Tag: prayer

Show the Goodness of God to Others

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1 Peter 2:9

But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.

From New Life Study Bible: Christians sometimes speak of “the priesthood of all believers.” In Old Testament times, people did not approach God directly. A priest acted as intermediary between God and sinful human beings. With Christ’s victory on the cross, that pattern changed. Now we can come directly into God’s presence without fear and we are given the responsibility of bringing others to him also. When we are united with Christ as members of his body, we join his priestly work of reconciling God and people.

Something not to be overlooked in this passage is our duty: show the goodness of God to others.

As people believed to be created by God, God’s own creation, how well do we show this to others? If we imagine as envision ourselves as God’s very own possession as this scripture says, then our actions and thoughts and decisions need to reflect that.

This can be very challenging to do. It’s not easy to be a Christian. It’s even more difficult when you want to show your goodness to others. You may be met with adversity, rejection, or conflict. Many people don’t want to hear about our goodness. And they might not want to hear about our godliness. But that’s not a problem. Persevere in your goodness. Shine your light into the darkness of those who don’t know God. Because that’s what God wants us to do.

Fit in your Faith Today: Do you find that you show others your goodness, especially during dark times? Do you find it difficult to be a Christian sometimes? Persevere in your faith knowing that you are God’s own creation and your light shines no matter how dim the situation might be.

 

Who do you love?

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1 John 4:7

Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love.

From The New Life Study Bible:

Everyone believes that love is important, but love is usually thought of as a feeling. In reality, love is a choice and an action as 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 shows. God is the source of our love. He loved us enough to sacrifice his Son for us. Jesus is our example of what it means to love; everything he did in life and death was supremely loving. The Holy Spirit gives us the power to love; he lives in our heart and makes us more and more like Christ. God’s love always involves a choice and an action, and our love should be like his. How well do you display your love for God in the choices you make and the actions you take?

What stood out for me in this particular passage was just the overall theme of love of course. Especially with the latest news of terrorist attacks in Paris and the civil unrest that seems to be happening everywhere in the world and just overall bad and terrible news everywhere you turn. It can really make you ask the question: “Where is the love?”

The last line – Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. I automatically consider the opposite of love which is hate obviously. People are full of hate. Full of evil. These extremists or terrorists or whatever category you want to put them in – their heart isn’t full of love. At least, not the kind of love that God represents. I’m not sure what or who they love, but I imagine it’s not our God. I believe it’s their choice to choose hate instead of love, for reasons I don’t begin to understand.

But perhaps the focus should be on ourselves when we reflect on passages like this one. So what can I do or how do I relate to this passage personally? I find it comforting. I find it to be absolutely spot on. I used to think of love as just a feeling. But it’s a relationship. It’s an action. But is it an action that I display every day?

Fit In Your Faith Today: Take the question the Study Bible asks – How well do you display our love for God in the choices and actions you make each day? Are you displaying a loving side of yourself to others or an angry, or disappointed, or prideful side? How can you change these actions and choices to be loving instead?

 

Pray for Those Who Won’t, Those Who Can’t and Those Who Don’t

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Spend time praying for 10 things that don’t benefit you. – Dale Partridge

Dale Partridge of The Daily Positive posted this status update on his Facebook page the other day.

I shared it on my own Facebook page with the subtitle  – “A great 2015 resolution!”

Quite the challenge for all of us. Not only to pray for others but to pray for things that will aren’t necessarily going to benefit us. Of course, any type of prayer is always good for us but Dale’s point was for us to see that prayer doesn’t always have to be all about us. It’s quite selfish to always pray for circumstances to benefit ourselves, although that’s what prayer is sometimes – a request for help.

But I think Dale’s point was to get us to stop thinking of ourselves for more than a few minutes a day. Think of others. Think about ways to help someone else for a change.

I admit it was challenging for me to think of 10 different things to pray for that don’t involve me. At first, the first few were easy to write down and pray (a friend of a friend who is ill, a family member looking for a job, a parishioner who recently had surgery) but then I really had to stop and think about more people and events that did not directly affect me. Of course there are always people out there who need our prayers. But do we really stop and think about them? These complete strangers?  These unknowns?

I thought of 3 categories of the people who need prayers:

Those that don’t pray: Non-believers, or just anyone who makes it a point to tell you that they just don’t pray. They might even believe in God and maybe go to church regularly. But, these people just don’t pray. Maybe it’s just not their thing. Maybe they don’t think prayer works.

Those who won’t pray: The people who refuse to acknowledge a higher power. The ones who perhaps believed in something or someone at one point but have left the church or had a bad experience with faith. Maybe they think God hurt them in the past.

Those who can’t pray: Those who are physically or mentally unable to pray; someone with a debilitating disease or condition who can’t speak or communicate in any way; those who have passed on (yes they need our prayers too!).

