When a person encounters God, they become unstoppable! The leper who was healed, in spite of being told not to reveal what happened, “began to publicize the whole matter. He spread the report abroad so that it was impossible for Jesus to enter a town openly. He remained outside in deserted places, and people kept coming to him from everywhere” (Mk 1:45). The Samaritan woman would gather her entire village to meet the Messiah, though until then she had avoided even the presence of these people (Jn 4:28,29). The prophet Jeremiah speaks of this new found courage and zeal as an uncontainable fire. “His word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot” (Jer 20:9).
It was Saturday morning. The National Youth Retreat had just gotten over. We received a call from a parent whose son along with a group of boys had come for the retreat. One of these boys had left his house months earlier, after a conflict with his parents. No amount of mediation was able to bring about a reconciliation. Returning from the retreat, this boy, headed straight from the railway station to meet his parents, and the family was reunited. One is reminded of
the prophecy of Malachi: “He will turn the hearts of parents to their children and the hearts of children to their parents” (Mal 4:6). Fr Augustine Vallooran mentions, while talking of the youth ministry at Divine, how “in the past parents led their children to the church. And now it is the children who lead their parents to God.” In 1995, the first youth retreat was held at Divine. From all over India, young people came in. They went back transformed. Looking at their radical decisions, those around them became interested. The next time these youth brought their companions… and their parents. This is how alongside the youth retreat, the couples retreat was being held. God’s word promises us, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you and your household will be saved” (Acts 16:31). When there are problems in our family, we take it on ourselves to solve the problem. We assume the role of psychologists. We assess the problematic persons, we identify the root of their behavior, and we offer good advice. After all the trouble taken on our side, we realize our advice is not acted on. We feel hurt, rejected and helpless. We give up on the others. We must realize we cannot really change even ourselves, withoutthe intervention of God. Why then do we imagine our ‘expert’ advice can change others.
The hope and salvation for our families begin with one person who is rooted in faith. If you believe in Jesus, God will do the rest. He will accomplish what we cannot.
The most important challenge now is to understand what does belief involve? Persistent prayer works wonders. Jesus tells us we “need to pray always and not to lose heart” (Lk 18:1). There are times we embark on hard and sometimes harsh rigours of prayer. Then when we don’t see a lasting impact, we get discouraged.
While persistence is very important, we also need clarification on what prayer God requires of us. St Paul gives us a clear picture of how we must pray for one another in the letter to the Philippians. “Rejoice in the Lord always. I shall say it again: rejoice! Your kindness should be known to all. The Lord is near. Have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God” (Phil 4:4-6).
Rejoice in the Lord
Prayer is not obsessing about our problem while seated in church. It is not about trying to convince God about the seriousness of the issue to be resolved. The classic definition of prayer offered by the church are these words of St John Damascene: “Prayer is the raising of the mind and heart to God.” Scripture explains this even more clearly: “Delight yourself in the Lord; And He will give you the desires of your heart” (Ps 37:4). To delight in the Lord is to find our joy in Him. It is about loving God for who He is. It is a pure seeking of the Lord. When we offer songs of praise and look into the scripture, solely to know Him better, to love Him better and to serve Him better, we are
delighting in Him. The word of God assures us, when we are celebrating God, He will surely minister to our needs.
Your kindness should be known to all
When our confidence is in God, we know a person’s salvation is His business. We are relieved of stress. We are able to be gentle and kind. The great struggle in families is when we are burdened by the imagination that we must effect the change in the other. Tensions rise, and relationships snap. When we know God is in operation, we are more effective partners in ‘mission salvation’.
The Lord is near. Have no anxiety at all.
God is neither arrogant, nor is he deaf. He sees and He knows all that is happening. He knows exactly what is to be done. And “He never slumbers nor sleeps” (Ps 121). The experience of His closeness calms our spirit. With calmness comes clarity.
In everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God
Confident of His love, power, and presence in our lives, our prayers are transformed into praises and thanksgiving. Every suffering in our life, we offer to God, with the gratitude that we have access to Him who is the answer.
When this is our attitude in prayer, we truly can say we believe in Christ. It is this belief that ushers salvation into our families.
Salvation is in Christ alone. This salvation is for our souls to be freed from the slavery of sin that kept us away from the comforting presence of God. Salvation is also the “ever present help” God offers in the daily struggles of our earthly existence. When we believe in Him, we hand over our lives to his authority. God intervenes. And we become powerful ambassadors of peace.