Do you ever find yourself holding the weight of the world in your hands at prayer time? It’s one of those days where you are praying for healing for Aunt Nettie’s cancer, sobriety for Great-Uncle Will, peace in any one of seven different countries, wisdom for local/state/national/pick two government leaders, peace of mind, forgiveness of sins…and, oh yes…could I get a little relief for this one worry I have? You know the sort of day I’m talking about.
This morning was one of those for me. I was getting settled in for Mass, and part of my normal pre-service ritual is to look into my heart and offer up all of the needs and concerns I find there. For whatever reason, today there were lots of them. They would have to delay the Mass for a half hour or so if I was to list off all of the needs that required God’s attention. But, as so often happens in the middle of my “me-led prayers,” God intervened.
Midway through my lengthy prayer list, the Still, Small Voice whispered “Hush,” and (for a change) I obeyed. And then He offered a suggestion: instead of me presuming to know what He should focus on this particular Sunday, perhaps I could be more helpful if my prayer was: “Here I am, Lord; send me where you need me.” After all, my service to the Lord is generally most useful within an arm’s reach. Rather than trying to solve the problems in Africa, Asia, and Antarctica (penguins have problems too, I assume), couldn’t I make a bigger difference by asking for the strength to be the best “me” I can manage right here? Surely the person next to me would benefit by a big ole Christian hug, a smile or a helping hand with that particular widget. God put you where you are for a reason. Today’s prayer should be for open eyes to see the reason I am here and to do the work that needs doing in this place.
God answers prayers; of that there is no doubt. He cares deeply about the illnesses, wars, addictions and worries of the world (including penguins). We are all His children, and He grieves the suffering of each one of us. We are encouraged to bring our needs to Him.
But, in addition to our petitions, He asks us when we pray to offer ourselves in service. Because we need to be a part of His solution. One of the most wonderful mysteries of life is how God uses His children to work His wonders. Does He have to work through us? No. Is there a life-giving reason why He does so? No doubt. Do I fully understand this mystery? Nope. Does it give me joy anyway? Yes, it does.
So, bring your concerns about Aunt Lucey to the Lord. Offer up Gwen’s bad back, inflation and healing for your Mom’s dementia. Those are worthy offerings and the Lord loves it when we show our love for others by offering them up in prayer. But don’t forget to finish every prayer with the most important ingredient of all: yourself. “Here I am, Lord. Use me where I am in whatever way You need me. Amen.”
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