Pray to the Lord and Trust in God’s Protection. If you are new to mental prayer, we invite you to visit our page on the ways of mental prayer, Don’t know how to Pray to God, to learn more.
We begin Day 5 of this Lenten prayer journey with this opening prayer :
Trust and Believe…
Lord,
I know I should desire to do your will in both big decisions and small. I want to be present to you as I move throughout the day. Please give me faith to believe what you speak will happen. You say in scripture that your word will not return to you void. Help me believe and have faith in your word. I want to truly believe in what you say and trust in your love for me. Lord, please let me be present to you and aware of the movements of the Holy Spirit in my heart. Help me visualize you in my presence as I strive to complete these 40 days of daily Lenten reflections. Let me fully contemplate what it means to pray to the Lord and trust in God’s protection. I want to follow you all the way to Calvary, Jesus, and I want to do it with great faith in your words.
AMEN.
Tuesday of the First week of Lent (Liturgical Year I)
Pray to the Lord and Trust in God’s Protection
A Reflection for Prayerful Meditation
Let’s begin Day 5 of our Lenten journey as we continue traveling with Jesus in our hearts and minds toward Calvary by meditating on the daily Mass readings for today: the First Reading, the Psalms, and the Gospel Reading. As you make your self-reflection, feel free to journal your responses to the Lord. This meditation is suited for prayer before the Blessed Sacrament, but you can also pray this meditation while looking at a Crucifix or an image of Jesus that you have.
Pray to the Lord and Trust in God’s Protection
Prayer to the Holy Spirit
Start with Love…
Holy Spirit,
I believe you are truly here and present to me right now. I desire to be present to you. Guide my heart and mind and show me how I might pick up my cross and follow Jesus all the way to Calvary. Help me turn my heart more fully to God so that I might better understand God’s love for me.
Breathe on me as I spend these next 15 minutes fixated on today’s Mass readings. Holy Spirit, help me pray with humility, honesty, love and affection. I want to grow in virtue and holiness.
Thank you, Holy Spirit, for every consolation, desolation, time of silence, difficult trial, and temptation of the evil one. I understand that you love me and that everything in my life happens by God’s holy will, whether it be divine providence or God’s permissive will due to my sin and negligence.
Please humble me as I walk with Jesus toward Calvary.
AMEN.
Say Nothing Just Take Him In
Spend 1-3 minutes in silence gazing at Jesus with love and gratitude, in a prayer of silent contemplation.
Make a Movie in Your Mind…
Now we will contemplate the First Reading. Slowly imagine yourself in the presence of God as you read about his word. Take your time. Pause over a moment that really pricks your conscience. Reread the passage again, this time imagine yourself physically there in the presence of God hearing him speak his words to you. What does his voice sound like? How does it make you feel?
Pray to the Lord and Trust in God’s Protection
When the Word of The Lord Is Spoken It Will Come to Pass
Isaiah 55:10-11
Thus says the LORD: Just as from the heavens the rain and snow come down and do not return there till they have watered the earth, making it fertile and fruitful, giving seed to the one who sows and bread to the one who eats, So shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth; It shall not return to me void, but shall do my will, achieving the end for which I sent it.
Reflection:
Let us take a moment to reflect on the message in the First Reading.
What thoughts came to your mind as you reflected on this passage? How can you describe the way God’s word achieves its end? Can you understand the metaphor? Do you see evidence of this truth within your own life?
Now let’s personalize this passage from our First Reading…
Be Completely Real…
Let’s ponder what God is saying in this passage from Isaiah. What do you hear? I felt the Lord explaining to me that his word comes to all like the rain, which falls indiscriminately, and he allows all our lives to have the potential to be fruitful. I imagine him giving the seed to the one who can produce, and the bread to the one who needs to be fed. I see him as knowing exactly what we need.
What do you imagine? Give the Holy Spirit time to respond. How do you think the Lord’s word achieves his will? How is it done through the work you do? What seed has God given you to sow?
In the next part, we will read a prayer of praise from the Psalms. Here David glorifies God for answering his prayers and helping him have faith. Open your heart and pray this with gratitude for all the blessings God has given you. Pray it with faith in the words of the Psalm. Thank God for answering your prayers, and tell him you believe he will rescue you from the evil one as you navigate every trial currently in your life.
Let us continue our mental prayer with today’s Responsorial Psalm:
Pray to the Lord and Trust in God’s Protection
The Lord Answers Me When I Seek Him
Psalms 34:4-7, 16-19
Glorify the LORD with me,
let us together extol his name.
I sought the LORD, and he answered me
and delivered me from all my fears.
Look to him that you may be radiant with joy,
and your faces may not blush with shame.
When the poor one called out, the LORD heard,
and from all his distress he saved him.
The LORD has eyes for the just,
And ears for their cry.
The LORD confronts the evildoers,
to destroy remembrance of them from the earth.
When the just cry out, the LORD hears them,
and from all their distress he rescues them.
The LORD is close to the brokenhearted;
and those who are crushed in spirit he saves.
Visualize Christ…
Next, try to put yourself in the presence of Christ by visualizing Jesus in an intimate way. Take a moment to close your eyes and picture him looking at you. You may want to imagine a favorite image of him coming alive and speaking to you. In this way you will be able to visualize Jesus in a personal way. This will help you believe he intimately loves you and you’ll feel more connected to him when you pray.
Now let’s take our image of Jesus and visualize today’s Gospel Reading. Put yourself in this scene much like you did in the First Reading. Read this passage twice, the second time more slowly, pausing on a word or phrase that speaks to your heart. Then prayerfully speak to Jesus about what stirred your heart. What do you want to tell him?
Pray to the Lord and Trust in God’s Protection
This is How I Am to Pray
Matthew 6:7-15
Jesus said to his disciples:
“In praying, do not babble like the pagans, who think that they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them. Your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
This is how you are to pray:
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread; and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors; and do not subject us to the final test, but deliver us from the evil one.
If you forgive others their transgressions, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your transgressions.”
Are You Listening?
Today’s readings have a lot to say about “words” – God’s words, and our words. Isaiah tells us that God’s words are never rescinded. They always fulfill his will and achieve their purpose. But then there are other people’s words, and of course, there are my words. Human words can lift us up and tear us down. They can unite and divide. They can wound and sever ties, break bonds, and cause bitter unforgiveness. Words can damage our self-esteem, our reputation, and our livelihoods.
I recognize the power of human words. These, too, can achieve a purpose, but not always according to God’s will; sometimes human words are evil. People have hurt me and my words have hurt them.
Ask the Lord to show you uncharitable things you have said that caused hurt and division. Ask yourself, have I fully forgiven others for harmful words that were said to me? Jesus tells us we must forgive, even when the one who spoke them isn’t sorry. Take a moment and ask the Holy Spirit to help you think about these things, reminding you of people in your life who may have hurt you as well as those you have hurt. Ask the Lord for forgiveness and for the grace to forgive fully from your heart.
Now we will consider the words we use when we pray. Ask yourself, do I use words wisely when I talk to God, or do I babble with meaningless words? Perhaps you ruminate and try to solve your own problems, as if you are talking to yourself. Let the Holy Spirit probe your heart and speak to you about the way you pray. Ask for the grace to trust in God’s protection when you pray to the Lord, to give up control and have faith to believe that God’s words will not return to him void, that they will fulfill the purpose that they were intended for. Ask the Lord to help you pray with his words rather than your words.
Pray the next Lenten Meditation
Day 6 Lenten Meditation
Words of Jesus, Convert My Heart From Sin
“Words of Jesus, Convert My Heart From Sin” – Join us in our 6th Lenten reflection for Liturgical Year I