In the Book of Isaiah, we read God’s word speaking through the prophet telling us to prepare ourselves for the coming of our Lord, “A voice of one calling in the wilderness prepare the way for the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain. And the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all people will see it together. For the mouth of the Lord has spoken” (Isaiah 40: 3-5). The words spoken tell us about impending justice coming from God, that valleys will be raised and mountain hills made low. Nevertheless, in this reflection, I want to focus on the preparation. We are told to prepare ourselves for the way of the Lord. Prayer is one avenue of preparation that is applicable here. In Mark 11:24, we are told that whatever we ask for in prayer, just believe ahead of time that we have received it and the intention will be answered. The faith it takes to thank God ahead of time for answering prayer is a form of preparation. We ask for X in prayer, we then thank God for granting us X ahead of time, and we do that over and over, daily, twice a day…then when X shows up, we are elated. In fact, we cannot control when X shows up because that is in the dominion of God. He is doing the work for us. We are simply the channel for his glory to work through us.
Prepare Ye the Way of the Lord
