Saturday 1st
June, 2019. Read Acts 18:23-28, Psalm 47 and
John 16:23-28
_*“Until
now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, so
that your joy may be complete.” (John 16:24)*_
Whenever
you are sad, depressed, downcast or annoyed, go down on your knees and pray.
Bring the matter to God, pour out your heart and soul before God with faith and
trust. Don’t just talk to God about your problem, drop it at his feet. There is
a huge difference between telling God your problem and handing over the matter
to Him.
Most
times, we pray and pray for hours only to carry our burdens with us again; we
continue being sad and downcast. This attitude betrays our trust in God’s
ability to actually do something about our problem and it shouldn’t be the
attitude of believing Christians. When you pray, drop the matter and let God do
the thinking, let God worry about the issue, let God work it out, you just go
in peace.
In truth, to
really pray is to actually drop the matter before God such that by the time you
finish praying, you have forgotten all those things bothering your mind in the
first place. This is praying like a child, this is praying with trust. It is
shutting down the mind completely acknowledging that it is no longer your
business to know how the matter would be solved. When you pray like this, you
always come out of prayer happy, joyful and at peace.
Our first
reading today talks about a Jew named Apollos. He was an eloquent man well
versed in the scriptures. He had been instructed in the way of the Lord; and
being fervent in spirit, he spoke and taught accurately the things concerning Jesus
even though he was not properly catechised. Thanks to Priscilla and Aquila who
took it upon themselves to teach him more. He was able to refute other Jews in
public using the scripture.
Apollos
displayed a willingness to learn from Priscilla and Aquila and it paid off. Sometimes,
when we are gifted, we could easily fall into the trap of pride, refusing to
learn and refusing to grow. There is nothing as bad as being ignorant and
arrogant at the same time. Today, we celebrate one great man who like Apollos
defended the faith vigorously even to the point of shedding his blood for
Christ; St. Justin, the martyr. We pray that God will give us more saints like
St. Justin who would defend the faith in a time like ours when it has almost
become a thing of a joke to be a priest.
Let us
pray: Lord Jesus, transform my prayer life that I may remain forever joyful and
peacefully. Amen.
Happy New Month. Be Happy. Live
Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God bless you. (Saturday after the
Ascension of the Lord. Bible Study: Acts 18:23-28,
Psalm 47 and John 16:23-28).
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