Prayer for the grace of trust in God.

If there is one sin that the Lord Jesus warns His friends against more than anything else, it is the sin of the unhealthy concerns of our hearts, which are stressful and instigators of fear for life. The word of God in Matthew 6:33 states: “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” Fear of lack often traps simple Christians as much as the love of wealth does for the rich. Fear of tomorrow easily makes us forget the Lord’s promises that we will lack nothing. Matthew 6:26 says well, “Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of much more value than they?” God has promised food and clothing, so we can wait for them. We must not worry about tomorrow, about the time to come. We are not to worry about the future, about how we will live next year, or when we will be old, or what we will leave behind. Just as we are not to boast about tomorrow, we are not to worry about tomorrow or its events. Our shortcomings come from not knowing how to pray. “You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may gratify your own lusts,” the apostle James tells us in 4:3. In this, those before us are no better than we are. The sons of Zebedee are a perfect illustration of this, who say to Jesus, “Master, whatever we ask of you, we want you to do for us” (Mk 10:35). As author Luccock says, “Peter and James’ request is completely flawed. They are asking Jesus to fit into their plans instead of trying to fit into Jesus’ plans themselves.” But what do parents do when they hear their children ask them, “Will you do something for me?” The wise parent, Luccock continues, first seeks to know what is being asked before accepting. So he will ask his son, “What will you have me do for you?” It is the same question that Jesus asks blind Bartimaeus. Bartimaeus will respond by asking Jesus to restore his sight, which Jesus will do. Bartimaeus will then follow Jesus “on the way.” And that is how God does with us. We are often like the two brothers in the requests we make to God. We are Christians who want to hear what we want instead of listening to Jesus’ words about the quality of our requests. That is why our requests are not answered. God speaks to us and we listen to our hearts. He is the one who said that he who asks will receive. And that is what he always does. The blind man cries out and the Lord asks him, what do you want me to do for you. Let me see. And he sees. Why? Because his request corresponds to what God wants for him. The two disciples ask for places. But they do not receive them, because their request does not correspond to what God wants for them. If we examine our own prayers, we will realize that they are similar to those of the two disciples and brothers. The emphasis of our prayers is rarely placed on worship or praise. We are less inspired to give thanks, we quickly pass over the confession of our sins. On the other hand, we are verbose on the prayer of request. Lord, give me this and Lord, give me that. Our prayers are not so not so different from this request of James and John.
God has indeed promised to provide for our needs, to supply all our needs (Philippians 4:19). But His understanding of what we need often differs from ours, and His timing rarely coincides with our plans. For example, we may view our needs as riches or a promotion, but perhaps God knows that what we really need is to change that wicked, hard heart, to leave behind that jealousy that eats away at you when others succeed, to overcome that lack of attention to your parents, that tendency to always want to be right, that difficulty you have in sharing what you have, that inclination to see only the bad in others. If in your prayers you ask God to help you erase these defects, it is obvious that He will hear you. And in hearing you, He will grant you at the same time what is secondary and which seemed to be a priority in you. When we pray then let us ask God for the grace to adjust our requests to His will.

Let us pray to the Lord.

Lord God and Father of all men, you love those who are good and those who are less good. Hear my prayer I beg you. Life is so difficult for me that sometimes I doubt your love for me. Teach me how to adjust my requests to your plans for me. Your apostle John, ( 1 John 5:14 ), taught that we have this assurance with you, that if we ask anything according to his will, you hear us. Give me the grace to trust in your Spirit who inspires true prayer. Amen.

Rev. Fr. Joseph Kinda