Before we do anything or make any important decisions, do we pray and ask God for strength and wisdom to do what is right? Today’s Gospel shows us that Jesus “went out into the hills to pray; and he spent the whole night in prayer to God.” Notice that He did not rush through prayer but took time to converse with God and listen to Him. Perhaps we too should take heed of this, as some of us may have the habit of rattling through our prayer without giving God a chance to talk to us and teach us.
Category Archives: Saint
Oct 15 – Saint Teresa of Ávila
Today, we are invited by Jesus to place our entire trust in him and in his heavenly father. Very often, we will not be able to understand the reasoning behind God’s will. But that’s alright. It only indicates that we are not God. Our limited minds cannot fully comprehend the will of the One who is unlimited. Unless we become like little children, docile and obedient, God’s will remains obscure to us. Jesus reminds us that God hides these things from the learned and the clever and reveals them to mere children. This is what trust is all about. A child trusts that his parents will take care of him and so he is free from worry. Obedience means trusting.
As long as we insist on our ways, as long as we refuse to listen to others or refuse to change, we can never experience the kingdom of God. We must learn to bring down our walls and defenses. We must let the Lord prune us, so that we would bear even more fruit. It is only by surrendering to God, will we find our victory. When we surrender to God’s will, we will also find peace. Obedience means surrendering to God’s will.
Let us then listen to God. Let us trust in his goodness. Let us learn humility from Jesus who humbled himself to accepting death on the cross. Let us surrender ourselves to God so that we will be remade anew.