Intercession for the Wayward

never before have we been faced with so many choices about how we should think act and live how should we spend our time our resources and our money blessed are the pure in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven how do we view ourselves and those around us blessed are those who mourn for they will be comforted how can we find true success and lasting happiness blessed are the meek for they will inherit the land how can we know what is right and true blessed are the pure in heart for they will see God how can we make sense of suffering and loss blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness for theirs is the kingdom of heaven and those of us who want to continue with Jesus need to choose him and choose each other in a deeper way welcome to the choices we face welcome to another week of the choices we face we're going to be talking about something today that's very close to all our hearts and sister Ann shields is going to be the one that's going to introduce the topic sister Anna welcome Thank You Ralph we have received at renewal ministries so many requests for prayer for family members especially for children for grandchildren God children but it includes nieces and nephews and cousins but particularly I think there's a tremendous heartache in the world for our children and our grandchildren and so many I hear so many people say well I pray I pray I pray I pray and nothing changes or it gets worse what I want to talk to you about today is a way of praying that I think might be helpful to you to meet your need because we know your burdens are very heavy and I'm offering this as a way of supporting you and encouraging you because I know that God will answer your prayer if you have a Bible with you and can follow me I'd encourage you to look at the guy full of John chapter 15 what I want to talk to you about today is your life that can make you an effective prayer that can make you truly effective in your prayer for your children your grandchildren and other family members so we're going to talk about you today it tells us in John chapter 15 I am The True Vine and my father is the vine dresser every branch of mine that bears no fruit he takes away and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes that it may bear more fruit so you and I are a branch on the vine of God the life of God and the branches that submit to him he prunes us so that we will bear more fruit now how does he do that well the first way he does it in your life and in mine is to convict us to challenge us to make our way of life more conformable to his gospel that's the first thing he does and sometimes when it happens it hurts a pruning is a pretty severe thing especially with grapevines they're trimmed back to about 1 1 inch from the stock so they're just little knobs but it's so that the SAP will rise so that all of the nourishment will come up through the stock and make the stock bigger so that they can sustain the weight of the branches on the vine now translate it to you that means the life of Christ has to grow in you more and more making you stronger and stronger so that you can bear the fruit of reaching out and in this case praying for and seeing their lives change but it has to start with you so the first thing God does is he prunes us he convicts us he challenges us and this goes on all through our lives but we can go through a cycle of it so you can see somewhat of the process that Jesus points out for us in John chapter 15 so the life of Christ is called to grow in us which means we need to repent for our sin we need to be very humble and very honest with ourselves no rationalization no excuses just honestly all right this is my sin this is the area that I haven't been able to give to the Lord and then we frequent the sacrament of reconciliation there is grace their brothers and sisters to change there's grace it's not just an external ritual you encounter the Living God and there is grace given to you to change doesn't it's never dramatic it's not automatic it's step by step but if you're faithful in asking God for the grace your life will change that's part of the pruning process that we see ourselves we see admit our faults our weaknesses whether they come through our own self-knowledge or whether they come through others whatever the circumstances it doesn't matter they prune us the it hurts it's hard but if we're honest with ourselves and open before God what happens is that the life of Christ begins to grow in us and then it tells us you are already made clean by the word which I have spoken to you so part of the convicting process comes from God's Word are you daily reading God's Word repenting of your sin seeking grace that you might be more conformed to Christ he tells us in verse 4 bide in me and I in you as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine neither can you unless you abide in me unless you rest in me the commentary vines commentary tells us Christ's rest is not a rest from work but in work abide rest in me it's not a rest from work but in work not the rest of in activity but the harmonious working of all our faculties our will our heart our imagination our conscience for each has found its place of rest in the heart of God Jesus that's what Jesus is saying when he says abide in me come find the fullness of life in me for your will your heart your imagination your conscience that's where they're going to be satisfied is in Christ and Jesus tells us draw near to me you're being pruned draw near to me now and abide in me as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine neither can you unless you abide in me make your home in me rest in me come to me moment after moment throughout the day come this is your refuge is in