WHAT CAN I DO FOR YOU TODAY?
Dear Friends in Christ,
“When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.” (John 16:13)
For me one of the most exciting things about being a Christian is that God is still speaking to us, still guiding us. One of the most obvious ways that the Spirit guides us is in helping us to understand Scripture. The Bible is a complicated book – or, rather, collection of books – and we need the Spirit’s help as we seek to understand the Bible. The work of scholars is important, to be sure, but without openness to the Spirit, Scripture will not become for us a living and transforming word.
The Spirit’s work in us is not limited to helping us understand the Bible. When Jesus promises that the Spirit “will declare to you the things that are to come” I believe that he is promising that the Spirit will guide us into our own futures, into our own Christian vocations. I think questions about what is to come, about what the future holds in store for us are important ones and ones for which the Spirit can give us answers. Of course, I don’t for a moment expect the Spirit to give me the winning numbers for the lottery. But what I do expect is for the Spirit to show the path that God wants me to follow, the path on which I can be most truly the person that God wants me to be, most truly myself.
For any of us to hear the Spirit’s guidance requires prayer, but not necessarily the kind of prayer most of do most of the time. There is a wonderful story about a woman who came to her parish priest because she felt that God was very distant when she prayed. After she had described how she prayed, the priest suggested that perhaps she was so bust talking to God that God couldn’t get a word in edgewise. She came back a few weeks later to tell the priest that now, after she talked with God, she would sit in silence, knitting, and let God speak to her. We need to make silent spaces where we can listen, although I am well aware that it is not enough, or even at times necessary, for there to be physical silence for there to be a silent space. It is interior silence, a quieting of the mind, an attentive listening that is needed. “For God alone my soul in silence waits” (Psalm 62:1) is a prayer that I often use to help me become open and attentive.
I am not suggesting that we stop praying for our needs and those of others. What I am suggesting is that after we have shared with God the deep desires of our hearts, after we have told God what we and those we love need, that we ask God, “What can I do for you today?” Mother Teresa of
Your elder brother,
Daniel
