Why Prayer is Not Heard
From the Catechism of the Catholic Church, Simplified
Need for Trust (2734)
Filial trust proves itself in tribulation. The person should ask, "Why do I feel that way?" and "How is my prayer heard?"
Not Being Heard (2735-2736)
We don't worry if our prayers are acceptable to God, but we demand to see results from our petitions. Is God just an instrument to be used?
We must be convinced that "We do not know how to pray as we ought" (Rom 8:26). The Father knows what we need and (respecting the dignity of our human freedom) he gives us the Spirit to ask for what he wants.
Problems Listed by James (2737)
St. James (4:1-10) notes many problems in prayer:
- We ask wrongly, to spend it on our passions (4:3)
- We are "adulterers," asking with divided hearts (4:4)
- We don't realize that God jealously yearns for our spirit (4:5) and we will only be heard if we have the Spirit's desires
"Don't be troubled if you do not immediately receive. God desires to do something even greater for you, while you cling to him in prayer" (Evagrius Ponticus). "God wills that we may be able to receive what he is prepared to give" (St. Augustine).
Basing Our Prayer on Jesus' Gift (2738-2739)
From revelation, we know that faith in prayer rests upon what God has already done for us, namely, the supreme gift of Jesus' death and Resurrection.
Paul teaches that we must boldly trust the Spirit's prayer (within us) and the Father's love (which has given us Jesus). God's first response to prayer is always to transform our hearts.
Jesus - Praying in and for Us (2740-2741)
Jesus is our prayer model. He prays in us (seeking only the Father's will). Jesus also prays for us, gathering up our and always interceding before the Father (Heb 7:25). United with Jesus, our prayer will obtain even the Holy Spirit himself who contains all gifts.
Praying Always (2742)
"Pray constantly" (1 Thess 5:17). "Pray at all times in the Spirit" (Eph 5:20). "We have not been commanded to work constantly, but it has been laid down that we are to pray without ceasing" (Evagrius Ponticus).
Three Truths from Tireless Fervor (2743-2745)
This tireless fervor opens us to three enlightening facts about prayer.
- It is always possible to pray because Christ is with us always. "It is possible to offer fervent prayer even while walking in public, while buying or selling, or even while cooking" (St. John Chrysostom).
- Prayer is a vital necessity. "It is utterly impossible for a man who prays eagerly and invokes God ceaselessly ever to sin" (St. John Chrysostom). "Those who pray are certainly saved. Those who do not pray are certainly damned" (St. Alphonsus Liguori).
- Prayer and Christian life are inseparable. "He prays without ceasing who unites prayers to works and works to prayer" (Origin).
Jesus' Priestly Prayer (2746-2748)
In John Chapter 17, Jesus prayed to the Father. This is his longest recorded prayer in the Gospels. It is Jesus' "priestly prayer," inseparable from his sacrificial death and his going to his Father.
In this prayer, all is recapitulated in Christ (God and the world, the Word and the flesh, eternal life and time, his disciples and those believers who would follow).
Until the End of Time (2749)
This prayer continues until the end of time, bringing all things toward their consummation. Jesus has given himself back to his Father who had given him everything. The Son who made himself servant is Lord (Pantocrator). He prays in us and is also the God who hears us.
Fulfills the Our Father (2750-2751)
This priestly prayer (Jn 17) fulfills the great petitions of the Our Father: zeal for the Father's kingdom, accomplishment of his plan, and deliverance from evil.
In this prayer Jesus reveals the very mystery of prayer, the knowledge that he and the Father are inseparably one.
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