Day 41: God 1; Ego 0
Saturday
Luke 17.20-21
20 Once Jesus was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God was coming, and he answered, “The kingdom of God is not coming with things that can be observed; 21 nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There it is!’ For, in fact, the kingdom of God is among you.”
Richard Rohr says, “Prayer is not about changing God (to do what we want), but being willing to let God change us.”[1] The book series Dianne Martin and I wrote (we are hoping to write an Advent issue soon, too) is called Pray. Act. Pray Again. People frequently ask what this means. I often respond by saying it means we are in a constant conversation with God. Perhaps I should have added Pray and Contemplate. Act. Pray and Contemplate Again. You see I feel that our prayers do not happen because we decided to ask God for something—I believe God speaks to us first and all of our prayers are responses. Rohr advises prayer requires contemplation and that “opens us to the absolute union and love between God and the soul.”
Jesus tells the Pharisees, “the kingdom of God is among you,” which is affirmed by us every time we pray “thy will be done on earth as in heaven.” What do those words really mean? Rohr says it means we become willing to “find God in our own struggle with life.” If we can do that, he believes “God has won, the ego has lost.”[2]
Thinking about the messages that Jesus left for his disciples in those fifty days after the resurrection has given me a new clarity of purpose. Jesus is not telling his disciples to strive to be their best so that they earn rewards, rather he is telling them to use their grace-filled gifts to reflect God’s love back into the world such that God gets all of the praise. Humility and thanksgiving for the opportunity to serve with God is God’s desired response.
How do you feel about freely surrendering your will to God’s will on earth as in heaven? What would it look like if we all humbly gave God full credit?
Prayer Recap: Dear Lord, Doing Your will on earth as in heaven is not meant to help us get places of honor. Help us to embrace the gifts You gave to us so we can achieve on earth all that we can accomplish—not for fame and fortune—but rather to honor You and to bless Your creations. Amen.
[1] Rohr, Richard, A Spring Within Us, p. 202.
[2] Ibid.
