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One Bread, One Body - Reflection for October 5, 2006

THE STAGES OF ASKING GOD

"Hear, O Lord, the sound of my call." –Psalm 27:7

There are degrees of asking God for what is needed. Here are some Scriptural levels of asking God:

  1. "I will not ask!" (Is 7:12) We are either too proud to ask for God's help, or we want Him to keep out of the situation. We don't receive because we don't ask (Jas 4:2).
  2. We do ask God, but we ask wrongly, thinking only of our selfish pleasures, and so we don't receive (Jas 4:3).
  3. We ask God to meet our physical needs. Jesus tells us to ask God for our needs, and we will receive (Mt 6:11; 7:7).
  4. We ask Him to supply our spiritual needs. This is an even better level of asking God, for our physical bodies are passing away while our eternal soul always can grow closer to the Lord (see 2 Cor 4:16ff).
  5. We ask the Lord to meet the needs of others. This is very good. We are fulfilling the great commandment of loving our neighbor (Mt 22:39). We are now imitating Jesus, our Intercessor (1 Jn 2:1; Heb 7:25), as we selflessly intercede for others in His name.
  6. Finally, we reach the heights of asking God when we ask for what He Himself wants. As Jesus taught us, we ask for His will to be done (Mt 6:10). This is more than a resignation to God's will. This is a burning zeal for His desires to be realized here on earth.

How does your asking rate? Ask in Jesus' name and He will do it (Jn 14:13).

PRAYER: "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name, Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven" (Mt 6:9-10).
PROMISE: "Know that the reign of God is near." –Lk 10:11
PRAISE: St. Faustina's zeal for God's will was so intense that Jesus revealed to the world through Faustina a new image of His grace and mercy.

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Acknowledgement

Reprinted with permission from Presentation Ministries, a lay association of the Catholic Church that focuses on evangelization and discipleship through Bible teaching, daily Mass, the charisms of the Holy Spirit, and Small Christian Community. Their ministries include:

· One Bread, One Body
· Daily Bread Radio Program
· Annual Bible Institute
· Discipleship Retreats
· Guadalupe Bible College