Presence

“Be still and know that I am God.” (Psalm 46:10). Lord, Your words lead us to the calmness and greatness of Your presence.

Freedom

“There are very few people
who realise what God would make of them
if they abandoned themselves into his hands,
and let themselves be formed by his grace.” (Saint Ignatius)
I ask for the grace to entrust myself totally to God’s love.

Consciousness

My soul longs for Your presence, Lord. When I turn my thoughts to You, I find peace and contentment.

The Word of God

⁹He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and regarded others with contempt: ¹⁰“Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. ¹¹The Pharisee, standing by himself, was praying thus, ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people: thieves, rogues, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. ¹²I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all my income.’ ¹³But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven but was beating his breast and saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ ¹⁴I tell you, this man went down to his home justified rather than the other, for all who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be exalted.”

Inspiration

Here, Jesus gives a very important lesson about prayer.  For our prayers to be heard, we must always pray with humility before our God.  Humility is truth, the truth of our own littleness and complete dependence on God.  It is in this attitude that we come now before God to pray from our hearts.

In his prayer, the Pharisee focused on himself and all he had done.  The tax collector focused on God and his great mercy. St Teresa of Avila taught that real prayer is more about loving than thinking.  There is a lot of truth in the statement that when we are thinking in prayer, we are with ourselves, and when we are loving in prayer we are with God.  Prayer is all about a relationship.  Do I go to prayer just to ask for things for myself and others, or do I spend most of my time staying with the Lord, sharing with him and listening to him?

Conversation

“There is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus”. (Romans 8:1). I turn to the One who loves me and knows me better than I can love or know myself. I ask Him for whatever it is I need right now.

Conclusion

Filled with the loving presence of God,
I ask Him to bless me and guide my steps
as I go to do His work in my daily life.

Amen