Men's Rosary

It is likely true that all of us pray.  What is most important is how we pray.  Caution should be had that our prayers of petition do not simply become a wish list, or worse yet, a set of orders.  When we pray, we are entering into the presence of God.  The first order of business would be to take a moment to understand that and be aware of who it is that we come before.  After acknowledging him we can enter our prayer.  There are several types of prayer, but the topic here will be prayer of petition, asking God’s favor and help in a situation.

I can remember a time when I prayed for help in situations and the prayer was really nothing more than telling God what was going on and what I needed, and I hoped for the best.  I have come to learn that it is not the best approach.  Far better is it, to come to him with need and be expecting an answer and solution.  “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you receive it, and you will.”  (Mark 11:24) 

Furthermore, coming to prayer with the solution in hand to present it to God for him to complete, misses the mark completely.  How many times is our prayer something like “God, X is going on; so Y&Z need to happen to fix it, Amen.”?  This is not the way to ask for help.  After all, God is the creator and we are the created.  We do a lot of planning for ourselves only to see that most of our way of getting there is incorrect.  We need to let God guide us in our endeavors.  “A man’s mind plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps.”  (Proverbs 16:9) Many times we will find that God works things out very differently then we expected.  It is too easy to think that God did not answer a prayer because we do not see what we thought should have happened.  We can slip into disappointment and hopelessness, thinking God did not listen.  This would be incorrect because God always listens and always acts, in the manner and time he so deems necessary.  “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, says the Lord.  For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”  (Isaiah 55:8-9) 

We face hardships at times, heavy trials and crosses to bear.  Sometime, when we pray for help the trials and crosses seem to get worse; heavier.  There are times when we are treated unjustly and things are made more difficult for us.  These can be times when we wonder where God is.  These can be times we doubt that he is listening.  Truth be told, all the suffering can be part of the answer.  We really should embrace trials and suffering because it is where we grow the most.  “More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.”  (Romans 5:3-5) 

God knows what he wants us to be.  He has his will for our life.  We can be assured that if we cooperate, he will mold us and make into what we are to be.  “Yet, O Lord, you are our father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand.” (Isaiah 64:8) Our friendships will change, our state in life will change, our situation at work will change.  Life is very fluid.  The important thing is what is affecting the change.  Is it of God or is it of the world?  When we stick to our core beliefs, taught by the Church, and take everything to prayer, detaching from the outcome and truly seeking God’s will in everything, we can be confident that it is all from God and we can rest in his care.  If, on the other hand, we take things into our own hands and rationalize the decisions and make the change, things are not in God’s hands, they are in ours, and we will not experience rest or contentment.  “You turn things upside down!  Shall the potter be regarded as the clay; that the thing he made should say of its maker, “He did not make me”; or the thing formed say of him who formed it, “He has no understanding”” (Isaiah 29:16)

When we pray for God’s help, let us ask humbly and let us accept obediently.  This is the best way to begin to unite our will with God’s will.  Living life through the lens of prayer will bring us closer to God and deepen our relationship with him.  It will also enable us to serve others better.  God created us to be with him.  He will show us the way to do that if we listen.

“You must believe in truth that whatever God gives or permits is for your salvation.”  (St. Catherine of Siena)