Rescue Me Lord From the Powerful Snares of the Wicked
Today we embrace having faith in Jesus. 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 32 of our Lenten Challenge with this opening prayer:
Trust And Believe
Please rescue me Lord, from all the powerful snares of the wicked who seem to be everywhere. I pray to you, Lord, in distress; I see the evil increasing around me and the powerful snares of the wicked. Holy Trinity, One God, you are my rock, my shield, and my stronghold. I place all my trust in you. Come to my aid and help me. Protect me from all confusion and deception. AMEN.
Rescue Me Lord From the Snares of the Wicked
A Reflection for Prayerful Meditation
Join me in a prayerful reflection and meditation for your Lenten journey with Christ to Jerusalem.
Opening Prayer
Lord Jesus Christ,
I believe you are truly here and present to me right now. I desire to be present to you. Rescue me Lord from the snares of the wicked. Speak to my heart today and give me wisdom to know your voice and not be deceived. Help me overcome the powerful snares of the wicked. I know that you love me with infinite love and it is your will that I walk in the light of the truth. I acknowledge my sins and I admit that I am vulnerable to the snares of the evil one who constantly deceives me. I struggle to know when something is of you or a deception from the devil. Take away all doubt, and rescue me Lord.
Jesus, please rescue me from my ignorance and help me to be meek and humble of heart. Please send me your Spirit so that I can worship you according to your will and without being deceived by the evil one to believe falsehoods. Help me to separate myself from all worldly attachments and spend these 15 minutes reflecting with my heart and mind completely fixated on you. Jesus, rescue me from the powerful snares of the devil. You know all my weaknesses and that I am confused about the truth without the grace of your holy Spirit.
Please give me the grace right now to pray my mental prayer well and to love and obey you in a way that is pleasing to you. I want to grow to love you more perfectly. Thank you, Lord, for every consolation, desolation, time of silence, difficult trial, and temptation of the evil one. I understand that everything that happens in my life is by your holy will, whether it be your divine providence or your permissive will due to my sin and negligence.
Please humble me as I walk with you toward Jerusalem. Help me carry my cross with humility and obedience and do so with great love in my heart for you.
AMEN.
Say Nothing Just Take Him In
Spend 1-3 minutes in silence gazing at the Lord with love and gratitude, in a prayer of silent contemplation.
Make a Movie in Your Mind
You are at the eastern edge of the Temple Mount in Solomon’s Colonnade, a massive, shaded walkway and on either side of you are towering rows of white limestone columns. Off in the distance you see the steep drop-off of the Kidron Valley and rows and rows of olive groves below. The air is crisp, and the wind gives you a slight chill. You see Jesus speaking to a crowd, yet you can’t quite hear what he is saying. All of a sudden you see people get enraged. The hostile crowd starts grabbing jagged limestone rocks and your heart begins to pound out of your chest….
Scripture Cannot be Set Aside
John 10:31-42
The Jews picked up rocks to stone Jesus.
Jesus answered them, “I have shown you many good works from my Father. For which of these are you trying to stone me?”
The Jews answered him, “We are not stoning you for a good work but for blasphemy. You, a man, are making yourself God.”
Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your law, ‘I said, “You are gods“‘?
If it calls them gods to whom the word of God came, and scripture cannot be set aside, can you say that the one whom the Father has consecrated and sent into the world blasphemes because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’? If I do not perform my Father’s works, do not believe me; but if I perform them, even if you do not believe me, believe the works, so that you may realize (and understand) that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.”
(Then) they tried again to arrest him; but he escaped from their power. He went back across the Jordan to the place where John first baptized, and there he remained.
Many came to him and said, “John performed no sign, but everything John said about this man was true.” And many there began to believe in him.
Be Completely Real
What does Jesus mean when he says, “Is it not written in your law, ‘I said, “you are gods”‘?
Did this verse initially confuse you? Why did Jesus quote this scripture? What was he pointing out? If these were educated Jews they would know the scripture he referenced and understand what he was getting at. But what if they were ignorant of scripture and had not studied it? Would his words confound them? Would they be unable to discern his meaning?
Let us pray and ask the Lord to guide our hearts and minds.
Eternal Father, we humbly ask you give us the grace to understand these words of Jesus through your Holy Spirit. Please help us to know the truth and to humbly walk in it. We ask all this in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. AMEN.
Perhaps a little history into the Old Testament might help us understand what Jesus meant here. The Church teaches us all that we need to understand, all the truths of the faith, through both scripture and tradition (2 Thes 2:15).
If we read Psalm 82, we understand better what Jesus means. In this Psalm, we learn a historical lesson about the judges of Israel; God condemns the judges for wicked judgments and reminds them that he will judge them according to their deeds at the ultimate judgment.
You see, the Jews viewed the pagan gods as subordinate divine beings to whom Israel’s God initially gave oversight in foreign countries. In Psalm 82 God rebukes these unjust “gods”; he accuses them of misruling the earth and not aiding the poor. We are told the gods are blind and unable to declare what is right and their poor governance shakes the earth’s foundations as a result.
So in our Gospel reading for today, it seems Jesus is pointing out the hypocrisy of their accusations. He shows them that they assume the descriptor “god” as judges but they deny this same title to Jesus and call it blasphemy.
He is saying you can’t have it both ways. You can’t be a hypocrite. You can’t give yourself power and authority like unto God and deny that Jesus has it, especially when his works prove that he is God.
Now let’s Contemplate this passage…
Are you in a position of authority over others? Have you ever made a judgment that was false, hypocritical, and caused harm to another soul that was subject to your authority? Have you reconciled? If not, are you still able to? Have you repented to God?
Have you ever been on the receiving end of a false judgment from someone who used this message or judgment to assert authority over you? Has this caused you harm? Have you reconciled with this person? If not, have you forgiven them?
Now listen to the second part of Jesus’ teaching, “The Father is in me and I am in the Father.”
In what way does this divine truth captivate your heart?
God Rescues the Poor from the Power of the Wicked
Jeremiah 20:10-13
I hear the whisperings of many: “Terror on every side! Denounce! let us denounce him!”
All those who were my friends are on the watch for any misstep of mine. “Perhaps he will be trapped; then we can prevail, and take our vengeance on him.”
But the LORD is with me, like a mighty champion: my persecutors will stumble, they will not triumph. In their failure they will be put to utter shame, to lasting, unforgettable confusion.
O LORD of hosts, you who test the just, who probe mind and heart, Let me witness the vengeance you take on them, for to you I have entrusted my cause. Sing to the LORD, praise the LORD, For he has rescued the life of the poor from the power of the wicked!
Visualize Christ
Have you ‘seen’ Jesus? Reflect on a moment in your life when Jesus came to you through a thought in your mind, a movement of your heart, a word spoken through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, or an experience that gave you great peace and joy even in suffering. How did Jesus show himself to be real and reveal the love of the Father to you?
Take a moment to ask Jesus questions from your heart. Give the Holy Spirit time to respond. Wait on the Lord. Has he shown you something? You may want to write it down.
Are You Listening?
Be present to Jesus right now. Speak from your heart. Tell him everything you fear, the experiences you are confused about and may question. Ask him for the grace to be humble, obedient, wise, and to have a better understanding of the faith. Ask for the virtues of faith, hope, and charity. Tell him you want to be a saint and ask for the grace to become one.
Take 1-3 minutes to listen for his response to your heartfelt prayer.
Pray the next Lenten Meditation
Day 33 Mental Prayer Meditation
Jesus You Will Offer Your Life to Save Us All
Jesus you will offer your life to save us. After you have done many signs they have decided to kill you in order to save a nation.