do you wish me to do for you?” The answered him, “Grant that in your glory we may sit one at your right and other at your left.” Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Can you drink the cup that I drink or be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?” They said to him, “We can.” Jesus said to them, “The cup that I drink, you will drink, and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized; but to sit at my right or at my left is not mine to give but it is for those for whom it has been prepared.”

Thoughts:  How often do we come to Jesus with our plan? James and John thought they had it all figured out they were coming to Jesus with their "business plan" and they thought it was a really good one. When we do that, God may once in a while say, “Hey good plan.” But more often than not God, who knows and wants good things for us, will kind of laugh and say, “Hey, I have a better idea”. So, we must be ready to give up our plans, no matter how good they sound so that we will be able to accept the greatest gift ever given to us, Jesus. I pray that I will continue to surrender myself to God's plans. Lord help me remove my pride and my agenda to fully receive what you have ready for me. Open my ears and a heart to hear your calling and direction for my life. Pope Benedict has declared this the year of faith. Pray that we can remove all of the obstacles and truly open wide the doors of faith and fully receive the good gifts He has in store for us.

Climbing The Social Ladder

Romans 12:13-21

Look on the needs of the saints as your own; be generous in offering hospitality. Bless your persecutors; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Have the same attitude toward all. Put away ambitious thoughts and associate with those who are lowly. Do not be wise in your own estimation. Never repay injury with injury. See that your conduct is honorable in the eyes of all.

If possible, live peaceably with everyone. Beloved, do not avenge yourselves; leave that to God’s wrath, for it is written: ” ‘Vengeance is mine; I will repay,’ says the Lord.” But “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; by doing this you will heap burning coals upon his head.” Do not be conquered by evil but conquer evil with good.

Thoughts:  Over the years I have observed and realized that it is in our nature to associate with those at or above our 'social' status. I fully know that I was one of those people. Not even consciously, though, it just kind of happens. But God has been tugging at me for years. Over and over again in scripture, Jesus reaches out the the lowly, the sick, and the poor. He says that those who are not sick have no need for a physician. So, I feel the gentle tug of Jesus to reach out to those who are lowly, hurting, or lost. I have no more important role in my life than to pray for and reach out to anyone who is hurting or in distress. In my humanness, I sometimes fail in my call to action. The Holy Spirit prompts me to action but I don't out of fear. Fear of rejection or ridicule. But my joy greatly increases when I do answer the still, soft voice calling me to action in service of others. The more often I answer the call the more I am strengthened to answer it again. Our willingness to answer the call will help increase our faith and to perhaps hear the call more often.

I have been reminded, though, that I am called only to live in the love of Christ. That I should not worry too much about 'doing'. Live in the love of Jesus and the doing will take care of itself.

My Body, Broken and Given Up For You

Years ago I was on staff at a Christ Renews His Parish(CHRP) retreat. It was a great time as this was an outreach retreat where we were helping start the retreat at another parish. One of the most important aspects of the retreat is that everything is done in prayer and with prayer support. 

I was honored to be asked by a good friend to be his special prayer support. He was to give a talk to the attendees and I would be in the chapel, on my knees, in front of the blessed sacrament praying for him while he was talking. This was to be a very difficult talk for my friend and I knew it. 

You see, about a year earlier, he and his wife were expecting a child. They had learned that the child, although still in the womb, had a heart defect and the child would only live for a few hours after birth. Of course, given the circumstances, the well meaning doctors suggested aborting the pregnancy. My friend and his wife informed the doctors that no they could not abort this child, created by God. The remaining time of the pregnancy and the birth and inevitable death of the child came to pass. 

The time comes for his talk and I proceed to the chapel to start praying for my friend. I enter the chapel, kneel in front of the blessed sacrament in the monstrance, and start praying. As I gazed at the monstrance, I noticed that the host inside was broken. I was outraged. They couldn't at least get an unbroken host for the monstrance. But, God is good and perfect.

I started thinking that a broken host was OK. I mean, Jesus was broken on the cross, wasn't he? Does the fact that Jesus was broken on the cross make him any less God, any less holy? The answer is no. 

And if a broken Jesus, was still holy and perfect, would he love that child any less just because he was broken. Just because of a little heart defect. His life was short but carried a great impact on all who know the story. Jesus especially loved the broken and the sick. We are all broken in some way and Jesus loves us even in our broken state. For that we must always praise God.

I shared this account with my friend afterward and our lives will never be the same. I also know that little Anthony is in heaven now, free from the earthly body that only served him for a few hours after his birth. He looks down on us now in his new state praising God and watching out for his family.

We called to embrace both the broken and resurrected Jesus, going through the broken to get to the resurrected.

Matthew 26:26 - While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, "Take and eat; this is my body."