"What do you want me to do for you?" he asked. (Mark 10:36)
As pointed out earlier, the way and attitude in which James and John demanded Jesus showed a clear sign of their immaturity. They asked Jesus ‘whatever we ask’. They really behaved like a mere child. Should we call it as a persistent prayer?
Among Jesus’ parables and stories that he had narrated, we can find out a few persistent prayers. A story of a widow who visited an unrighteous judge asking, “Grant me justice against my adversary” was one of them. And also there was another story of Syrian Phoenician woman who persistently asked Jesus saying, ‘even the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs’ when she was treated like a dog. We have to carefully observe the kernel of these stories. Those who appeared to Jesus with their problems did not have any other choice but only Jesus to solve their problems. It was their natural faith with their might to bring about a unique possibility in the face of all odds.
Different from them, our persistent prayer today may be a manifestation of our desire. To hold on to Jesus in order to manifest our own life plan is nothing different from the attitude of James and John. Jesus asked them, “What do you want me to do for you?” He might have said this after reading their mind. Jesus’ question would mean, “You want to get something without even knowing what exactly you are asking for. What do you want?”
We also always receive this question from the Lord. Such question is a spiritual challenge. This question can destroy us. If we demand a silly thing means it would mean we do not understand the root of our question.
We do not need to ask the Lord anything in detail. It is enough for us to be with him. For those who are connected to the source of life, each moment of their life is an affluent one. Despite this do you still want some more?
As pointed out earlier, the way and attitude in which James and John demanded Jesus showed a clear sign of their immaturity. They asked Jesus ‘whatever we ask’. They really behaved like a mere child. Should we call it as a persistent prayer?
Among Jesus’ parables and stories that he had narrated, we can find out a few persistent prayers. A story of a widow who visited an unrighteous judge asking, “Grant me justice against my adversary” was one of them. And also there was another story of Syrian Phoenician woman who persistently asked Jesus saying, ‘even the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs’ when she was treated like a dog. We have to carefully observe the kernel of these stories. Those who appeared to Jesus with their problems did not have any other choice but only Jesus to solve their problems. It was their natural faith with their might to bring about a unique possibility in the face of all odds.
Different from them, our persistent prayer today may be a manifestation of our desire. To hold on to Jesus in order to manifest our own life plan is nothing different from the attitude of James and John. Jesus asked them, “What do you want me to do for you?” He might have said this after reading their mind. Jesus’ question would mean, “You want to get something without even knowing what exactly you are asking for. What do you want?”
We also always receive this question from the Lord. Such question is a spiritual challenge. This question can destroy us. If we demand a silly thing means it would mean we do not understand the root of our question.
We do not need to ask the Lord anything in detail. It is enough for us to be with him. For those who are connected to the source of life, each moment of their life is an affluent one. Despite this do you still want some more?
No comments:
Post a Comment