Bible
Study: 1 Samuel 8, 4 to 7 and 10 to 22.
And Mark 2, 1 to 12.
There are
prayers that are pleasing to God and there are prayers that are offensive to
him. There are certain things we ask from him that unknown to us, he feels
embarrassed that we should dare to ask for such things.
Today we
read about how all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel to
request that he should appoint a king to govern the nation of Israel. This was
a simple request, one that made a lot of sense to the people themselves. All
they wanted was a king just like other nations.
But then,
beneath the surface, beneath the innocent prayer for a king, was a REJECTION OF
GOD’S KINGSHIP over the people. All they could see was how a king would make
them be like others, what they couldn’t see was that by becoming like others,
they were asking God to step aside.
There are
times we pray for certain things not because we really need them, but just
because we want to be like others. And God says to us: “I made you different
and unique, why do you want to be like others? Why do you want to drive that
same type of car? Why do you think you also deserve that which your neighbour
has?” For our part, we are simply praying but unless we examine our hearts very
well, we wouldn’t see that it is just our petty jealousies playing themselves
out in prayer.
Furthermore,
our prayers could be offensive to God when instead of asking for God himself,
we ask for a replacement of God in our lives. How? Just like the Isrealites,
God wants to be our king, he wants to be at the centre of our lives, God wants
to occupy our full attention, but we start asking for gods, that is, earthly
things that would occupy our attention. When our prayers are totally
materialistic, it is like saying: “God I really do not need you, just give me
those things I worship, plenty of money, fame, romance, power etc.”
The fact
is that we cannot play a fast one on God. He knows those things that we possess
which take our attention away from him. He knows how much we desire to have
certain things that we know would hamper our spiritual life. Have you noticed
how some persons become blessed, so blessed that they stop going to church,
they even stop praying as they used to, and they begin to ask: “what do I need
God for?”
Samuel did
all he could to discourage the people but they insisted. They shouted: “We want
a king over us, we want a king who can fight our battles” They had completely
lost faith in God. They saw God as too weak and too powerless to defend them
from the threats of other nations.
How
confident are you in God?
Do you
bring this confidence to prayer? Do you pray with faith like the four men determined
by all means to get their friend to Jesus? There is prayer that is pleasing to
God. It is the prayer that is laden with faith in God’s ability to make things
happen. As we read in the Gospel passage: “And when Jesus saw their faith…” Do
your actions show your faith? Is Jesus happy about the kind of faith you bring
to prayers?
Again, as
the book James tells us: “The prayer of the righteous is powerful and
effective.” James 5, 16. In as much as God does not reject the prayer of the
sinner, He wills that we should always strive to repent from our sins before
approaching him. Hence Jesus himself taught “If you are on your way to offer
your gift at the altar and remember that someone has something against you,
first go and be reconciled and then come and offer your gift.” Matthew 5, 23 to
24.
It is from
this perspective that Jesus pronounces forgiveness over the paralytic before
saying “rise, take up your pallet and go home.” It was necessary to be
reconciled first to God before he received physical healing. It is always
necessary that we seek God’s forgiveness that our prayers may be pleasing to
him. Hence even the Mass itself begins with the Penitential rites.
Before we
present our prayer requests before him, we first examine our hearts thoroughly,
we check the secret intentions and ulterior motives in our heart. That way, we
check if we are truly asking for God or for a material replacement of God in
our lives. We get to check if our prayers arise of a genuine need or because we
just want to be like everyone else, whether we just want to be like other
nations.
Let us
Pray:
Lord
Jesus, may my prayers always rise before you as a pleasing aroma and a sweet
scenting fragrance. Amen.
God bless you. Good morning. Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is
well with you.
No comments:
Post a Comment