Week of October 23, 2000
Melanie H.

"It will also come to pass that before they call,
I will answer; and while they are still speaking,
I will hear."
Isaiah 65:24

Sometimes I'm really hesitant to go and talk to a person. I'm just not sure what I'm going to say to him or her. I have no idea how they will react. They could be taken aback by what I will ask. These are the concerns that I have everyday as a Mom, Wife, Daughter, Sister, Aunt, Friend and Supervisor.

You've probably heard words of concern like these. Perhaps you've used them in your own hesitancy to make a request of another person. You may be hesitant to bring up a subject with your friend, family, or partner from time to time. We all have this hesitancy occasionally. But there is one person with whom we need never hesitate to make a request. What did God say to us about coming to Him? In the above Bible verse He says that the answer to your prayer is already prepared before you pray. Your prayers don't surprise Him in the least. Prayer does not begin with what we ask but with what God has prepared.

God has more prepared for us than we are prepared to ask. We need as much time seeking what God wants us to ask for as we do asking. Then our asking will be in keeping with His will. Prayer is seeking God with all our hearts. God can use our imaginations to give us a picture of His future for us, but with one qualification: that we seek Him with all our hearts. Prayer is the time to let God paint the mind picture of what we are to do.

Pray that the words you speak may always be truthful
and be spoken in Christian love. Amen

Contributed by Melanie H.
Published Monday October 23, 2000
Week 48 of Liturgical Year B