my heart I am the vine you are the branches he who abides in me and I in him he it is that bears much fruit for apart from me you can do nothing brothers and sisters when we're abiding in the Lord when we're resting in him when we're allowing ourselves to be pruned when we're drawing our food and our nourishment from his word one of the fruits is the we learn how to pray for others once you're United with the Lord and of course we sin and we have to keep going back to repentance we have to keep going back that will be the course all our lives but if we're in that pattern of life then when we come to the Lord and say Lord I bring you my children I bring you my grandchildren my heart is wounded and I hurt so much for them and I see the decisions they're making I see how they're taking how those decisions are taking them away from you I say all that to the Lord and I say to the Lord teach me how to pray if I'm abiding in the Lord if I'm resting in him if I'm living a life of ongoing purification and change if my life is being more and more conformed to his word here's the result Jesus says whatever you ask in my name I will do and what does it mean to ask in his name it means to ask according to his mind his heart his intention when we unite our intention our hope for this child or grandchild or godchild when we ask Lord why how do you want me to pray in your name because we're living a life in conformity with Christ we can hear his voice more clearly and what is it what is it ultimately that God wants for all those for whom we pray what is it that God wants he wants them with him for all eternity and oftentimes financial needs health needs addictions relationship problems all of those things difficult as they are can bring a person to the place of saying I can't do this and I can't change that's where your prayer asking God to give them the grace to change asking God give them the grace to be more conformed to him asking God to give them the desire for eternal salvation and life with God when you start praying that way God's going to hear your prayer it tells us very very clearly in Matthew 6:33 he's talking about all the human needs that we have food and clothing and shelter and all those things I just mentioned he says the Gentiles seek all these things and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all he knows we need human we need our human needs to be met but he says seek first his kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be yours as well if we seek what's first in God's heart if we conform ourselves to ask and sometimes it's hard you know you see a family on the verge of divorce you see a child very very ill and of course you're gonna pray for help then for reconciliation but what Jesus is saying pray first that they come to me pray first that they open their hearts to me pray first that through this set of difficult circumstances they come to a deep and a saving knowledge of me if you pray like that it's not like a formula because your life has to be more and more conformed as well so it's an ongoing life process but if that's the way you pray brothers and sisters I feel confident to stand here and say to you today you're gonna see some miracles because all God wants is that we come home to him and when we put our prayer in that mind it's hard it's hard because you're saying well if they just get free of this addiction then they'll come to know the Lord if they just have this experience or that experience or God gives them the they need that will help them to turn to the Lord and sometimes God works that way but in your prayer if you put first in your prayer what's first in God's heart salvation and conformity to Christ and following him make that your prayer Jesus says all these other things will be yours as well now sometimes the answers our prayer differently than we expected but it's always better than we ever wanted so it's a it takes from you as an intercessor it takes a trust in God and ask him for that trust if you don't have it and then it takes a deeper conformity of your own life to the ways of God and when those things are in place you will more and more take on the mind of God the heart of God the spirit of God the hunger and thirst of God for your loved ones to come to him that's the grace that God wants to give you and I know your circumstances are very difficult I know that many of you are carrying seemingly intolerable burdens but take a look at yourself first take a look at your own life first and say how can I be more conformed to Christ in my daily work and then pray for your loved ones that way and watch what God does god bless you if you're searching for ways to grow in prayer and holiness and reading and sharing the good news join us this summer at the renewal ministries Institute biblical scholars and lay missionaries join the renewal ministry staff to provide dynamic teachings on scripture evangelization and the spirituality of the great Saints to find out more about the renewal ministries Institute call 734 662 173 0 today or visit us on the web at renewal ministries net [Music] hey you know I gave the very barest of introductions the sister Ann and I'd like to share with you a little bit more about her she's the superior of a new religious order called servants of God's love that are is located in a diocese in Lansing Michigan and they're devoted to evangelization and taking care of medically needy children and they teach in schools and their nurses and the unifying charism is love right that's really the servicing guys love and sister Anna is also an author and a leader of renewal in the Catholic Church and she's a daily radio program called food for the journey and she just recently completed her 3000th program congratulations sister it seems impossible