“Your Father knows what you need before you ask him.” – Matthew 6:8

     I needed a laptop to review for the medical board exams and to access online documents easily.

       I didn’t have the funds yet, but I was saving and praying for it.

      One day, I candidly mentioned it to my mom. She smiled and said, “ I was wondering when you would ask for it. You’ll have your laptop fund by next week.”

     Wow! The money had already been prepared for me. All I had to do was ask. And when I got the money, I even got more than enough to pay for the laptop that suited my needs.

     Oftentimes, we fret and worry even before we pray and ask the Lord for our needs. We forget that He knows all things, including our needs. He’s countless of steps ahead, preparing the way for us.

      Since then, whenever I need anything, my first prayer is to be thankful for the provision that is already on its way.

      In His best time and in His best way, I trust that my Father will meet my every need. Didoy Lubaton (didoymd@gmail.com)

Reflection:“The cautious faith that never saws off a limb on which it is sitting, never learns that unattached limbs may find strange unaccountable ways of not falling.” (Dallas Willard)

Lord, I trust that You know and will provide for my every need in Your perfect way and time.

St. Thomas More, martyr, pray for us.

Paul appealed to the Corinthians about what they know of him, to show that the Gospel he preached was authentic. There must have been rival philosophies in Corinth that competed with the Gospel. Paul urged them to examine the other teachings and compare them with the Gospel and discover that what he has proclaimed was the Gospel of truth and life.

1 Brothers and sisters: If only you would put up with a little foolishness from me! Please put up with me. 2 For I am jealous of you with the jealousy of God, since I betrothed you to one husband to present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. 3 But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts may be corrupted from a sincere and pure commitment to Christ. 4 For if someone comes and preaches another Jesus than the one we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it well enough. 5 For I think that I am not in any way inferior to these “super apostles.” 6 Even if I am untrained in speaking, I am not so in knowledge; in every way we have made this plain to you in all things. 7 Did I make a mistake when I humbled myself so that you might be exalted, because I preached the Gospel of God to you without charge? 8 I plundered other churches by accepting from them in order to minister to you. 9 And when I was with you and in need, I did not burden anyone, for the brothers who came from Macedonia supplied my needs. So I refrained and will refrain from burdening you in any way. 10 By the truth of Christ in me, this boast of mine shall not be silenced in the regions of Achaia. 11 And why? Because I do not love you? God knows I do!

R: Your works, O Lord, are justice and truth.

1 I will give thanks to the Lord with all my heart in the company and assembly of the just. 2 Great are the works of the Lord, exquisite in all their delights. (R) 3 Majesty and glory are his work, and his justice endures forever. 4 He has won renown for his wondrous deeds; gracious and merciful is the Lord. (R) 7 The works of his hands are faithful and just; sure are all his precepts, 8 Reliable forever and ever, wrought in truth and equity. (R)

Prayer is an expression of our relationship with God. We determine what this means for us, as we have different needs in our relationship with God. The Lord’s Prayer is an example of what our prayer to God should have – adoration, praise, thanksgiving, intercession, petition and forgiveness. Let us develop a healthy and committed prayer life with Jesus.

You have received a spirit of adoption as sons through which we cry: Abba! Father!

7 Jesus said to his disciples: “In praying, do not babble like the pagans, who think that they will be heard because of their many words. 8 Do not be like them. Your Father knows what you need before you ask him. 9 “This is how you are to pray: ‘Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, 10 thy Kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. 11 Give us this day our daily bread; 12 and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; 13 and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.’ 14 “If you forgive others their transgressions, your heavenly Father will forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your transgressions.”

think: Which part of the Lord’s Prayer resonate with you strongly?

Read the Bible in one year 2 Kings 23-25

T O D A Y’S BLESSING LIST

thank You, Lord, for: ______________________________________________________

WHY SERVE THE CHURCH?

It is important to examine our motivations for serving in the Church. If it is to draw attention to ourselves and to pat our backs, then we need to pray for a better motivation. When it comes to seeking self-acclaim, we know that we are in the wrong business if we are ministering in the Church. In the Church, all the glory belongs to God, not to us. It takes a significant amount of humility to lead well in religious circles because people are so ready to exalt a good leader and place him on some sort of spiritual pedestal. It does not matter how effective someone is as a preacher. It is never a good idea to exalt him to the point that he receives the glory that rightly belongs to God.

       Yes, it is good to affirm and encourage one another in our ministries, but let us keep it to that. It is easy to develop a sense of “I am essential for this work to happen.” Even if it is true, this is only so because God has gifted you with the gifts to perform that ministry.

       What should we do when others exalt us more than they should? We should politely decline anything that does not indicate that God is the one being given the glory. We need to be careful not to offend people, but we also need to be always mindful that we direct the glory to God and to not ourselves. Fr. Steve Tynan, MGL

---------- REFLECTION QUESTIONS ----------

Do you have a problem with having delusions of grandeur about your importance to a particular ministry or mission in which you are involved? If so, what are you going to do about it to rectify the situation?

Holy Spirit, help me to grow in humility and truth today so that my life will always give to God all the glory and hold nothing back for myself. Amen.