Do we have the right to pray for prosperity?

Good Wednesday morning, my friends.

Since the fall of man in Genesis 3, we have had to be concerned about how to support ourselves and our families.  Indeed, God said to Adam:

   "Cursed is the ground because of you; 

   through painful toil you will eat food from it 

   all the days of your life." (Genesis 3:17)

What God is looking for, however, is for us to lean on Him, and trust in His promise to provide enough for our needs.  Jesus told us to ask God to "Give us this day our daily bread" (Matthew 6:11).  Enough for today.  Not enough to say to ourselves, as did the man who wanted to tear down his barns and build bigger ones, "You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry" (Luke 12:16-20).  We could say to him "how's that workin' for ya?"

We often pray for God to bring us prosperity, and as I thought about that this morning it occurred to me that we have no right to ask for such a thing.  God has provided this world, and in particular our part of the world, with an incredible amount of wealth and food.  And yet, we do such a poor job of sharing it with those in need that there are people all over this world, HIS world, that are starving.  From Bangladesh to the Eastside of Vancouver.  From Ethiopia to downtown Ottawa.  And we are responsible.  We, within the church, have fought alongside everyone else to build up "treasures on earth" instead of using them as they were intended:  we are blessed to be a blessing to others.

I am as guilty of this as anyone.  It is easy to sit here and pontificate about the problem, but not so easy to be part of the solution.  Truth be told, I don't know if I have the courage (faith?) to change.  I ask that you pray for me and for my family in this regard.  And if you would like prayer for the same, please let me know - I would be happy to pray for you too.

Grace and peace be yours in abundance

Bruce

God of Justice:

Open our eyes 

to see you in the face of the poor.

Open our ears

to hear you in the cries of the exploited.

Open our mouths

to defend you in the public squares

as well as in private deeds.

Remind us that what we do

to the least ones,

we do to you.

Amen.

From Being Neighbor:  The Catechism and Social Justice, USCCB, April, 1998

(http://www.ccctx.org/fc_cst_poor.php#prayer)

Bruce MacPherson  macpherson@celtic.ca / Blog: The Celtic Christian / Home: 613.489.4174 Cell: 613.720.0821 You are receiving this email because you have requested it or I felt you would be interested in this material. If you would like to be removed from this email list, please do not hesitate to contact me at the above email address.  Likewise, if you know of someone else who you believe would appreciate receiving these messages, please let me know.