to do anything back and said I was going to do three thousand programs I would have thought that's intolerable but yeah the Word of God is so living that every time you touch it there's there's another nugget you know or another gold mine to fun so it's all God it really is all God he supplies at all hey you said yes and you keep saying yes every week and the program's out five days a week and you can get it on many of the new Catholic radio stations but it's also available on our website www.rinaldin.com and you can actually hear sis trans program right there in the comfort of your home yes what a blessing technology it really is it's really neat people who don't have to kind of get up at a certain time to catch a program but they can just get it from the website so many people tell me that they try to time their ride to work where they can't hear it but sometimes they have to leave a little earlier they get in too late so they're so glad that it's on the web because they can click on there she said yeah how are things going in the sisterhood they're going very well very well God is God's very good to us I don't know quite how when you said all the things we're doing I don't know quite how we do that but I think it's because prayer that's aggressive mission to care for the elderly but yes they care for the elderly as well who people who have no material resources and no family really who can care for them but but I was just thinking as you were speaking that without prayer which is the central part of our day and then as you mentioned the charism being loved we take a fourth vow besides poverty chastity and obedience to really live in love and unity with one another because we're not living in unity how can we be servants of his love so it's it's a challenge day in and day out but we do love one another we really are growing with one another so it becomes an authentic sign young women or not so young women get in touch with you well they can certainly write to our vocations director at four three nine nine Ford Road Ann Arbor Michigan okay we'll put that address up on the screen and they could also contact you through renewal ministries also your email address is on the website yes exactly good well sister Ann you just talked about something that is on everybody's heart you know everybody has people in their lives that they're concerned about you know children or grandchildren or parents or brothers or sisters and everybody you know is concerned and I thought you just really gave some really good perspective there about how the more we're in tune with the Lord ourselves the more we can understand what whose will is from the people in our life and the more we'll be able to pray according to his will and he says when you pray according to my will it's done yeah yeah yeah so it it is a process you know people tell me that they pray rosaries and novenas and I that's wonderful I'm not in any way minimizing that but we need to it's it's the attitude with which we pray and it's where our own heart is before the Lord that's what God looks at you know he looks at our heart and how conformed are we to him and doesn't mean we have to be perfect for a prayer to be answered we just need to be on the road yeah and constantly giving ourselves over to being more and more conformed to Christ and as I said a few minutes ago when we do there's just a way become more in tune with his mind and heart and it makes prayer I've seen miracles I've seen people pray for 10 15 20 years for something before it was answered I've been praying for 37 years for something not answered yet but I just keep on the path because God has to work with His grace and that person's free will and that's that's something that's important to know right while you were talking I was thinking of this conversation between Catherine and Sienna and God the Father which she had many conversations and the father tells her that the people who are now with him in heaven including friends and relatives are very concerned about those that they loved on earth and are continually interceding for us with great power and then the father tells Katharine and I do my part to grant their request provided that the people they're praying for don't foolishly resist my mercy and so that's so we know it's God's will that everybody be saved we know it's God's will that children and grandchildren friends and relatives be say but we also know that the Lord will do everything up to the point but he won't force he won't force it but we know that our prayer is bringing grace is bringing opportunities is bringing mercy and and and so many opportunities for people to open their heart to the Lord but it is in the last analysis possible for people to foolishly resist the mercy of God and then we know we've done everything God's done everything but freedom has to be respected you know so we shouldn't be discouraged if if every prayer isn't perfectly answered because everything will be done for the people we're praying for that can possibly be done and we know that that's the case that's true and then in the last analysis it requires a choice on their their parts right and that's often how I pray is God pour so much grace out on them that it's your resistible you know and I understand I mean we do have the gift of free will and we can reject and we can say no it's a it's an infinitely precious gift and it's dangerous you know we sure know that people who have people praying for them have a lot better chance of responding to God's grace than those that's exactly I mean you hear of so many deathbed conversions in fact there's mamaev mentioned this one time before but there was a man by the name of George Mueller who was a Protestant missionary and he prayed for three friends that he really