Devotional Thought of the Day…

 ¹  And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. ²  Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. Romans 12:1-2 (NLT)

426      Today once again I prayed full of confidence. This was my petition: “Lord, may neither our past wretchedness which has been forgiven us, nor the possibility of future wretchedness cause us any disquiet. May we abandon ourselves into your merciful hands. May we bring before you our desires for sanctity and apostolate, which are hidden like embers under the ashes of an apparent coldness…” ”Lord, I know you are listening to us.” You should say this to him too.  (1)

It has been said that if we are to preach about sin, we should preach against real sin.  The sin in our lives, the sin in our hearts and minds.  Not the sins of those in Washington D.C., or among some broken group of people.  But our sin.

In my devotions this morning, I came across the above quote by St. Josemaria – and it resonated with me, because it asks us to pray a real prayer.

Not just a prayer to changes things, but a prayer to change us.

A prayer of confession, and a prayer that acknowledges our real weakness, in our past and in our future..(2)  A prayer that acknowledges our wretchedness, and future wretchedness – and begs that this not cause anxiety…for we are confident in Him.

Jesus in Pray (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

A prayer that seems to be generated in this midst of our spiritual “dryness”, where we realize our desire to be God’s children has dampened, as has our desire to bring His love to the world.

A prayer that realizes our hope is found, not in our strength, nor in our faithfulness, but a prayer that confidently is spoken, knowing that He who is listening is faithful… knowing that He is listening!!!

In the Romans passage – worship is similarly abandoning our lives in the presence of God.   Letting God transform us, letting God breath life into the barely warms embers, changing our mind (repentance) into the mind of Christ.

That’s a real prayer… change us Lord – make sure we know you are Lord – that you are here, listening and working…

A prayer in confidence that addresses the real issue…

Will you pray so?

(1)Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). The Forge (Kindle Locations 1637-1641). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.

(2)  Comment – the strongest people I have know – have dealt with physical trauma to the point where there bodies are wasted away… there, stripped of their strength – they find God’s immeasurable strength sustaining them.

Related articles

• Take Up Your Cross and Walk with Jesus (justifiedandsinner.com)
• A Call to Teach/Preach about Jesus with our hearts as well as our minds… (justifiedandsinner.com)
• Worship, Preaching and Teaching… a quest to be heard. (justifiedandsinner.com)