November 29, 2024 Daily Devotion

The Generosity of Our Heavenly Father

A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed.

Proverbs 11:25

Cardinal Nguyen Van Thuan was imprisoned by the Vietnamese government for thirteen years during which time he secretly sent prayers and spiritual writings to his flock. He wrote The Generosity of Our Heavenly Father: Lord Jesus, you have taught me to pray with confidence and to prepare my heart to receive the Father’s love-Your kingdom come, your will be done-to have the same confidence in the Father’s word as the man who awakened his friend in the middle of the night, or as the son who asked his father for a fish.

The gift of the Father’s love is the kingdom of heaven, and to receive the kingdom is to be forgiven, on the condition that we know how to forgive our own brothers and sisters. In praying the Our Father, I discover that to love God is to become conscious of God’s love for us. For this reason, I must be ready to receive God’s love as our Father in heaven will give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him for it.