Ask not what Jesus can do for you, but what you can do for Him

By Edward Chisanga

Why do we always ask Jesus to give us bread?
All along, my prayers have been loaded with requests for Jesus to look after me, to find food and water for me, to look after my family, to watch over me when driving, walking, sleeping and eating. I ask Him to help me become rich, wise, intelligent and professional. I have asked Jesus to guard me and my family against enemies, jealousy, hate, malice, wild animals and insects and others that threaten my life. In short, I ask Him to give me bread (Bread here, meaning all nice things). I’ve asked Him to heel me when sick; to give my family many blessings and to provide for many other wishes.

In the foregoing paragraph, I have just described a loop-sided relationship between Zambians and Jesus. We engage in a relationship that’s not mutually beneficial with Jesus. It’s called a parasitic relationship, in which simply want to receive from someone else. We simply stretch our hands towards them to give us and give nothing in return. That’s what 90% of Zambians do. We draw milk from a fat cow until it dries. We don’t know how to give back or reciprocate. Now, we’ve extended it to the partnership with our Lord Jesus from whom we only ask and not give. When we pray, we always ask Jesus to give us favors. Now, I reflect back to see the mountain of sins that my parents and I committed and continue to, and ask for their forgiveness. In this article, I share with the reader that I have altered how to pray. I wish to focus on addressing past and current sins and asking Jesus to forgive me. I have completely dropped asking Him for bread.

What are sins?
What I read in the Bible and other literature is that the genesis of sin is Adam and Eve’s choice to defy God’s advice, “You’re free to eat from any tree in the garden, but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it, you’ll certainly die.” I also read that the Old Testament ‘narrates humanity’s early rebellion against God and also shows us what’s forbidden in the famous Ten Commandments, including: ‘worshipping other gods; Making or worshipping idols; misusing God’s name; Failing to remember the Sabbath; Dishonoring parents; Murder; Adultery; Stealing; Bearing testimony and Coveting.’ The New Testament also highlights sins, including, sexuality, impurity, debauchery, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, drunkenness, orgies and others too numerous to mention.

A few years ago, I read an extraordinary religious book, “The way of Divine Love” by Sister Josefa Menendez, a Spanish nun that altered my life. In it are some extraordinary religious encounters, wonderful prayers and revelations between she and Jesus, including man’s sins against Jesus. In many and different forms, Jesus reveals how He’s grousing about man’s sins. In Gethsemane, He complains, “I live in the midst of sinners that I may be their life, their physician, and the remedy of the diseases bred by corrupt nature. And in return they forsake, insult and despise Me.” He grouses about lack of affection and gratitude.

He continues, “After having preached to greater crowds, healed the sick, given sight to the blind, raised the dead….after having lived three years with My apostles to train them and teach My doctrine to them…..I finally willed to teach them by example how to love one another, to put up with Myself one another, and how mutually to serve each other; and this I did by washing their feet and making their food.” Continues the Master, “But cannot you spare a few minutes in which to come and prove your affection and your gratitude? Learn also from Him that all important actions should be preceded by and vivified by, for only in prayer can a soul obtain the strength needed in life’s difficulties.” Jesus complains about the sleeping disciples that He found when they should have been awake, waiting for Him. He complains about His scourging and crowning of thorns on His Head and reads in His hand, the thirst, the Cross. He said, “All these suffering thronged before My eyes and pressed upon My Heart, while at one and the same time I saw all the offences, sins and crimes that were to be committed throughout the ages. O sinners who torture Me. Will this Blood bring salvation and life, or will it be shed in vain for you?”

Then He says, “My soul, already shattered and a prey to sadness, had to ensure still more deadly grief, for crushed by the weight of the sins of men, and in return for so much suffering and love, I saw only outrages and ingratitude. The blood now pouring from My body and which I was soon to shed from countless wounds would be in vain for so many souls, many would be lost, a still greater number would sin against Me, and myriads would not so much as hear My name. Alas, at this moment, I see how many will turn away from Me, some will not listen to My call, others will hear but will not follow Me, others will respond for a time with a certain amount of generosity to the call of My Heart, but then will gradually grow drowsy and one day will say to Me by their deeds, ‘I have worked enough, I have been faithful to every detail of my duty, I have overcome nature, I’m no longer a child, so many privations, so much vigilance are no longer necessary, I need no longer endure this restraint.”
Referring to His disciples, He goes on, “I had chosen them that they might share My agony, pray with Me and by their company afford Me some consolation What were My feelings to find them asleep? O the pang of loneliness, and to have none to share in My sorrow. How often My Heart suffers this same grief, how often, hoping to solace among the souls It loves, It finds them slumbering. Another episode of Christ reminds us when He says, “Bring to me the souls who do not believe in God and who do not know Me, and those who have separated themselves from My Church.” He grouses about lack of affection and gratitude saying, “After having preached to greater crowds, healed the sick, given sight to the blind, raised the dead….after having lived three years with My apostles to train them and teach My doctrine to them…..I finally willed to teach them by example how to love one another, to put up with one another, and how mutually to serve each other; and this I did by washing their feet and making Myself their food.”

