The crowds were in such a rage with Stephen preaching the truth of Jesus, at the point of killing him. Yet, at this horrendous moment, Stephen was able to maintain his relationship with God, as he was filled with the Holy Spirit and saw the glory of God enthroned in heaven, with God the Father and Jesus at his right hand. Stephen was able to feel the presence of God leading him and guiding him. Thus, in a moment of crisis, really at the moment of his martyrdom for the faith, the reality of God and his glory were present in Stephen's heart. He was willing to give up his life for the faith.
At St Jude, we have been slowly introducing a small group faith program called QUADS, where four men or women form a group and journey together for 43 weeks, studying together and growing in their faith together, and sharing their faith stories. It is a program developed by the Franciscan University of Steubenville, Ohio. Last night, in our QUAD group, we were studying about prayer. I thought about the prayer life that Stephen must have had in order to have a strong, intimate relationship with God. We looked at different times of prayer. Blessing and adoration includes giving God permission to enter our hearts and recognizing God as our Father and we as his children. In prayer petitions, we ask for God’s mercy in presenting our needs to him. In intercessory prayer, we pray for the needs of others. In prayers of thanksgiving, we recall our blessings and all that God has done for us and we rejoice with grateful hearts. In prayers of praise, we give God glory for who he is, even in the midst of our ups and downs of life. This lessons challenged us to have a healthy balanced prayer life and to include these different forms of prayer in our prayer life.
Stephen is a great example of faith for us. Through our prayer life, may we also grow and develop in our relationship with God and in our faith.
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