God's Burden (A study on prayer)

DEAR brothers and sisters,

With this letter, we are beginning a study cycle on prayer. In my travels, I increasingly encounter friends with a sincere desire to learn more about this important topic. But, I know no more than you do. In our common desire to know our beloved Lord more each day, I share with you some small gems that I too have discovered. I hope you may find some benefit from them. (Best wishes for a peaceful vacation to those of you who have taken a few days of rest. Welcome back to those of you who are or have already returned. A speedy recovery to those of you who are not feeling well at the moment. THANK YOU for your valuable assistance. -- God bless you.) Li, August 3rd, 2011

Every child of God who has a sincere desire to serve God will sooner or later discover how the Holy Spirit moves within us so that God's will may be fulfilled in our lives. Although God is able to fulfill His will in our lives even without our cooperation, He will never force His will upon us without our cooperation and participation. God desires our will and our specific request. Our will must choose to align with the will of God. Only when our will desires to do the will of God and asks God to fulfill it do things start to work. If the Holy Spirit prompts you to pray, you must pray. If you refuse, you will find that something is blocked and remains pending within you. If you continue to refuse, you will feel increasingly blocked, and eventually you will see how your spirit and your feeling for prayer become numb, and then you will struggle to feel the same feeling again. -- You missed the opportunity to pray according to God's will. When God desires something from us, He wants to give us or make us understand something; He often does this by using a feeling and a burden to pray for certain things. When this feeling awakens in us, we should immediately begin to pray conscientiously. Driven by the Spirit, we will feel that there is a burden within us to discharge. It is there and will remain until it is discharged through prayer. Prayer will remove this burden from our spirit. If, on the other hand, we do not pray conscientiously for this burden, then we will continue to perceive an obstacle and not feel at one with God. If, instead, we pray faithfully and without delay, immediately after receiving the burden, then our prayer will not be a burdensome task, but an easy and joyful work. -- Unfortunately, many of us dampen the Spirit, extinguish the feeling for prayer that the Holy Spirit has placed within us. After a while, this feeling disappears, so that we are no longer useful vessels in His hands. Our work for God and our prayer become mere formalities, a mere religion, external precepts; without any value or ability to fulfill God's will in prayer. If this is our situation before God regarding our feeling for prayer, we are probably in a worrying condition. -- We have lost our communion with God. We must be very careful with the feeling that the Holy Spirit gives us. When we receive a burden, we must immediately ask: "My Father, what should I pray for? What do you want me to do now? How should I pray?" If through prayer we have fulfilled this burden, the Lord will entrust us with another. If, however, we have not released the first burden, we will not receive another. Let us pray that the Lord will make us men who pray faithfully. When there is a burden, we should immediately discharge it and express it in prayer. If the burden is so heavy that it cannot be discharged through prayer, we should fast. Fasting can quickly release the burden of prayer; it can even help us to release the heaviest burdens. -- God's will always seeks a channel; God continually seeks men and women who are spokespersons for His will. What can the burdens be like? The word "burden" is a generic term for indicating a load, a burden. Our grandparents cared little whether they loaded 30 kilograms of grapes, 30 kilograms of apples, or stones into the basket. It was still a burden they had to carry and dispose of. Only the stones went to the edge of the field, the apples to the cellar, and the grapes to the vat. -- Even though we are not farmers, we can understand the difference between not throwing grapes by the roadside, nor apples in barrels or stones in the cellar, can't we? -- However, as far as burdens in prayer are concerned, it is not always so simple. Although the devil often manages to deceive us into believing the opposite. We must trust that God will never give us burdens beyond our strength and ability to discern. Discovering the nature of the burden does not mean psychoanalysis, agonizing introspections, or searching for the problem in our subconscious to understand what is wrong... These are just works of the flesh, which will lead you to greater confusion. When you feel a desire that urges you to pray, for something or someone, prepare for prayer with an open mind. Let your heart be available to every light and delicate impulse of the Spirit. If you are sincere in seeking the Holy Spirit, you will soon discover the consistency and nature of the burden. -- Consistency will show you how and what to pray for. Its nature will indicate to you where, for what, or for whom to pray. There are spiritual battles that you can fight alone. Others, however, require the prayer of all. There are burdens that can be