Finally, but non-exhaustive, Jesus complains about what we know as five wounds on His Body: The nailing of his two feet and hands and piecing on His right side. “They have pierced My hands and My feet; they have numbered all My bones.” I also recently discovered the wound on His shoulder caused by the carrying of the heavy Cross. He complains, “I had on My Shoulder while I bore My Cross on the Way of Sorrows, a grievous Wound which was more painful than the others, and which is not recorded by men.” Indeed, the Bible further reminds us of more painful sins of man. Isaiah reminds us, “But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. Your shoulder wound reminds me that You carried more than I can imagine. He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross… by his wounds you have been healed.” Jesus is also greatly sorrowed by blasphemy and by the profanation of Sunday by our work and failure to go to Mass. Of course, these are only a few of the millions of sins of man.

Addressing sins
I cannot explain where it came from. But I just decided recently that I will radically alter the way I pray. I will no longer ask Jesus to give me. Instead, I will give Him. I have decided that I will pray Him vigorously, unashamedly, fearlessly, respectfully, and unquenchably giver Him means, I know exactly what constitutes sin that my parents and I committed and continue to because, either He himself has clearly, comprehensively and unequivocally listed these sins.

So, if what I have shared in the foregoing paragraphs constitute approximate sins or excesses that estrange us from Jesus, then my single most important task is to ensure I pray that they’re understood and forgiven by Jesus. For example, for the last sin I have listed, “Shoulder wound that we caused on Jesus,” I offer this prayer I found somewhere, “Most loving Jesus, meek Lamb of God, I, a miserable sinner, salute and worship the most Sacred Wound of Your Shoulder on which You bore Your heavy Cross which so tore Your flesh and laid bare Your bones as to inflict on You an anguish greater than any other wound of Your Most Blessed Body.  I adore You, O Jesus most sorrowful; I praise and glorify You, and give You thanks for this most sacred and painful Wound, beseeching You by that exceeding pain, and by the crushing burden of Your heavy Cross, to be merciful to me, a sinner, to forgive me all my mortal and venial sins, and to lead me on towards Heaven along the Way of Your Cross.” Jesus, I ask that I accompany You on Your Stations of the Cross to pray for sinners who brought this anguish on You. I’m sorry for having offended You. I pray for souls in purgatory as well as the lukewarm souls. Help me not to go back to these sins. My Lord Jesus, you have made this journey to die for me with infinite love. So many times I have sinned, but I repent sincerely because I love You. Pardon me, my God. I will love you all my life.

I don’t ask Jesus to give me bread. I pray that he forgives me for causing grievous wounds on his body. So, when He says, “Truly I say to you, ask and you will receive, seek and you will find, knock and it will be opened to you,” you obviously have your own understanding and perhaps you’re right. But for me, it means I will ask Him, I will seek and knock so that I tell Him how sorry I’m for mistreating and causing Him death on the Cross. Never will ask Him for bread. I have changed my life. I want 90% of my prayers to devote to giving Jesus instead of asking Him. I pray that I will listen and do exactly what Jesus instructs such as obeying that I will not eat from the forbidden tree and ask Him to help me live by the ten commandments and other instructions because it’s sin not to. It’s undeniable that man disrespects the ten commandments. Most sin such as adultery, murder, stealing, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, misusing God’s name; failing to remember the Sabbath; dishonoring parents and coveting and many others listed earlier come out of them. We selfishly continue to commit them at the same time ask Jesus for favors before we address them. We murder in the evening and ask Jesus to give us breakfast, lunch and dinner the following day.

Jesus wants to live with us in order to help us address sins, to be our life, our doctor and curer of all diseases bred by corrupt nature. We don’t take advantage and pray that He lives with us. Instead, we forsake, insult and despise Him and ask Him to protect us from the people that we steal from. We prefer to live by ourselves, not with Him but continue to ask Him to help us to live longer and stronger. “Lord, help me to live with good health, protect me from the police and my neighbors so that they never see me stealing or killing. I ask this in your name. Amen,” We proudly say. Some information in the Bible also provides prayers that can help us address sins. One states, “I come to You, reflecting on the sacrifice of Your shoulder wound. Heavenly Father, through the shoulder wound of Jesus, I receive Your perfect peace. I take refuge in You and the power of Your shoulder wound.” We can also create our own prayers of forgiveness. We can reach out to Jesus by saying, “I come knowing that my parents and I sinned against you. The shoulder wound, other wounds, the scourging, piercing Your hands and feet and numbering all Your bones, insulting You, covering Your face with blood, sweat, dust and spittle, and other transgressions inflicted on You are but too numerous. In greatest humility, I ask for Your forgiveness of my parents and me. They’re reach out prayers sharing with Jesus the torment we inflicted on Him that He must forgive us for, and forget the past. We’re not asking for Him to give us bread.

