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General Theme: Means of perseverance General Objective: To grow in our relationship with God through prayer Objective of the week: To reflect on the prayer of David INTRODUCTION Dear Brothers and Sisters: In our continuing catechesis on prayer, we now consider the prayer of David. Called by God to become King of Israel, David was deeply formed by his early experiences as a shepherd, which he would draw upon in leading his people. The young David was also a lover of music and poetry, and it was from his lyrical appreciation for the wonder of God’s creation that his prayer was born. We see this reflected in the many psalms traditionally attributed to his authorship. David – as pastor and king – prefigures Jesus the Good Shepherd and universal King, whose prayerful relationship with his heavenly Father sustained his whole life. David, for his part, was both saint and sinner, full of contradictions, yet in his vocation of leadership he was constant in prayerful dialogue with God. Our lives too are often marked by contradictory forces and incoherent impulses, but if, like David, we persevere in prayer – whatever our own vocation and the difficulties we may face – we will come to know the closeness of the Lord and be able to share this joy with others.” Prayer: it is the hardest ‘easy’ thing in the world. Anyone can do it, at any time, for any reason. Yet somehow, we struggle to pray obediently and effectively. David is a powerful example of a man who knew how to pray. Let´s be reminded of the words of Charles Spurgeon: “The power of prayer can never be overrated…If a man can but pray he can do anything. He who knows how to overcome with God in prayer has Heaven and earth at his disposal.” This week we will pay attention to King David, one of the most effective prayerful persons in the Bible. We will pray with the Book of Psalms. From Monday to Friday, we will focus on five petitions from David. They may challenge us in our prayer life and remind us of the most significant needs. MONDAY “Pray for Your Guilt to be Pardoned” Psalm 25:7-8,11-12,18 Do not remember the sins of my youth and my rebellious ways; according to your love remember me, for you, Lord, are good. Good and upright is the Lord; therefore he instructs sinners in his ways. For the sake of your name, Lord, forgive my iniquity, though it is great. Who, then, are those who fear the Lord? He will instruct them in the ways they should choose.Look on my affliction and my distress and take away all my sins. Psalm 50:3-15,23 Our God comes and will not be silent; a fire devours before him, and around him a tempest rages. He summons the heavens above, and the earth, that he may judge his people: “Gather to me this consecrated people, who made a covenant with me by sacrifice.” And the heavens proclaim his righteousness, for he is a God of justice. “Listen, my people, and I will speak; I will testify against you, Israel: I am God, your God. I bring no charges against you concerning your sacrifices or concerning your burnt offerings, which are ever before me. I have no need of a bull from your stall or of goats from your pens, for every animal of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills. I know every bird in the mountains, and the insects in the fields are mine. If I were hungry I would not tell you, for the world is mine, and all that is in it. Do I eat the flesh of bulls or drink the blood of goats? “Sacrifice thank offerings to God, fulfill your vows to the Most High, and call on me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor me.” Those who sacrifice thank offerings honor me, and to the blameless I will show my salvation.” Luke 15:17-24 “When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’ So he got up and went to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. “The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’“But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. Dor this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate. Today we are invited to learn from David who is so transparent and honest in front of God of his sinfulness. He showed us a concrete expression of authentic humility and contrite of heart. How beautiful if we have the heart like David willing to respond to God's invitation. A God who is ready to listen to our prayers. Let us submit our guilt to Him. So that we will be forgiven. As we ask forgiveness, we need not only to fix our eyes on our sins but also to our sinfulness in offending our loving and merciful God who is always waiting to embrace us again.
TUESDAY "Pray to spend your lifetime in God's house" Psalm 27:4 One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple. Psalm 63:1-3 You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water. I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory. Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you. John 6:60, 66-69 On hearing it, many of his disciples said, “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?” From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him. “You do not want to leave too, do you?” Jesus asked the Twelve. Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God.” Matthew 6:5-6 And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. David has given us the image of how blissful we are when we are in the presence of God. It is only God who suffices all our innermost desires, who can quench our parched soul, and can give us true peace and joy. In all the challenges that we are facing, we must be in the house of prayer and hold on to Christ who is our real freedom and security. That is why when we pray, let us go to the deepest room of our hearts and beg the Lord's mercy and forgiveness from all our transgressions for it is He alone who can strengthen us in moments of our frailties to persevere our journey in life.
