JESUS PRAYS

 

When you pray, do you ask God for anything? If you do, what is it? When I was your age, I asked God for friends and to be funny. I asked God to help me in baseball and school. When I got to high school, I asked God to help me be popular, and later to be successful. So, nothing I asked for was really important.

Do you know what I ask God to give me today? I ask God to make me indifferent. That means that I want to be okay with whatever God gives me. As I have gotten older, I have learned that it’s better for me to accept God’s plan for me than for me to give God my plans.

Here is what I mean. I prayed for good health, but I got sick and got well many times. I have fallen more times than I can remember and was in two car wrecks. I had teeth replaced and surgery on my shoulder. With age, arthritis accompanies me everywhere.

Maybe your parents have gone through the same thing. They pray to be successful so that they can take care of you, but they may not make as much money as they want.

I say this because in our Gospel today (Jn 17), Jesus prays not for all the things we often pray for. He prays for his disciples to be protected from evil, the evil one and that His Father make them holy. And do you know what? That is Jesus’ prayer for you too. Jesus prays for you to be protected from sin, Satan and for you to be holy. So, the next time you pray, ask Jesus what He wants for you.

With that, let us pray. Heavenly Father, from whom all fatherhood in heaven and earth is named: Bless these and all children, and give their parents the spirit of wisdom and love, so that the homes in which they grow up may be to them an image of Your Kingdom, and the care of their parents a likeness of Your love. We pray in the Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.