Reflection for the 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time

        Have you ever noticed how we tend to be very good at asking God for his help or healing, for an end to war and abortion, or for grace and protection for family members?  There seems to be no end to our needs, and no lack of confidence that God will hear and answer us.   Of course, this is a very good way to pray, and God loves to pour out his blessings in response to our petitions.

 

        But there is another form of prayer that is just as valuable — and just as necessary to our spiritual lives — it is the prayer that listens for God’s wisdom and revelation.  God delights in sharing with us the mysteries that have been hidden from the foundation of the world.  Through his Holy Spirit, God unfolds to us the ongoing truth of his life and his work.  He wants to help us understand the things of God so that we can take hold of his kingdom more fully each day and bear fruit in this world.

 

        But spiritual weakness — our weeds — oftentimes gets in the way of our prayer.   We think that our prayer is conditioned by our spiritual condition.  Nothing is further from the truth.  Ask the Holy Spirit to come to the aid of your spiritual weakness.  Ask the Spirit to show you God’s kingdom in a new way.  Listen to whatever God puts on your heart.  God has great things that he wants to share with you.