WEDNESDAY “Pray for continuous mercy” Psalm 36:5 Your love, Lord, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies. Matthew 9:27-31 As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed him, calling out, “Have mercy on us, Son of David!” When he had gone indoors, the blind men came to him, and he asked them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” Yes, Lord,” they replied. Then he touched their eyes and said, “According to your faith let it be done to you”; and their sight was restored. Jesus warned them sternly, “See that no one knows about this.” But they went out and spread the news about him all over that region. Ephesians 2:4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, Our heart is full of gratefulness for your great love for us shown through your mercy, Oh Lord. Blind as we are, you took us and healed us. Your touch of mercy, Lord is so deep and endless and You are moved by the faith we have in You. Help us in times of our unbelief Oh Lord. Help us to see how great our God and Your Mercy are. It is your mercy that sustains us and sets us free. We cannot fathom it.
THURSDAY “Pray for deliverance from your enemies” Psalm 41:5,11-14 Even I have said, “Lord, take note of me; heal me, although I have sinned against you. “But you, Lord, take note of me to raise me up that I may repay them.” By this I will know you are pleased with me, that my enemy no longer shouts in triumph over me. In my integrity may you support me and let me stand in your presence forever. Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, from all eternity and forever. Amen. Amen. 1 Peter 5:7-11 Cast all your worries upon him because he cares for you. Be sober and vigilant. Your opponent the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, steadfast in faith, knowing that your fellow believers throughout the world undergo the same sufferings. The God of all grace who called you to his eternal glory through Christ Jesus will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you after you have suffered a little. To him be dominion forever. Amen. Our relationship with others are not perfect as misunderstandings and conflict of interests are ever present. Through perseverance in prayer, the Lord guides us to settle our differences physically and spiritually among those whose ideas/beliefs do not align with ours. With His grace and guidance, let us seek to be more aware of the occasions of sin where we are overpowered by our anger, pride or greed. To seek God, is to let go of our self-righteousness and allow ourselves to be filled with humility and be firm in our faith to not fall for the devil’s snares.
FRIDAY “Pray for guidance in life” Psalm 25:4 “Teach me your ways, O Lord; make them known to me. Teach me to live according to your truth, for you are my God, who saves me. I always trust in you.” Psalm 16:1-11 Keep me safe, my God, for in you I take refuge. I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing.” I say of the holy people who are in the land, “They are the noble ones in whom is all my delight.” Those who run after other gods will suffer more and more. I will not pour out libations of blood to such gods or take up their names on my lips. Lord, you alone are my portion and my cup; you make my lot secure. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance. I will praise the Lord, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me. I keep my eyes always on the Lord. with him at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure, because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, nor will you let your faithful one see decay. You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand. John 8:31 To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. John 16:12-15 “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you.” Our present generation can mislead us with so much information from social media that invites us to “go with the flow”, since it's popular and what is favored by many. This can influence how we live our lives since we know that the journey in life is always about choices, about decision-making. David’s prayer for guidance in life teaches us that it is always through our prayer and connection to God-humbly asking Him each day to teach us His ways, that we can truly be guided. Guidance is more than just the right decision in life – it is also the right mindset and thinking. “Lead me in your truth and teach me,” David prays in Psalm 25:5, recognizing that it is not just the decision, but the truth, that is important. As Jesus said in Jn 8:31-32 “If you remain faithful to my word, you will truly be my disciples. You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” Praying for guidance in life is to seek His will each day and to obey it. It’s a total trust in the Lord that His ways are far better than ours.
PRAYER FOR THE CONGRESS To be held in Loeches, Spain from August 30 – September 27, 2024 “Communion, Consecration and Participation in the Mission" Father, you who create and sustain all things with your love, we ask you to make us artisans of communion, so that as we journey towards the Congress we may know how to welcome the diversity that characterises us as the Verbum Dei Missionary Family.
Jesus, human face of God, consecrate us to your Word so that the Congress may be prepared and carried out in profound fidelity to your voice, listening to each one of us and to the signs of the times. Holy Spirit, you who open rivers in the desert, guide us in this time of discernment and decision, so that we may live, embody and offer our charism ever more fully, so that all the baptised may participate in the mission of Jesus entrusted to the Church. Accompany us, Mary, with your loving motherly presence and intercession, so that this Congress may be a channel of hope in which God transforms us and makes all things new. Amen.
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About the Guidelines SheetThe Guidelines sheet is a prayer guide with the Word of God to help us journey together and be one in our weekly prayer as one community. This contains daily passages from scriptures together with reflections focused on a common theme and intention for the week. Archives
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