Prayerful Thoughts

   How are we to pray?  I think our prayers are sometimes no more than a wish list for God.  Just as our children give us a list of what they would like for Christmas or their birthday we give God a list of our desires.  In many ways this is self-defeating.  God knows what we need and is generous in providing those needs.  Our wants tend to be much more selfish in nature.  Prayer is to thank God and seek His will, not to list our every desire.

   In the Lord’s Prayer we ask God to “give us this day our daily bread.”  This simple request includes so much more than bread.  Our daily bread includes all of our needs, not just the physical need of food.  In this humble phrase we are asking God to provide the necessities of life.  What isn’t included in this are specific wants.  We don’t ask for steak, caviar and a bottle of expensive wine; we simply ask for our daily bread.  This, I think is a valuable key to prayer.  Ask simply and accept His will.  He knows of our needs before we ask and He will provide.

   I spoke with a young woman once who was terribly upset because the man she wanted to marry had left her.  She told me that she prayed every day that God would bring him back to her but He hadn’t answered her prayers.  I suggested that she not limit God in her prayers.  Simply pray for love and happiness and let God provide according to His will, not hers.

   St. Therese of Liseux said, “For me, prayer is a surge of the heart; it is a simple look turned toward heaven, it is a cry of recognition and love, embracing both trial and joy.”  In the Garden of Gethsemane Jesus prayed that the Father’s will be done rather than His own.  This is what prayer is meant to be; not a list of demands but simply a turning to God and asking that His will be done in our lives.  Our part is to accept His will.

   Rather than use our prayers as a want list we should ask only for His will in our lives and trust that His will is in our best interest.  People who insist on asking God for their own desires often complain that their prayers are not answered.  They forget that “No” or “Not yet” might be His answer.

   When we trust in God’s plan and pray for His will our prayers will be answered even though we may not realize it until His Kingdom comes.