I also ask Him that I pray for all sinners to come to Your yard and ask that You pray with us for forgiveness from God Your Father. I realize that sometimes You fight with Your own Father, the Lord on our behalf. When He gets angry and wants to destroy us, You stand between asking for our messy. We’re aware Jesus that often, You carry all mankind on Your shoulders, away from Your Father’s wrath when our sin overwhelms Him. Thank you, Jesus. We promise to reduce our sins to shred each day. I remind Him too, “I will no longer pray to ask you to give me all the good things that I want. Instead, I’ll reach out to you for tutorials that help me reduce the backlog of sins that my parents and I owe you. I’m aware that a debtor doesn’t go back to the lender to ask for more money before he clears earlier debts. I ask you Jesus that you help me and other sinners to adopt this approach to prayer. I also surrender myself to You and ask that on the basis of this approach, You’ll decide how much I have fulfilled in reducing the sin-backlog and consequently whether I qualify for You to buy me bread or not even when I don’t ask.”

I further remind Jesus that He washed the feet of His apostles before the last Supper for a great purpose, one of which is to remind us sinners that we can always recover our innocence through the Sacrament of Penance. Yes, ‘recover our innocence’ from the backlog of guiltiness I referred to earlier, that we reduce the sin-deficit instead of asking Him for bread. We must pray and put in practice what we pray in order for Him to forgive our sins. Some actions may look little but they matter. They can include planting flowers and trees in the yard of the Church to simply facelift the place, watering the yard, cleaning the inside of the Church, helping and showing communities how to pray, making simple monetary donations, showing great humility whenever we’re dealing with other people, winning sinners, loving and helping the poor, thanking and praising Jesus, etc.
Jesus, You ask about Your Shoulder Wound and say, “Reveal it to men and let it be known that any grace asked in virtue of this Wound will be granted. And to all those who, in memory of it, will honor Me daily by reciting 3 Our Father, 3 Hail Mary, 3 Glory Be’s, I will pardon them, all their mortal and venial sins. They’ll not die an unexpected death and at the last hour, they will be visited by The Blessed Virgin and will obtain Grace and Mercy.” And I promise You that I will reveal it whenever opportunity knocks. Amen.

Accepting that my parents and I sinned, I will pray, like St. Veronica who, as a sign of love and compassion offered You a veil to wipe the blood and sweat from Your face as You carried Your cross, I too offer my best new white towel to wipe the same blood and sweat from Your face and ask for Your forgiveness of my most disturbing sins and those of all sinners. I also accept advice of Sister Marie de Saint Pierre who wrote, “Man is invited to repair the outrages made to His God, and in a loving return He promises to restore image in our souls. Let us therefore wipe the august Face of the Saviour, soiled with the spittle of blasphemers, and He’ll wipe our soul, soiled with the spittle of sin.” Also, “Eternal Father, we offer You the Holy Face of Jesus, covered with blood, sweat, dust and spittle, in reparation for the crimes of communists, blasphemers, and for the profaners of the Holy Name and of the Holy Day. So, I will pray for Jesus to repair my outrages and those of other sinners instead of asking Him for bread.”

We pray, “Lord, each time we see priests, again, it’s a one-sided partnership. We ask them to bless our new rosary, our new house, our children, our parents, and our house, etc. Each parishioner coming to Church and speaking to the priest says nothing else but ask for favors. We wish to alter this from today. From today, we’ll say nothing but direct our prayers on the salvation of priests. God help our priests to be strong, healthy and sinless. Our priests have problems like us, and perhaps even more. Our priests are human like us. Hence, they encounter same and similar problems like us. Therefore, let us remind our Lord to continue to look after them with wisdom and to bless them that they don’t fall into temptation to sin.”

Then, “Jesus, give my heart the very sanctity of Thy Heart, or rather plunge it in Thy Divine Heart, that in It I may love and serve and glorify Thee, and lose myself in Thee for all eternity.” “O Thou who knewest all my misery before Thine eyes were fixed on me – Thou didst not turn away from my wretchedness… but because of it Thou didst love me with a love sweeter and tender. I beg pardon for having corresponded so little to Thy love… I beg of Thee to forgive me, and to purify my actions in Thy Divine Blood. I am deeply grieved at having offended Thee, because Thou art infinitely holy. I repent with heartfelt sorrow and I promise to do all in my power to avoid these faults in the future.” Jesus, I don’t ask for bread. I also ask all sinners and I to also reach out to disciples to ask for fogginess of our sins. Remember Jesus “Promised to give Peter the power to forgive sins.” Jesus “Later made the same promise to the other Apostles.” How many of us remember to ask His disciples to pray for us? We ought to. Finally, to the reader of this article, I earnestly share the Lord’s Shoulder Wound prayer which He ordered that it be shared to all sinners. In His own words, “Reveal it to men and let it be known that any grace asked in virtue of this Wound will be granted.”
I end by telling Jesus, “Lord, this is the way I wish to be judged.

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