507 COULD IT BE THAT WE PRAY WRONGLY?

YOUCAT Lesson 507

YOUCAT the catechism for Catholic youth

507  What happens if you find that prayer does not help?

Prayer does not seek superficial success but rather the will of God and intimacy with him.  God’s apparent silence is itself an invitation to take a step farther—in total devotion, boundless faith, endless expectation.  Anyone who prays must allow God the complete freedom to speak whenever he wants, to grant whatever he wants, and to give himself however he wants.  [2735-2737]

The Garden of Gethsemane,   Jerusalem. …..507  

Often we say: I have prayed, but it did not help at all.  Maybe we are not praying intensely enough.  The saintly Cure of Ars once asked a brother priest who was complaining about his lack of success. “You have prayed, you have sighed…but have you fasted, too?  Have you kept vigil?”  It could also be that we are asking God for the wrong things.  St. Teresa of Avila once said, “Do not pray for lighter burdens; pray for a stronger back.”  40, 49

“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

[2735-2737]

Why do we complain of not being heard?

2735 In the first place, we ought to be astonished by this fact: when we praise God or give him thanks for his benefits in general, we are not particularly concerned whether or not our prayer is acceptable to him....... On the other hand, we demand to see the results of our petitions...... [We might ask ourselves:] “What is the image of God that motivates our prayer: an instrument to be used? or the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ?” --Catechism of the Catholic Church, Second Edition

2736 Are we convinced that "we do not know how to pray as we ought"?(Romans 8:26.)²³ Are we asking God for "what is good for us"? Our Father knows what we need before we ask him,( Compare Matthew 6:8.)²⁴ but he awaits our petition because the dignity of his children lies in their freedom. We must pray, then, with his Spirit of freedom, to be able truly to know what he wants.( Compare Romans 8:27.)²⁵ –CCC

2737 "You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions."( James 4:3; compare the whole context: James 4:1-10; Jas 1:5-8; Jas 5:16.)²⁶ If we ask with a divided heart, we are "adulterers";(James 4:4.)²⁷ God cannot answer us, for he desires our well-being, our life. "Or do you suppose that it is in vain that the scripture says, 'He yearns jealously over the spirit which he has made to dwell in us?'"( James 4:5.)²⁸ That our God is "jealous" for us is the sign of how true his love is. If we enter into the desire of his Spirit, we shall be heard.  –CCC