Pray and prepare

One thing that struck me in today’s reading is Paul and the cripled man

He listened to Paul speaking, who looked intently at him,
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

http://mysimplereflection.blogspot.com/2012/02/of-faith-and-humility.html

http://mysimplereflection.blogspot.com/2012/03/just-do-it.html

Remain in Him as we are pruned

The readings today encourage us to remain in God for us to be able to bear good fruit, for us to be able to serve Him well. If we remain in Christ, we will be molded to be more and more like him so our prayers would be more be like his prayers, which God would grant. (See related reflection http://mysimplereflection.blogspot.com/2012/05/asking-in-his-name.html)

However, what struck me was God pruning us. The gospel says:

He takes away every branch in me that does not bear fruit,
and every one that does he prunes so that it bears more fruit.

It is not going to be easy. Yes, it is not going to be easy. Following God does not mean life will be easy. It does not mean we will be spared from the hurts and pains. However, we should take comfort that God is pruning us to be better.

God takes away what will not bear fruit, but prunes those who do to make it better. Oo, masakit, but as we serve God, we will realize that sulit naman yung sakit if only to bear much fruit. Sulit magpuyat to serve God. Sulit maging busy doing God’s work. Sulit mag love offering for God. Sulit gawin ang tama, knowing God will be pleased with it. Yes, sabi nga, “it is better to suffer for doing good, than to suffer for doing evil (1 Peter 3:17)”

Even Jesus was not spared from suffering and pain. The saints had their own share of sufferings and pain. They were all pruned, that’s why they all bore much fruit. We should take comfort in that, and remember that when we feel so burdened and tired, feeling that the world is against us, well it probably is. God is not of the world, and we should rejoice that when the world is going against us, because it means we are not of the world as well.

May we seek to always remain in God, and be comforted when we are experiencing challenges in life. Let us remember that God prunes us to enable us to bear much fruit.

Stay blessed!

PS

Sharing with you a related reflection on being pruned by God (http://mysimplereflection.blogspot.com/2011/12/refiner-and-purifier-of-silver.html)

Do we really know Him?

Sharing with you an excerpt from today’s gospel

Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you for so long a time
and you still do not know me, Philip?

Jesus asks Philip, hindi mo pa ba ako kilala? Ang tagal na natin magkasama, di mo parin ako kilala?

Jesus asks us the same question today. Do you not know me? How long have we known each other? What else should I do to prove my love for you, to prove my power?

Sometimes we live our lives as if we do not know who Jesus is. When we sin, we seem to forget his great love for us that he died on the cross for us. When we look down on ourselves, we forget that Jesus loves us enough, he deemed us worthy of his love and his life on earth. When we do things our way, we forget that God has his perfect plan for us. When we worry about our worldly problems, we forget that God is in control of everything and that he will provide for us.

God wants us to know him personally. He wants us to build a  deep relationship with him – unlike the Jews in the first reading who rejected him. As we get to know how great God is, we will slowly learn to submit ourselves and surrender to his will. We will slowly allow Him to be God in our lives.

Today, let us ask ourselves, who is God in my life? Do I really know Him? How can I know him better?

God bless!

Do not worry. Have Faith.

I personally like readings which talk about faith in God and his assurance for us – because at the end of the day, when things look gloomy and hopeless, it is only our faith in God that would get us through the dark night.

The gospel today remind us of this faith, and of God’s assurance. We see Jesus telling his friends:

"Do not let your hearts be troubled.
You have faith in God; have faith also in me

Do not worry. Have faith. Short but very powerful words from Jesus himself. Let us imagine Jesus telling us these words as we face life’s challenges. Jesus told these words to his disciples during the last supper. He told them he would die, that he would suffer, that he would be betrayed. Imagine how the disciples must have felt. Their leader for years will soon die a humiliating death. What would happen to them? Who would guide and protect them? These probably were some of the questions going on in their minds.

In our lives, we face challenges everyday. Some may not be as painful or hard as others, but we should take comfort in Jesus’ words. He is asking us to have faith in Him, the Son of God. Faith that knows he will take care of us. Faith that submits ourselves to his divine will. Faith that allows us to die of ourselves so that he may live in us. Faith that would be the source of inner peace, knowing He is in control. Faith.

What is troubling my heart now?  Why?  Are the challenges I am facing bigger than God? Am I letting them block my view of God? Why can I not focus on God, his power and his love for me? How can I improve my faith in God? Am I praying to God to help me strengthen my faith?

May we always remember Christ’s words. Do not worry. Have faith. Let us remember who is saying this to us, as the first reading and psalm says – “You are my Son, this day I have begotten you” The only Son of God tells us this. Do not worry. Have faith.

Asking in His name

Sharing with you an excerpt from today’s gospel

And whatever you ask in my name, I will do,
so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
If you ask anything of me in my name, I will do it

What is asking in His name? What is asking in Jesus name? I believe asking in Jesus’ name means putting yourself in His shoes. It is like Jesus himself asking that something to God. Yes, he will grant the requests to glorify God the Father. He will grant the request as long as it is in accordance with God’s perfect will. Even Jesus said this – “take this cup away from me…but not my will, but yours, be done”

This shows what God wants from us. He wants us to seek him first, to subject to his will. Yes, our intentions may be good, it may be to glorify his name. However, that does not always guarantee that it is in accordance to God’s will. As we pray, we should also work on having childlike faith in seeking God’s perfect will first and being humble enough to accept when what we want is not in accordance to his.

God bless!

OF praying and preparing

The first reading today reminds me how important it is to prepare spiritually before doing God’s work.

While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said,
"Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul
for the work to which I have called them."
Then, completing their fasting and prayer,
they laid hands on them and sent them off.

They finished their praying and fasting before doing God’s work. They finished preparing before going into the battlefield. Yes, it is so important to be prepared as much as we can before we do God’s work. Hindi pwedeng isipin na trabaho na agad kasi work naman ni God eh. We also have to do our part, to prepare, before we can confidently and properly serve Him.

This does not mean we should only pray when we’re expecting to do God’s work. In the reading, they were praying before God called them. We should be constantly pray and be ready so that we would be sensitive enough to hear God’s voice when he calls us. We should pray always. Period.

God bless!

Up to you

The gospel today is very inspiring.

No one can take them out of my hand.
My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all,
and no one can take them out of the Father's hand.

Jesus tells us that no one can take us away from Him. How cool is that? =)  This is why, most probably you felt this in one way or another, that God always come to our rescue, especially when we’re a about to go astray. Minsan, pasaway ka na talaga, kung ano ano na ang ginagawa mo sa buhay mo, tapos feeling mo napapalayo ka na kay God. Then suddenly, he will reach out to you –through a friend, through a message, through his word. Then you will realize that God just saved you, he just pulled you back in. Yes, sabi nga nya, no one can take us away from Him.

Does this mean we are forever his? Not necessarily. No one can take you away. The enemy cannot take you away from Him. However, it does not mean you cannot go away. God loves us so much he gave us free will to choose kung saan tayo. Kahit na di tayo maaagaw ng kalaban, kung tayo naman ang aalis, wala magagawa si God. So just as important it is to know that no one can take us away from God, it’s also important to remember that we can choose to stay with him or go away. God can only do so much. He needs our decision as well.

As St Augustine says: God who created us without us, cannot save us without us.

God bless!