Pray Your Way Through a Vocational Decision
Thomas Hart
A computer programmer sits before me, a man, 27 years old. "I have everything", he says, "and yet I'm not satisfied with my life. Something is missing. I've thought off and on about serving God in some way, and I see human needs all around me. but how would I know if I actually have a vocation, and what exactly am I supposed to do? I suppose I should pray, but how do you pray about something like this?"
| Good questions. The Spirit of God obviously stirs in this man, and he seeks help in bringing what he feels to some kind of resolution. His instinct is right: he needs to pray. But how? If I were in this man's situation, I'd need to pray in three general areas. First, I would pray for the right orientation, a genuine dedication to God's values and purposes so that these are predominant in all my life choices. Second, I must pray for the generosity and courage I need to give the gift of myself and in my life in some concrete way to the cause of God's reign. And, third, my prayers ought to ask for help in discerning - chiefly to know myself better and then to read clearly the various options I am contemplating.
"I've thought off and on about serving God in some way, and I see human needs all around me. But how would I know if I actually have a vocation?" |
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God does not attempt to micromanage our lives. God rather gives us a set of values to live by and a broad sense of purpose, leaving the more particular determinations to us. The prophet Micah expressed what God's will is in these terms: "This is what Yahweh asks of you, only this: to live justly, to love tenderley, and to walk humbly with your God" (Micah 6). This is obviously quite broad, yet it is, after much searching, the revelation the prophet receives about God's will. He is confirmed generations later by Jesus, who puts his summary of God's will this way: "Love God with all your heart, and your neighbour as yourself" (Mark 12).
Jesus gives us something else besides - His vision of what the world is meant to be, what God longs for it to be. Indeed, the Hebrew word for God's will means God's longing. Jesus calls it "God's reign" and in many parables tried to express what the world would look like if it were truly under God's sway. It would be a very different sort of place - a realm of justice, love, peace and celebration. one of Jesus' favourite images for it is a banquet. He devotes his life to realizing this dream and calls collaborators to help him.
So the first thing I want to pray for is to be aligned with God's values and purposes, to embrace them with all my heart, so that all my choices in life will be governed by them. To foster this, I might meditate on passages such as the vocation of Moses (Exodus 2-3), Jesus' call of the rich young man (Mark 10), his sending of the Twelve (Matthew 10), or the summary of his teaching (Mark 12).
Pray for generosity and courage
Remember, Jesus' call goes out to everyone. All of us who choose to follow Jesus are called to holiness and to some sort of service to the human community. The Second Vatican Council - a worldwide gathering of bishops in the 1960s - put it this way: "Thus, it is evident to everyone that all the faithful of Christ of whatever rank or status are called to the fullness of the Christian life and the perfection of charity" (Lumen Gentium). The question, then is not whether I am among those who have a vocation, but only how I will live it out. And there are countless possibilities, because human needs cry out everywhere. The reign of God is far from realized. I may work here or abroad. I may be a lay-person, priest, or religious. I may work in church settings or in the broader world. I may join a group already organised and at work or start something new. I may raise a family or try to bring Christian values into the world of business.
At the very least, any way of serving the human community requires generosity and a measure of courage. I need to pray for those things and extend that prayer over time to embrace a good work and to persevere at it. What I am seeking, both here and in the prayer for alignment with God's values, is genuine conversion - a radical change of heart, a total dedication, and an empowerment to do what is difficult. I open myself to it by prayerful meditation on generous and courageous figures who have gone before me - Mary of Nazareth, Jesus, the disciples, St. Paul and people of our day who have laboured courageously and generously to bring about the reign of God.
"While I pray, I look for a feeling of rightness inside myself about a concrete choice. It fits. I feel good".
Who Chooses Whom?
My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples. As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love.... You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. (John 15:8-9,16)