Psalm Reflection: Second Sunday in Ordinary Time (Cycle A)

“Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will.” - Psalm 40

What was the last thing you asked God for in prayer? It was probably really easy to think of right? I mean, we are always asking God for things, and we should because He told us, “Ask and you shall receive…” (Matthew 7:7).

There is nothing wrong with asking things of our Heavenly Father, because He wants to give us everything and He only desires our greatest possible good. The problem comes when we are so used to asking and expecting immediate delivery, that we treat God like a divine ATM or a spiritual vending machine, and when He doesn’t give us what He is “supposed to,” then we kick, scream, bang on the machine or try to tip it over to get what we came for. That’s not prayer, that’s a temper tantrum. We can ask God for anything and everything we desire, but we need to humbly trust that He will fulfill that desire even if it is in a different way or at a different time.

I don’t know about You, but this is really hard for me. It is hard for me to trust and surrender control to someone I cannot see, because my pride (and every group project in school since the dawn of man) tells me that if I want something done right, I have to do it myself. I want to be in control. I want it done my way, on my terms and immediately. But God doesn’t work like Amazon Prime. I can’t guarantee the fastest delivery, or even that I will get what I ordered. I have to trust that whatever arrives and whenever it does, it will be better than anything I could have asked for. And that is a hard thing to trust when you really, really want something.

The point of this Psalm is that we recognize who we are before God and who we are not, so that we would present ourselves in humility to Him and simply say, “whatever and whenever Lord, I trust in you.” I think our tendency is the opposite of this. The Psalm of humanity is more like: “Where are you, God? Come and do MY will.” It would be ridiculous for me to let my 18 month-old daughter to drive my car, even if she is utterly convinced of her capability to do so and where she is going. She could kick and scream all she wanted, but it would never happen. Why is it any more reasonable for us to insist we be in the driver’s seat of our own lives when we cannot ever see the whole picture?

This week, incorporate this Psalm into your daily prayer. Say it prayerfully and reflectively at the beginning or end or your prayer time. Try repeating it 10 times slowly, while breathing in on “Here am I Lord,” and breathing out on “I come to do your will.” Let those words settle your mind and sink in to your heart so you would actually believe them.

We are praying for you this week. See you in the Eucharist!