whatever you wish

If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. - John 15:7 (ESV)

What are you asking God for?

I got asked that question soon after reading the verse above. It challenged me to wonder whether my heart and thoughts were truly in line with God. If they are, the desires of my heart are his desires, and am I asking him to begin to fulfill our desires?

Well, there came an opportunity to put it to the test. I had the chance to meet with the President of San Jose City College on Thursday. I knew this Wednesday when I was asked the above question. So I begin to pray about what should I be asking God for. I thought about a friend who shared about his service of the community by being a chaplain for the San jose Police Department. I also thought about another friend who reminded me of the verse that says, something close to, when our good deeds shine before men they will glorify our Father in heaven. With both these thoughts in mind my prayer for the meeting was, "God give me favor in the eyes of the President to serve and care for the students on campus that they might glorify you."

Even though the meeting was not intended to be about a "chaplaincy program" I brought it up when asked if there was anything else we wanted to talk about. Then the door opened, the President had served at another college where they had been multiple tragedies. He shared about how he had no idea what kind of emotional effect these tragedies would have on his students, workers, and the campus. They are prepared to take care of immediate situations, but are not always equipped to handle the emotional aspects, so he was excited that we "obviously" knew how to do that.

Now I have more meetings with the people in Student Affairs to find out how we can foster this kind of care across the campus.

So I ask you, what are you asking God for?