So those are the people and their unfortunate circumstances that I’m praying for currently. And of course, this challenge isn’t just a one-and-done type of endeavor. I plan on trying to do this everyday. Let this be a challenge for all of us in this new year. To give and to think about others. To cease our selfish ways for a moment and pray for others.

Fit in Your Faith Today: Challenge yourself and pray for 10 things that don’t directly benefit you. Write them down and pray for all 10 things every day for a week. Then start a new list the following week and continue for the whole year. What a tremendous accomplishment and what an amazing number of answered prayers to be thankful for at the end of one year.

 

Start Your Day With Prayer

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Prayer of St. Thomas Aquinas

Grant me, O Lord my God, a mind to know you, a heart to seek you, wisdom to find you, conduct pleasing to you, faithful perseverance in waiting for you, and a hope of finally embracing you. Amen.

 Do you start your day with a prayer? A prayer of gratitude, or even just the words “Help me, Jesus?” Prayers are just conversations with God. Sometimes people think they have to be these long, memorized, recited words. But they don’t!

Sometimes you can just start your day with a simple “Thank you God for another day to worship you.”

Or “I’m not sure what to say today Lord but I just wanted to say thanks for blessing me with all that I have.”

This prayer above from St. Thomas Aquinas is a great one that sums up what many of us need everyday.

“A mind to know God” – There’s a saying that you fill your mind with God’s word before you even get out of bed, that way it leaves little else for your mind to be “littered” with throughout the day. Have God always on your brain.

“A heart to seek God” – Always be searching for Him. You don’t know to look very far. He’s near us, He created us, He is in us.

“Wisdom to find God” – Reading devotionals like this one are a great way to seek wisdom. Of course the Bible provides all the wisdom about God that you could possibly need. Saturate your mind with His words.

“Conduct pleasing to God” – This is probably one of the more difficult requests. Do you conduct yourself throughout the day in a manner that would be pleasing to God?

“Faithful perseverance in waiting for God” – One day we will meet God. In the meantime we must wait for Him with great anticipation.

“A hope of finally embracing God” – This prayer ends with words of comfort. Picture the final embrace you will receive once you finally pass from this life and into the next. It shouldn’t cause you any distress; it should give you comfort to know that we will one day meet Our Father.

Fit in Your Faith Today: Start everyday with a prayer. It can be as simple or as short or as long as you want. You’re having a conversation with God; talk to Him. Use St. Thomas’ prayer if you want. Or come up with your own. Create this habit and note if you feel or find yourself in better spirits because of this great way to start your day!

The Word is Alive

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John 1: 1-5, 9-14

In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God.
He was in the beginning with God.
All things came to be through him,
and without him nothing came to be.
What came to be through him was life,
and this life was the light of the human race;
the light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness has not overcome it.
The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.
He was in the world,
and the world came to be through him,
but the world did not know him.
He came to what was his own,
but his own people did not accept him.

But to those who did accept him
he gave power to become children of God,
to those who believe in his name,
who were born not by natural generation
nor by human choice nor by a man’s decision
but of God.
And the Word became flesh
and made his dwelling among us,
and we saw his glory,
the glory as of the Father’s only Son,
full of grace and truth.

Merry Christmas to all the children of God on this most blessed day, the day our savior was born!

 

Fit in your Faith Today:  Be sure to spend some quiet time after the gifts have been unwrapped, after the last sip of egg nog, after the final goodbye to relatives. Spend time in quiet prayer in awe and wonderment at the true meaning of what this day signifies to all of us and to you.

God always and in everything

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St. Vincent Pallotti

Not the goods of the world, but God. Not riches, but God. Not honors, but God. Not distinction, but God. Not dignities, but God. Not advancement, but God. God always and in everything.

 

Do you worship things of this world? Do you idolize people who have higher honor than you? Do you think if you’re famous or successful, that it’s the key to happiness?

If you do, you’ve fallen for a trick. A scam. Because the things of this world are just that – things. You can’t take any promotions with you to heaven. You can’t take those fancy clothes or that expensive car or your house with you either. None of this stuff that we seem to worship here on earth matters.  Nope, in the end, what does matter is our love for each other and our love for God. That’s it.

Fit in your Faith Today:  Do you worship things? Do you find money as being something you can never quite seem to get enough of? Do you need to prioritize the important things in your life? Start with your relationship with God. Then consider your relationship with others. Is it suffering due to your obsession with material posessions or success in your life? Re-examine your priorities and put God first.

Worry Less, Pray More

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Philippians 4:6-7

Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

Are you a worrier? Would others describe you as someone who is always anxious and worrying about the problems in your life? I could be described as a worrier. But I kept hearing the same piece of advice being repeated to me over and over by various people: Give it to God.

