“So God said to him: Because you asked for this—you did not ask for a long life for yourself, nor for riches, nor for the life of your enemies—but you asked for discernment to know what is right—I now do as you request. I give you a heart so wise and discerning that there has never been anyone like you until now, nor after you will there be anyone to equal you.” (1 Kings 3:11-12)
So often, people lament that their prayers are not answered, but I was taught that God answers prayers in three ways:
– Yes! Here is what you asked for.
– Yes, but you must be patient to receive it.
– No, because I have something better in mind.
St. James wrote, “You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions” (James 4:2-3).
And St. Augustine said, “God wills that our desire should be exercised in prayer, that we may be able to receive what he is prepared to give” (Augustine Epistula 130).
Why Pray?
You may ask, what’s the use of praying if I might not get what I want? We pray to become closer to God. We can’t have a relationship with God if we don’t spend time with Him. The Danish philosopher, Søren Kierkegaard, once said, “The function of prayer is not to influence God, but rather to change the nature of the one who prays” (An Occasional Discourse). This isn’t to say that God can’t be influenced by our prayers, but it does tell us that prayer inherently influences us.
- Prayer is the opening of a door. It’s the crack in our hearts and souls that allows God to enter. It’s an invit ation to a spiritual life. This is why it’s important to pray for the right things and to accept God’s will when we receive the answer (or, as it often seems, no answer at all).
What is the Right Thing?