Thursday, 16th January – Thursday of week 1 of the year

Reflection: Mark 1:40-45

THY WILL BE DONE

Beloved, there is a dimension of prayer which pleases God and never seeks self or what we want from God. It is solely offered to God with total dependence on his judgment to give us what we need in his own way and at his own time. This is the prayer of surrender. We often times ask God for what we need and he supplies us bountifully. This should not in any way make us lose the consciousness of the supremacy of God who knows the best for us and who works in mysterious ways.

In our reading today, the leper offered his intention to God with a note of surrender and acknowledgement of God’s power. He did not doubt the power of God to heal him by the manner with which he put His request before Jesus: “if you want to, you can make me clean” (Mark 1:40); he plainly surrendered to God’s power and God’s will for his life. Dear friend, it delights God so much to see us accept whatever he wills for us and not just what we want him to do for us. God would always be God no matter the situation. When things go wrong, trust God to make them right in his own way and when things are right, still trust God to keep them right.

Jesus’ experience in the garden of Gethsemane in Matthew 26: 36-39 shows us the importance of triumphing in hard times by our total dependence on God’s will for our lives. The almighty prayer (The Lord’s prayer) which Jesus gave to his disciples also contains this powerful aspect of our faith; “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven”.

May we always learn to accept God’s design for our lives and seek him with our hearts open to what he has for us. Amen.

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, I surrender all to your mercy and power. Let your will be done in my life. Amen.

KNOW YOUR FAITH: CCC 2826 – By prayer we discern “what is the will of God” and obtain the endurance to do it. Jesus teaches us that one enters the kingdom of heaven not by speaking words, but by doing “the will of my father in heaven”

HIDE A TREASURE: “You need to be patient, in order to do the will of God and receive what he promises” Hebrews 10:36 GNB

Readings for Today: 1 Samuel 4:1-11; Psalm 44:10-11, 14-15, 24-25; Mark 1:40-45