discharged with a simple prayer. Others require several. -- There are no rules, but the principle is the same: to discharge the burden weighing on our spirit. After prayer, our heart must return to being free and serene. It doesn't matter if the material problem still exists; now you have the way that leads to the solution. -- When God speaks, walls fall. Let's now try to be a little more concrete, with some examples taken directly from the Word of God. We said that a "burden" can manifest itself as a feeling, a desire, as a burden, an annoyance, a worry, a nuisance, an anguish... The apostle Paul, one day found himself in Philippi (in Macedonia), with Silas (his traveling companion). "While they were going, they were met by a slave girl who had a spirit of divination and who brought her owners much gain by fortune-telling. She followed Paul and us, crying out, 'These men are servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to you the way of salvation.' And she kept doing this for many days. Paul, having become greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, 'I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.' And it came out that very hour." (Acts 16) In this case, the "burden" manifested itself as "annoyance." A brief and decisive command prayer was enough to drive out the fortune-telling spirit and free the girl. On another occasion, St. Paul was caught up to the 3rd heaven, and he says, "I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows. And I know that this man was caught up into paradise—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows—and he heard things that cannot be told, which man may not utter. On behalf of this man I will boast, but on my own behalf I will not boast, except of my weaknesses—though if I should wish to boast, I would not be a fool, for I would be speaking the truth; but I refrain from it, so that no one may think more of me than he sees in me or hears from me. So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.'" -- Here we find one of the most beautiful and complete examples of prayer. We see the "burden" in the spirit. The anguish, the illness, the suffering; or the "thorn in the flesh." We see Paul praying, not once, but several times. Until God speaks to him and reveals the reason why He had to allow that affliction. After that, the burden was discharged, the spirit was freed, and the heart was once again filled with joy. - "Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong." (2 Corinthians 12) -- (God bless the apostle Paul for his faithfulness, his tenacity in prayer and suffering. Thanks to this, He has given us one of the most beautiful chapters of the Bible. You and I, together with millions of people over the centuries, have received strength and encouragement from these words.) Let's go with Jesus for a moment to Gethsemane: "And he came out and went, as was his custom, to the Mount of Olives, and the disciples followed him. And when he came to the place, he said to them, 'Pray that you may not enter into temptation.' And he withdrew from them about a stone's throw, and knelt down and prayed, saying, 'Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.' And there appeared to him an angel from heaven, strengthening him. And being in agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground." -- Rising from prayer, he came to the disciples and found them sleeping for sorrow, and he said to them, 'Why are you sleeping? Rise and pray that you may not enter into temptation.'" (Today God no longer speaks to us through our ears, but through a Person, the Holy Spirit. Who communicates with us through intuition, feelings, emotions... How many times have we felt inside us warnings like: "Pray before leaving... You are too tired to continue driving... You know this is not done...") He took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then he said to them, 'My soul is very sorrowful, even to death (The Weight of the sins of the whole world on his soul.) remain here and watch with me.' (Ask for help when the burden is too heavy. If Jesus asked for help, how much more should we.) And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, 'My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.' (The weight that continued to burden him.) And he came to the disciples and found them sleeping. And he said to Peter, 'So, could you not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.' (Today God no longer speaks to us through our ears, but through a Person, the Holy Spirit. Who communicates with us through intuition, feelings, emotions... How many times have we felt inside us warnings like: "Pray before leaving... You are too tired to continue driving... You know this is not done...") For the third time Jesus went to pray, exhorting his disciples to pray with him. But the third time he said, "From now on, sleep well and rest; behold, the hour is at hand (The burden was finally overcome.) and the Son of Man is delivered into the hands of sinners. Get up, let's go; behold, he who betrays me is near." (Jesus was calm, firm, and determined again. Ready for the great, terrible trial.) Although victory was concluded on Golgotha, it began there, among those olive trees, with prayers, tears, and drops of blood. The burden that Jesus bore could only be borne by him. Our burdens are not so heavy. Let's bear them with joy. May God bless you.