The fruit of silence is prayer
The fruit of prayer is faith
The fruit of faith is love
The fruit of love is service
The fruit of service is peace
- Mother Teresa
Mother’s prayer sums up my entire experience in India. God judges the heart, and he looks at the fruits of our lives. Running a children’s programme, sharing a testimony or even teaching the Bible are gifts given by God, and should be used for His Kingdom’s purposes.
Personally, I’ve learned that even though these activities are important, what is more important is the fruit that I produce. Am I doing these things because it has become a routine for me or am I doing it out of faith and love? If I am doing it out of faith and love, why do I struggle to pray? Through this trip, God has shown me that faith is important as much as love is. Faith can only be strengthened through intimacy with Him, and intimacy comes both from reading His Word and from prayer.
Before this trip, I have to admit that I struggled to be intimate with him. I go through the motion when reading the Word and when praying. My faith was weak. When I prayed for the men, women, and children, I struggled to believe that God would answer those prayers. I doubted many times.
However, my faith has been strengthened over the past few days in India. God has shown me that in order for me to have faith, I have to pray. In order to desire prayer, I have to first start by asking Him to give me that desire. Today, I have a greater desire to pray, and I thank God for that!