It is marvelous how seemingly small things in our lives leave a massive impact. I was thinking recently about a prayer I learned when I first became a Christian in 1958. Many of the phrases in the prayer, even now, keep popping back into my mind some 62 years later. In a sense, the biblical truths behind the prayer have helped shape my life over all those years. The prayer implies that Christians are meant to have a servant heart in all their relationships, no matter what success [humanly speaking] they have achieved in life. The prayer composed by Saint Ignatius of Loyola may have been influenced by the words of Jesus as He told his disciples “For the Son of Man [Jesus] came not to be served but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many.” Mk 10:45. Certainly as the founder of the Jesuits, he and his followers attempted to live in accordance with the concepts in the prayer and many nations throughout the world and over numerous generations have been richly blessed as a result of the ministry of the Jesuits.
In a world increasingly being marked by rebellion, riots, looting, destruction and even physical violence and murder it is a prayer that many young and older folk could learn and live by, for their own benefit and for the future prosperity of the world. Otherwise the soul and life destroying concepts of atheistic Marxist philosophy so prevalent in all our educational systems, in which there are no moral absolutes [except what they insist on] will continue to prevail to the detriment of the peoples of the whole world.
Could I imagine the young and older folk engaged in the riotous aggression we witness now on TV, ever humbling themselves to pray such a prayer? Humanly speaking, Never! But Ignatius as a young man was not to be admired, until he met the Lord in a life-changing encounter. He was never the same afterwards. Neither is anyone who encounters the living Jesus! So it is possible that some of these riotous folk we see today, may some day come to realise the demonic background to their present thinking and antisocial behaviour when they have an encounter with the truth [Jesus Himself]. Then and only then can they begin to make a positive contribution to the world as St Ignatius eventually did. I pray so! So here is the prayer as I learnt it, with my comments on the side.
| Prayer of Saint Ignatius Loyola
Teach us, Good Lord, |
My comments
He is good, for He died for us
He is the Lord over the whole creation as its creator and sustainer.
We need Him to open our eyes in order to understand spiritual realities.
|
| To Serve Thee as Thou deservest; |
He died for us so that we might live for Him |
| To give and not to count the cost; |
No one can out-give God! God loves a generous giver especially when they give themselves to Him and to His purposes. |
| To fight and not to heed the wounds; |
It is the fight of faith to trust in the victory already won on the cross for us. |
| To labor and not to ask for any reward, |
Reward is not the motivation for labour, but is the undeserved result of faithful labour for the Lord |
| save that of knowing that we do Thy will. |
To know we are in the will of God is the greatest blessing on earth |
| Through Jesus Christ Our Lord, Amen. |
“For from Him, and through Him and to Him are all things.” Rom 11:36. |
Why not pray the prayer and see what the Lord can do in and through you, to His glory?
Blog No.361. A Prayer That Needs To Be Prayed For A World In Turmoil. The Prayer of St Ignatius of Loyola. Posted on Sunday 28th June 2020.
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About Jim Holbeck
Once an Industrial Chemist working for the Queensland Government but later an Anglican minister in Brisbane, Armidale and Sydney. Last position for eighteen years before retirement in 2006 was as the Leader of the Healing Ministry at St Andrew's Cathedral Sydney.
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361. A Prayer That Needs To Be Prayed For A World In Turmoil. The Prayer of St Ignatius of Loyola.
It is marvelous how seemingly small things in our lives leave a massive impact. I was thinking recently about a prayer I learned when I first became a Christian in 1958. Many of the phrases in the prayer, even now, keep popping back into my mind some 62 years later. In a sense, the biblical truths behind the prayer have helped shape my life over all those years. The prayer implies that Christians are meant to have a servant heart in all their relationships, no matter what success [humanly speaking] they have achieved in life. The prayer composed by Saint Ignatius of Loyola may have been influenced by the words of Jesus as He told his disciples “For the Son of Man [Jesus] came not to be served but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many.” Mk 10:45. Certainly as the founder of the Jesuits, he and his followers attempted to live in accordance with the concepts in the prayer and many nations throughout the world and over numerous generations have been richly blessed as a result of the ministry of the Jesuits.
In a world increasingly being marked by rebellion, riots, looting, destruction and even physical violence and murder it is a prayer that many young and older folk could learn and live by, for their own benefit and for the future prosperity of the world. Otherwise the soul and life destroying concepts of atheistic Marxist philosophy so prevalent in all our educational systems, in which there are no moral absolutes [except what they insist on] will continue to prevail to the detriment of the peoples of the whole world.
Could I imagine the young and older folk engaged in the riotous aggression we witness now on TV, ever humbling themselves to pray such a prayer? Humanly speaking, Never! But Ignatius as a young man was not to be admired, until he met the Lord in a life-changing encounter. He was never the same afterwards. Neither is anyone who encounters the living Jesus! So it is possible that some of these riotous folk we see today, may some day come to realise the demonic background to their present thinking and antisocial behaviour when they have an encounter with the truth [Jesus Himself]. Then and only then can they begin to make a positive contribution to the world as St Ignatius eventually did. I pray so! So here is the prayer as I learnt it, with my comments on the side.
Teach us, Good Lord,
He is good, for He died for us
He is the Lord over the whole creation as its creator and sustainer.
We need Him to open our eyes in order to understand spiritual realities.
Why not pray the prayer and see what the Lord can do in and through you, to His glory?
Blog No.361. A Prayer That Needs To Be Prayed For A World In Turmoil. The Prayer of St Ignatius of Loyola. Posted on Sunday 28th June 2020.
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About Jim Holbeck
Once an Industrial Chemist working for the Queensland Government but later an Anglican minister in Brisbane, Armidale and Sydney. Last position for eighteen years before retirement in 2006 was as the Leader of the Healing Ministry at St Andrew's Cathedral Sydney.