Saturday, May 9, 2020
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A Prayer for Willingness
True hope differs from waiting in that it expects the impossible to become possible through our petition and in God’s action. Today we might reflect on a mirror image to hope and conversion that we pondered yesterday: the juxtaposition of willingness and desire. It is this willingness – rather than our desire – that refines us as faithful. It is this willingness – and not mere desire – that marks us as God’s disciples.
But what might we gain, we ask ourselves, from being willing rather than willful?
Perhaps it is our willingness that God nurtures patiently, waiting for our readiness to participate fully in God through Christ. Perhaps it is this measure of willingness that indicates our full and ready understanding of who God is and why we are created in God’s image. Perhaps is it our willingness to withstand any difficulty, our determination to be disciples of Christ that signals our preparedness to believe that God can truly make all things possible. Do we desire to be with God but try to avoid all obstacles in our journey? Or are we willing to travel the road, despite its roadblocks, in full willingness?
As we read about Nehemiah warning against stepping into alien and pagan territory and relationships, we might remember the Good Samaritan parable told by Jesus. A man from Samaria, considered to be an outcast by the Jewish community, helps an injured traveler on the road to Jerusalem while the Levite, one who has special status in the Jewish community, keeps himself separate and pure. As we mature from our Old Testament self who seeks to merely understand God and enter into our New Testament self to seek union with God we leave our desire behind . . . and we enter into willingness.
We fully experience God’s presence when we give over our human desire of wishing for the end result through expedient or easy means, when we surrender our willfulness in order to become willing. But for this we need courage.
We genuinely live as God’s disciples when we cease asking for the easy route that has no brambles or pitfalls, when we take on the divine mantle of succumbing to the arduous journey of true willingness. But for this we need strength.
And so we pray . . .
Dear and gracious God,
We hope to rest constantly in you; grant us your readiness.
We desire to follow faithfully the way of Christ; grant us your eagerness.
We expect to hurdle all obstacles that would keep us from you; grant us your strength.
We hope to respond willingly to your call no matter how difficult the journey; grant us your courage.
We ask that you hold us close to you.
We ask that you keep us forever with you.
We ask that you grace us with your willingness.
We ask this in Christ’s name, in unity with the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Image from: https://www.bracknell-forest.gov.uk/news/2020/04/supporting-vulnerable-residents-easter-weekend
Adapted from a reflection written on July 21, 2009.
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