wanted them to know the Lord and he died and all three of them were still you know have had not converted and one converted a year later to the second one several years later and the third one about five years later and so they they did all come to the Lord so it's true that sometimes we can die and not yet see the fruit of our prayer but it doesn't mean that grace doesn't continue to work absolutely and you know somebody coach them the other day and said you know I've been praying for my son longer than Monica's been praying for a gust it was we always hold up Monica's prays a long long time 30-some years it was actually really because he didn't start going off the track badly until he was in his late teens and he got converted about 32 or so so 16 18 20 years something like that or even if she was praying from when he was a born you know it's 35 years of 32 or something but so there are people that have been praying longer than Nanak was praying for Augustus so when people notice that they say gee that's discouraging you know but each soul is so infinitely precious each soul is so different it's a unique creation of God and for some it's you know the response is immediate there are some it's a long time but we can't we can't compare right because God got created I thought one of the things that's really so important that you share is that we tend to pray for the symptoms in people's lives oh lord help them get over this illness or oh lord help them get a job or oh lord help them stop drinking or you know lord help them you know get back with their wife or you know and those are all really real needs they have exactly and God says yeah yeah and it's fine to pray for those things but sometimes there's something like tough love you know and what we really want is God to give or not give what would be most helpful for people really being saved rather than them that's really sometimes the Lord allows the foolish consequences of people's decisions to kind of unfold in their lives as a goad to help them to wake up and if those sort of foolish consequences of their sin gets short-circuited it it may not bring the the good result of final conversion so sometimes the Lord in his tough love and his strong wisdom allows the consequences of sin to unfold but he knows that that's the only thing that will bring people back to their senses ultimately exactly and it's hard for us when you love someone to watch them suffer through this and yet that's what God did unite yourself of God the Father because that's what God does for us I think the other thing Ralph is keeping an eternal perspective no he's so rarely talked about heaven yeah so rarely talk about where we're going yeah and sometimes just having conversation about it reading the scriptures and Heaven goes a long way to inspiring and encouraging us to pray for everyone to come to that place I know it's helped me just talking with friends and will look up different scripture passages and say look what this says about what awaits us and what God has in store for us and it just helps it's not that you forget the problems of life but you have such a an incentive let's say the vision of heaven that it's worth whatever it was you know sometimes the values that parents communicate the children can can't appear it's a child to be just purely this worldly values oh I'm really still concerned with you getting a good job or getting into a good school or this that or that type of thing it looks like concerns just for this world and what does a prophet our son or daughter or mother or father or brother or sister to get into the best schools and have great health and make a lot of money but suffer the loss of their souls exactly yeah exactly well sister Anna thank you so much for sharing these helpful perspectives I've written a booklet called my five most important decisions and these are the kinds of decisions I think could be helpful to you too as you try to conform your life more and more to God's will we'd like to make it available to you at no cost just for the asking our our donors are really generous with us that enable us to do that and just call the 800 number or write to the address and we'll send it to you right away now some decision that you might want to consider for yourself right now is deciding to really surrender yourself more deeply to the Lord and if you haven't already to start praying not just for the material well-being of your children and grandchildren but really to start praying for their eternal salvation really start praying that they come to know the Lord and end up dying in the peace and friendship of the Lord rather than dying in unrepentant sin are their life will be a tremendous success if they die in friendship with Christ and a tremendous tragic failure if they die alienated from Christ I'll pray for their salvation and don't give up every day we're faced with decisions both great and small some decisions seem small and insignificant while others can be confusing and overwhelming where should I go to college is this the right job for me should we start a family but God has called each one of us into existence for a purpose a glorious and eternal purpose hi I've written a booklet called my five most important decisions I think you'll find these decisions really useful for your own life as well to receive the free booklet call renewal ministries at 1-800 to eight to four seven eight nine a write to us at the address on your screen or visit us on the web at renewal ministries net [Music] Oh you

Channel: Renewal Ministries

Views: 518

Keywords: Christianity, Jesus, Christ, Evangelism, Mission, Spirituality, Evangelization, Religion, Catholic, Church, God, Trinity

Id: -Jv_LVe94cc

Length: 28min 32sec (1712 seconds)

Published: Wed Nov 13 2019