Father, not as I will, but as you will!

There are many prayers in the scripture that do not seem comfortable for us to use in our spiritual journey of praying.  The prayer of Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane on the night he was betrayed is one such example.  It was like a stress test that is conducted during a medical check up to determine whether your health is good or not. 

In the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus was under extreme spiritual stress.  He told his close disciples “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death” (Matthew 26:38). Jesus knew he was about to face the betrayal by one of his chosen disciple. He knew that he will face denial by another chosen disciple, while the rest of them will simply desert him at his most critical moment.  Jesus knew he was going to face false accusations, false witnesses and an unjust trial that will lead to his physical torture and death sentence.

The Gospel writers Mathew and Mark comment that Jesus began to be sorrowful, troubled and deeply distressed. Luke adds that being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground. This happened after an angel appeared to him and strengthened him. (Luke 22:43-44).

The climax of the spiritual stress test for Jesus was on the cross, when he cried out “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46).  Jesus came through all these tests and on the third day, God raised him to life.  Therefore we have a reason to remember the sufferings and death of Jesus and celebrate his resurrection that brings new hope to the world.

Jesus taught his disciples that this is how they should pray: “……your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10). We repeat this prayer in liturgy almost daily without really saying it from the depth of our heart.  It is because our will is often in conflict with the Father’s will.  The day we learn to truly pray and surrender “Not my will, but your will” is the day we pass our spiritual stress test and grow to receive the hope of resurrection.  

May the Lord enable us to follow the example of Jesus in full surrender to the heavenly father’s will!                                                                                                                             

                                                                                                                       John Amalraj, April 2018

Lord, Don't You Care?

Prayer is not just a “To Do List” to be given to God every day.  Prayer is a conversation with our maker, our father, our saviour and our friend. We often say it in our mind silently or sometimes aloud “Lord, Don’t you care?” in our own privacy, but never do we use this phrase or rather a cry from the depth of our heart in a public or even private prayer time.  We seem to be stuck with the traditional liturgical prayers that are in flowery language and often betray what our heart really wants to say.  The prophets of the Old Testament often made such prayers.  For example both David in the psalms and Habakkuk cried out “How long, Lord, must I call for help…?” (Psalm 13 & Habakkuk 1) 

When Jesus was on this earth, his disciples once had to wake up a sleeping Jesus and ask him “Lord, Don’t you care if we drown?”  This was when the disciples were in the midst of a storm and at risk of being sunk in the sea.  Jesus responded to them by calming the storm and also rebuking his disciples saying “Why are you so afraid? (you of little faith) Do you still have no faith?”(Mark 4:35-41) On another occasion, Jesus was in the home of his family friends Mary and Martha in Bethany.  Martha was busy with preparing the meal while Mary was sitting at the feet of Jesus and listening to his teaching.  Martha asked Jesus “Lord, Don’t you care?” Jesus responds to her by saying “Martha has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” (Luke 10:38-42)

Jesus while teaching his disciples said “So do not worry saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ ……your heavenly father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well.” (Matthew 6:31-32).  He further assures them by saying that “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your father’s care. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered”. (Matthew 10:29-32).  Peter encourages in his letter saying “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you”. (1 Peter 5:7).

Let us learn to pray from our heart casting all our anxieties on him, because he cares for each one of us.  And after praying let us seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness.  May our father, continue to show His loving care on each of us as we serve Him!  John Amalraj, March 2018

Who am I, Lord God and what is my family?

Who am I, Lord God and what is my family?

David was a shepherd boy, forgotten by his own father when Prophet Samuel visited their home looking for God’s choice of anointing the next leader.  All his brothers lined up before prophet Samuel, until God alerted him that Jesse had one more son, who was forgotten in the fields where he was shepherding his family flock.  David was a man after God’s own heart and was chosen to succeed King Saul.

At the end of his long kingship, David was ready to handover the throne to his son Solomon.  In his last recorded prayer to the Lord, David, the giant killer, the great warrior, the statesman declares in the presence of God – that he was unknown until God made him known. David is overwhelmed at the mercy of God on his life and his family and he acknowledges the sovereignty of God.  He worships God for who he is and for what God has done for His people.  (1 Chronicles 17:16-19, 29: 11-12)

Success often flatters us. We forget that with our own efforts we may not have been successful.  We forget to give glory to God.  How many times we attribute our success in our academics, in our career, in our sports and even in our physical health to our own hard work and discipline.  We forget the grace of God that enables us to be successful. 

In today’s generation, it is important to list your achievements, display your trophies and medals of honour so that the world will applaud and reward you.  Even If you are a young starter applying for your first job, you are required to have an impressive ‘CV’ or ‘Resume’ and feel proud of yourself showing your self confidence. The world says blow your trumpet on the social media. Peter advises us “Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time” (1 Peter 5:6). Jesus teaches us to say that “we are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty” (Luke 17:10)

Paul, the apostle writes “I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord…forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me. (Philippians 3:7-14.) May the Lord continue to affirm His calling in each of our lives!

John Amalraj, February 2018

Not knowing where you are going!

Not knowing where you are going!

“If anyone starts a journey not knowing where he is going, then he is a fool” says the world.  But when God called Abraham to go to the Promised Land, he did not know where he was going. (Hebrews 11:8-16).  He obeyed God, not knowing where to go. He was commended for his faith and obedience.

At the start of the New Year, it has become a tradition for people to make resolutions and set goals in the hope that they will achieve these goals and move forward in their life journey.  But it seems strange if some people say that they have no resolutions or goals and are just obeying God. I wonder what Abraham would have to say to explain to his family as they started the journey.  He knew God was leading him to the Promised Land, but it was a promise he had to believe.  As he journeyed along, he came to know God more intimately and learned to obey him. At every step, when Abraham obeyed him, God led him further towards the final destination.

The wise men from the East were guided by the star.  Ships in the ocean are guided by the stars.  Cars on the road are guided by Google map and space crafts are guided by GPS systems. In our journey of life, we need to be guided by the Star of David, who is Christ.  Obedience to Christ who shows us the way is our guide.  Obedience at every step brings us closer to Him helping us to move forward in our life journey.

We may not always know the way but we need to know the person who is guiding us. Thomas the disciple, asked Jesus “Show us the way” and Jesus responded “I am the way”.  (John 14: 5-7) As we obey Jesus, we will know Him better. (John 15:10) It is a simple act but yet a difficult decision. Obedience is costly.  Obedience comes only when we deny our selfish desires. Trust and obey is a good attitude.  May this New Year be one when we learn to obey Christ more as He leads us step by step! Happy New Year 2018!

John Amalraj, January 2018