At first you might scoff at it and think, “Give WHAT to God? My problems? How can that possibly help?” But the more you think about it, the more it makes sense. Worrying doesn’t really solve anything. What does? Well, praying about it can at least ease the tension. Once you speak the words of what is on your mind to God, even if you’re just praying out loud and not quite sure you think God is listening (He is) it really does help. You can actually feel the weight being lifted off your shoulders as someone else takes the burden.

A couple other key words in St. Paul’s letter to the Philippians above is THANK HIM. So many times we pray ASKING for God to provide us with something. The more important word we should remember when praying is to start off by giving thanks. Because no matter what is going on in your life, there’s someone out there who has an even bigger dilemma and it’s good to recognize that despite your current distress, someone else out there could use a prayer too. So Thank God for all you have and then ask him to take the burden off your shoulders. Ask Him for guidance to help you figure out what to do. Ask him to bring you peace and ease your mind of any anxiety.

Fit In Your Faith Today: Who or what are you currently worrying about? How can you ask God to bring you peace to your current situation?

Pray for Wisdom

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Proverbs 8: 9-12

My words are plain to anyone with understanding, clear to those with knowledge.

Choose my instruction rather than silver, and knowledge rather than pure gold.

For wisdom is far more valuable than rubies. Nothing you desire can compare with it.

I, Wisdom, live together with good judgement. I know where to discover knowledge and discernment.

Wisdom should affect every aspect of our lives, from beginning to end. We should always strive to increase our wisdom, always willing to learn something new about our faith, about relationships, about life. Under God’s direction and guidance, we can attain all kinds of wisdom and knowledge.

As for the value of wisdom, Proverbs teaches us it’s far valuable than gold or silver and jewels. Our goal should never be to increase our wealth. If we keep our eye on the prize of wisdom, we’ll be far happier with the results.

Money and fame and material possessions have temporary effects. They will only give us satisfaction that lasts a short while. It’s far better to have a wealth of knowledge, than a wealth of money.

Fit in Your Faith Today: What can you learn about God today? What is He trying to teach you and how can you share this new found wisdom with others?

The Lost Sheep In Your Life

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The Parable of the Lost Sheep

Luke 15: 1-7

The tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to listen to him, but the Pharisees and scribes began to complain, saying, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” So to them he addressed this parable. “What man among you having a hundred sheep and losing one of them would not leave the ninety-nine in the desert and go after the lost one until he finds it? And when he does find it, he sets it on his shoulders with great joy and, upon his arrival home, he calls together his friends and neighbors and says to them, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.’ I tell you, in just the same way there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need of repentance.

 After reading this parable, we might consider ourselves to be the lost sheep. We might compare ourselves to that lost animal that wanders off the path that God has set for us, hoping to be found again.

But what if you are the shepherd and the lost sheep is one of your friends or family members? Maybe it’s someone you used to see at church but haven’t in a long time. Or maybe it’s a friend you used to be close with but they have started hanging out with a different crowd, one that you might not understand or get along with for one reason or another.

Consider that lost sheep in your life ask yourself how you can make a point to reach out to them and see what they are up to. Have you reached out to this person recently? If not, why? If you did, how did it go? Some of these lost sheep might not want to return “home.”  And there’s really nothing we can do about it right now. But one day they might want to come back and we should be there with open arms as God our Father would want us to be. He always welcomes back his lost sheep and we should too.

Fit in your Faith Today: Think about who is lost in your life and how you can make an active effort to bring them back home.

Putting on the Armor of God

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Ephesians 6:11-12

Put on the full armor of God so that you may be able to stand firm against the tactics of the Devil. For our struggle is not with flesh and blood but with the principalities, with the powers, with the world rulers of this present darkness, with the evil spirits in the heavens.

The city of Ephesus, to which this letter was written to, was practicing what would be considered a “cult” practice of magic, new age, spells, etc. at this time.  They were trying to harness divine powers for their own control. Lots of spiritual warfare going on at this time. This was the home of St. Paul for awhile because it was at the heart of the battle of light and darkness.

Paul is trying to assure the Ephesians (and us in our present day) that the struggles in this world is not with the things that we see. We always want to blame people around us for our problems like politicians, world leaders, the government, anyone but ourselves. While there’s plenty of blame to go around, that’s not the end of the story. There are spiritual realities behind all these people and events that are bigger than we can actually see.

What is bigger? God. God is bigger than all of this. There is an unseen reality all around us. We have guardian angels who are protecting us and fighting these battles that we just can’t see. It can scary to think about this but it’s also comforting. The reality for us is that God is in control. We need to pray for the grace and the strength to do our part in this “battle.” As chaotic as the world might seem, we need to have confidence that God has won.

Fit in Your Faith Today: Recognize that just because what you read in the paper and see on the news looks like the world is chaotic and in turmoil, this battle has already been won. God is bigger than the chaos.