Why Do You Seek God? written by Bijoy Thomas, Dallas
St. John 6:26-35
Towards the end of last Sunday’s Gospel reading, we read that Jesus declares Himself to be “the bread of life”. This statement lies at the very core of our faith and is the unshakable truth upon which the sacrament of Holy Qurbana is celebrated.
However, in the beginning of the Gospel reading we read that Jesus tells the crowd about their intentions behind following Him. He says that the crowd followed Him because He fed them quite well with bread and fish (and had left overs too!). It is quite easy for us to dismiss this portion of the reading when compared to the very bold and profound statements towards the end of the reading. But in my mind, this question that Jesus asks them – Why do you follow me? – is a question we should be asking ourselves every day.
Why do we seek God? What are our intentions when we pray to Him? I had never thought too deeply about these questions until one day when I read a book called Beginning to Pray by Fr. Anthony Bloom. In that book, Fr. Anthony clearly states the reason why you and I pray. We pray to God because we want something from Him and not Him. Is that a relationship? Do we behave in that way with our friends? Do we aim at what friendship can give us or is it the friend whom we love?
Let us think of our prayers, yours and mine; think of the warmth, the depth and intensity of our prayer when it concerns someone we love or something that matters to us. We put forth all our requests with many tears and fervent prayers. Our heart is open and all our inner self is focused. Does it mean that God matters to you? No, it does not. It simply means that the subject matter of your prayer (a person or situation in our life) matters to you.
This is the same way the crowd felt about God. They knew that He could feed, heal and provide for them. But they did not want Him. And this is when Jesus corrects their thinking and tells them to labor for the food that does not perish. This instruction is repeated in a lot of places in the Bible. We see that in Mathew 6, Jesus questions the crowd asking – Who do you worry about what you shall eat or with what you shall be clothed. For you Heavenly Father knows you need all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
Does this mean that we should not ask God for our needs and His Help? Absolutely not! But is should not be the only reason we seek God. We should seek God for who He is and why He matters to us. Everything else is secondary. When we sit down to pray, let us collect our thoughts on the Holiness of the one triune God before whom we come and his immeasurable love that we beseech. When our mind wanders, lets us remember what God instructs the psalmist – “Be still and know that I am God!”. Let us seek God for the life giving bread He offers and not for the worldly bread that satisfies our stomach.
Questions for Meditation:
- What distracts us the most when we pray? Are you praying at a time when your mind is calm and focused? Or is it right after a TV show, or dinner? Do you follow a prayer discipline?
- Do you practice quiet time with God - a time when you can recollect the entire events of the day? This is a time to think about how you behaved towards others or reacted to certain situations. Think of it as a one on one conversation with God where you narrate the things you did or thought and how you could have done it better. Ask God for His help in becoming the person He wants you to be.
Author’s Information:
Name: Bijoy Thomas
Area/Parish: St. Mary’s Malankara Orthodox Church of Dallas (Farmers Branch, TX)
Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it