Tagged: Prayer Intention

“God put Abraham to the test.” –Genesis 22:1 Lent is a season of being put to the test (see Mt 4:1; Gn 22:1). God, “the Tester of our hearts” (1 Thes 2:4), brings us to obedience school this Lent. He is testing us to see if we trust His promises or if our hearts are far from Him and we’ve just been giving Him “lip service” (Mk 7:6). Three days ago, the Church proclaimed Jesus’ promise that God wants to provide our needs (Mt 7:7-11). Tomorrow Jesus promises us that if we give, God will provide for us lavishly (Lk...

“None of the crimes he committed shall be remembered against him.” –Ezekiel 18:22 Many elderly people can’t remember what they ate for lunch, but can remember what happened in the 1950s. Yet in a figurative way, the Bible speaks of God as being just the opposite. If we change our ways, we can make God forget the past. “If the wicked man turns away from all the sins he committed…none of the crimes he committed shall be remembered against him” (Ez 18:21-22). We can sin seriously and repeatedly for years, but when we repent God forgets all those sins, even...

“Help me, who am alone and have no one but You, O Lord.” –Esther C:25 Queen Esther was about to risk her life to plead before the king on behalf of her people, the Jews. Alone inside the palace, she had no one to turn to for support. In her anguish, she prayed fervently: “Help me, who am alone and have no help but You…Help me, who am alone and have no one but You, O Lord” (Est C:14, 25). Esther knew God was with her in her loneliness. A few hours before Jesus was arrested, He told His disciples...

“My sacrifice, O God, is a contrite spirit; a heart contrite and humbled, O God, You will not spurn.” –Psalm 51:19 When the Lord called Jonah to preach repentance to the Ninevites, Jonah disobeyed and ran away to Tarshish. After spending three days in the belly of a whale, Jonah reconsidered and went to Nineveh. He obeyed God, but according to the letter of the law, not its spirit (see 2 Cor 3:6). His heart wasn’t in it. He didn’t want the Ninevites to repent and be saved. We sometimes obey God when our hearts are not in it. Some...

“This is how you are to pray.” –Matthew 6:9 When we pray the “Our Father,” we are praying part of the Bible (Mt 6:9-13). Consider extending this and make praying the Bible one of your principal Lenten practices. Pray it word for word as far as possible. Just change the words slightly to put them in the form of a prayer. For example, you can pray the end of today’s first reading: “Father, may Your word that goes forth from Your mouth not return to You void but do Your will, achieving the end for which You sent it” (see...