He listened to Paul speaking, who looked intently at him,
saw that he had the faith to be healed,
saw that he had the faith to be healed,
Paul saw the faith in the crippled man. The man had faith.
Again, we see the importance of faith. Jesus cannot heal us if we do not have faith in Him. Paul cannot heal the man, in Jesus’ name, if he did not have faith in God. It is good to ask ourselves, do we have faith in God’s power? Do we have faith that God loves us? When we pray, do we have expectant faith or not?
There’s a story from the movie “Facing the Giants” about two farmers. Both of them desperately needed rain, so they prayed to God for rain. But only one farmer prepared his field to receive it. Who showed greater faith? Of course the one who prepared his field. God will send rain when he’s ready or when the time is right. Question is, are we prepared to receive it?
God will send blessings in our lives. Are we ready to receive it? Do we prepare ourselves, do we prepare our lives, so that we would be ready when God sends his blessings?
St Augustine said that “God who created us without us, cannot save us without us” God needs our participation. He needs our readiness. He needs us to do our part. Like Jesus, Paul asked the man to do something in order for him to be healed. He asked him to stand up straight on his feet. The man, who had faith, and who prepared his field to receive God’s blessings, did as he was told and he was healed.
A lot of people pray, and that’ good. However, we should not stop there. We should continue our journey towards becoming more and more like Christ. We should act and live our lives in faith, knowing that He will give what’s best for us. When praying for something, we should have faith and prepare ourselves to receive God’s gift. When praying for an opportunity to serve and get to know him more, we should have faith that he wil clear our schedules and allow us to do just that. When praying for enlightenment, we should live happily, knowing that God is hearing our prayers and will guide us in the right direction. Even in praying for our partner. We should have faith that God will give us the perfect partner for us, and prepare ourselves to receive that partner by letting go of unhealthy relationships that seem to keep us happy.
God loves us so much and his power and blessings is abundant for everyone. We just need to have faith and prepare ourselves.
Am I praying in faith? Am I preparing myself to receive God’s blessings? Am I like Paul who is sensitive to the needs of others, and allow God to work through me to bless others? Do I keep my focus on God and not on myself, like the apostoles in the first reading who lived the psalm, “Not to us, O Lord, but to you name give flory”?
Have a blessed week!
In Christ,
- g -
PS
See related reflections
No comments:
Post a Comment