Student Daily Reflection

[490] Phil 4:10-19
Ps 112:1b-2, 5-6, 8a+9
Luke 16:9-15

Weekly Guide for Daily Prayer
The Daily Reflections

Times are tough, which means we both suffer and have the chance to ease the suffering of others.

In his letter to the Philippians, Paul discloses some of the financial difficulties that he faced during his missionary work. What strikes me most clearly about his description is his ultimate peaceful contentment about his situation. His travels and work involved a great deal of trust in the support from friends and fellow members of the Church. Throughout those trials, he seems to have handled himself with the utmost trust that God would provide for him. And God did. Through his friends’ “care packages” and the hospitality of those to whom he served, Paul learned the secret to living in abundance and going without: “I have the strength for everything through him who empowers me.” (Phil 4:13)

Currently, I’m in the process of interviewing for residency programs to attend after graduation from medical school in May. I am severely in debt and will not have the means to even begin repaying it for at least four more years. A computer algorithm matching my choices to the lists residency programs make will ultimately determine where I’ll live for the next three years. And yet, with all this uncertainty, financial instability, and lack of clarity, I am called to trust in God’s plan and his ability to care for me through others. In that way, St. Paul is a fantastic role model.

As my favorite Church hymn puts it, “Let me answer prayers in you and you in me.” I absolutely adore the call in this verse of “The Summons.” What beautiful imagery of God asking us to let him serve us, but also to let him use us to answer the prayers of others. How incredible is that? Today’s readings are a great example. If we let God work through us by giving where we can, financially supporting where we are called, and donating our time or talents when possible, we allow God to answer other people’s prayers. So, too, will he take care of us.

How beautiful can our interactions with others be if we remember that God may be using us as an answer to a prayer? Just as we are praying for economic stability or help with some major life decision, God may be using us to answer someone else’s similar prayer. Today’s Psalm points out that it will be well “for the man who is gracious and lends.” Let’s accept this invitation.