The Value of Prayer - Third Entry

Prayers of petition or supplication are probably the first orations we make as children. The problem is that if we continue to pray as adults, it often remains the most utilized type of prayer. There is nothing wrong with it, although all prayer can be distorted by selfishness, meanness, and ignorance. However, this form of prayer requires the most careful watching. God is not our maid or butler. We are his servants, not the other way around. The time of mortality for the Son of Man is completed. The great work of Jesus is done. Now, we are called to perpetuate his ministry as heralds of the Good News. We are called to live out the Beatitudes and to put the needs of others first. Speak Lord, for thy servants are listening.

People pray for sunshine and others pray for rain. Many pray for health while others ask God for a happy death. Believers ask God for peace and safety while others among the faithful beseech St. Michael and the powers of heaven to grant victory in military conflicts. We pray for the right to life movement and an end to abortion, and yet often the same petitioners pray that evil men and criminals will be severely punished, even at the cost of their lives. We even pray for silly things, as athletes and fans often do at sporting events—as if God is more a fan of the Redskins than the Dallas Cowboys. We pray to get out of trouble, even when it is of our own making. We pray that we might be preserved from pain.

If we do not get what we want, we should not get angry or despair. God wants us to ask his favor because it shows that we acknowledge his fatherhood over us. But, it is also understood that he knows what we need. Yes, even before we ask God, he is responding to our needs. Sometimes what we think we need is not what we really need at all. Take for example the lyrics from this popular song:

Unanswered Prayers
Written by: Pat Alger, Larry Bastian, Garth Brooks

Just the other night a hometown football game
My wife and I ran into my old high school flame
And as I introduced them the past came back to me
And I couldn't help but think of the way things used to be

She was the one that I'd wanted for all times
And each night I'd spend prayin' that God would make her
mine
And if he'd only grant me this wish I wished back then
I'd never ask for anything again

Sometimes I thank God for unanswered prayers
Remember when you're talkin' to the man upstairs
That just because he doesn't answer doesn't mean he
don't care
Some of God's greatest gifts are unanswered prayers

She wasn't quite the angel that I remembered in my
dreams
And I could tell that time had changed me
In her eyes too it seemed
We tried to talk about the old days
There wasn't much we could recall
I guess the Lord knows what he's doin' after all

And as she walked away and I looked at my wife
And then and there I thanked the good Lord
For the gifts in my life

Sometimes I thank God for unanswered prayers
Remember when you're talkin' to the man upstairs
That just because he may not answer doesn't mean he
don't care
Some of God's greatest gifts are unanswered prayers

Some of God's greatest gifts are all too often unanswered...
Some of God's greatest gifts are unanswered prayers

Major Bob Music and Warner-Chappell Publications

The first time I heard this song on the radio, I thought to myself that a whole sermon could be devoted to it. Such is the human condition that we often think we cannot live without this or that, persons or things. Often, we find that there is another road that may be truly graced. I have mentioned this to men considering a vocation, too. A fellow may be called to a wife and family, but given the power of hormones and a culture that glorifies sexuality, it may be that there is a hidden religious calling there that takes precedence. As the years pass by, we can hopefully look back upon our lives and see the hand of God at work.

It is important that we practice spiritual discernment in making our requests of God. We look at what our material and faith needs might be and we reflect upon the signposts that God places before us. Every one of us should ask God, “Lord, what do you want of me?” Other prayers flow from God’s response.