Week: How to Hear God
We start by pausing and taking a deep breath:
In and out.
In and out.
We remember that God is here, and so together we prepare ourselves to be with God.
Pause
Mighty God, open our eyes, stir our hearts and teach us how, ‘To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly’ with You today. (Micah 6:8)
Mother Teresa was born in Albania in 1910 and she lived for 87 years. She is well known throughout the world because she lived her whole life caring for people who were very sick and very poor – people who no-one else wanted to care for. And why did she do this? Because she knew it’s what Jesus would do.
Let’s REFLECT on one of many passages from the Bible that talk about God’s love for those who are sick and poor.
Read by Ruby
Psalm 12:5-7
The Lord [says], ‘I have seen violence done to the helpless,
and I have heard the groans of the poor.
Now I will rise up to rescue them,
as they have longed for me to do.’
Therefore, Lord, we know you will protect the oppressed,
preserving them forever.
Psalm 12:5,7a [NLT]
When she was only 12 years old, Teresa felt God asking her to move to India to tell people about Jesus. And when she grew up, that’s exactly what she did. She became a nun – which means she made some special promises to God, and she dedicated her whole life to prayer and serving people – and then she moved to India.
In India, she saw how difficult life was for the poorest people, and knew that God wanted her to help them. She started caring for those who were sick and disabled. She looked after orphans – children with no home – and elderly people too – treating them with kindness and respect. Teresa quickly realised that there were too many people for her to care for, so she asked other nuns to come and join her. Teresa’s team eventually grew to more than 4000 nuns, and they worked together to care for those who were suffering the most.
From a very young age, Mother Teresa knew what she wanted to do. Let’s pause and talk about today’s question which is: What do we want to do when we grow up? What did we want to do when we were younger than we are now?
And now, let’s ASK God to help us and others.
We may not know what God wants us to do with our whole lives, but let’s ASK God to show us what he wants us to do this week.
Father God, we’re inspired by the way that Mother Teresa served you with her whole life… caring for people and being kind to them. We ASK you to show us who we can care for this week, who we can be kind to.
Mother Teresa knew that God cares especially for people who are sick and poor – for those who no-one else cares for.
Loving God, we ASK you to be with those who are suffering in some way today. Please comfort them and give them strength. And we also pray for organisations, like Mother Teresa’s, who do all they can to care for those who need it the most. Give them the resources they need to do this good work.
Mother Teresa had some great advice about how to follow Jesus. She said, ‘Give yourself fully to God. He will use you to accomplish great things on the condition that you believe much more in His love than in your own weakness.’* What this means is that we don’t need to worry about making mistakes or feeling nervous. God’s love is all we need.
So, let’s think about these words as we say YES to God together.
Loving God, we say YES to giving our whole lives to you, just like Mother Teresa did. We feel a bit weak – we don’t really know what to do – but we trust that you will fill us with your love, and show us each day how we can care for other people.
Pause
Let’s put a hand on our heart.
Father God, fill us with Your love. Help us to love You, and everything that You’ve made.
Let’s point to our eyes.
Lord Jesus, help us to see You, and to see others the way that You see them too.
Let’s point to our ears.
Holy Spirit, help us to hear You, and give us courage to do what You say.
*https://www.biography.com/religious-figure/mother-teresa (Accessed 09.06.22)
Phil lives close to a beach in the north of England with his wife, his daughters and his dogs. Phil works for 24-7 Prayer, mostly doing Lectio stuff, and helping to run Prayer Spaces in Schools. He runs a lot, usually for long distances. He likes curry, mountains, reading books and he still plays Pokemon Go.
Ruby is 12 and she lives in Dublin, in the Republic of Ireland with her family. Ruby is a gymnast who never sits still! She loves dogs (but her mum won’t get her one), she loves her friends and she’s always up for a laugh. Ruby would love to work with animals when she’s older.
