Anyone had any prayers granted (*)

[maryjk]

So, answered prayers that would show a miracle? Undeniably divine? No. In fact, I would think that very few people have what could be essentially investigated by the Church and declared a miracle.

And praying, expecting a miracle? One that would reach the level of something that could be investigated by the Church? I’m not sure what to think about that.

 

[TheLittleLady]

We see a miracle at every Mass. One would think that is enough to last for a lifetime!!

 

[RealisticCatholic]

God cannot change his mind. But that does not mean He cannot respond to petitionary prayer. I recommend Eleonore Stump’s short yet concise and helpful book The God of the Bible and the God of the Philosophers.

Short answer: God is his eternity relates to time such that he does not have to change His Mind in order to respond to our prayers; nevertheless, He can genuinely respond to us at different points in time via his eternal, unchanging will.

 

[goout]

Meditate on the prayer of Christ in the Garden of Gethesemane. If anyone was justified in bitterness it would be Christ, who offers infinite goodness, and desires to usher in the kingdom, and is rejected.

Yet he remains faithful. Christ finds fidelity in God the Father’s love .

 

[Bluebright]

Perhaps you should pray for acceptance of God’s will. Also maybe ask God to reveal his will to you. Always whatever God is doing is for our own good, so if things have not changed then it is for our own good and perhaps it is you or your thoughts on the matter that need to change. I don’t mean that harshly, just that usually in a difficult situation which is unmoving, it is us who must change not the situation, or at least us who must change first.

And yes I have had prayers answered that were undeniably divine in nature but I do not want to discuss for this reason. But keep on praying, just change your prayer and follow Jesus’ prayer in Getsemane… ‘they will be done’ and ask for courage, acceptance and patience to accept God’s will.

 

[TheLittleLady]

There are many things that are real which I do not “see”. I simply know.

 

[Tis_Bearself]

We see a miracle at every Mass. One would think that is enough to last for a lifetime!!

That’s for sure.
At this point in my life I think it’s a minor miracle each time I manage to wake up, function, type, do errands, make appointments to have contracting work done, etc.

When I was a teenager and my mother was close to the age I am now, she used to tell me I should thank God every day and I once said, “What do I have to thank Him for?” because life seemed pretty bleak. She said, “You woke up this morning, didn’ t you?” At that time I didn’t understand that was a blessing. Now I understand what she meant.

I’m also thinking of the guy who went to stand outside a house where there was an alleged apparition of Jesus going on and after the alleged apparition, this guy heard Jesus telling him that if he wanted to see Jesus he should just go to Mass because Jesus himself was there.

 

[Tis_Bearself]

OK, here’s a granted prayer…

I had a wish for a while to see the grotto of the Virgin of Revelation in Rome. I had absolutely no idea how I was going to manage this because Rome is across the ocean from me, this is not a good time for me to be getting myself to Rome, I feel very overwhelmed with life, and even if I did manage to get to Rome proper, Tre Fontane where the grotto is located is way off the beaten path, not anywhere near the touristy or Vatican City areas of Rome. The tours don’t go there. So it all seemed quite difficult.

A while ago I went to a local shrine and it happened to have a big statue of the VIrgin of Revelation, which stood out because you don’t see her all that much in the USA. I prayed to Mother Mary that I would be able to see her shrine, and some other things. When I was done praying I suddenly got a big whiff of flowers. Just one big whiff. As this was outside I looked around to see where were the flowers. There weren’t any around this statue/ shrine. There were some a ways away but you wouldn’t expect the scent to carry that far down the path and in fact I didn’t smell the flowers again, not even when I went to where they were and walked around trying to smell them.

I thought, could it be that Mother Mary has answered my prayer and that she will help me get there?

Well, a few weeks later I somehow managed to drag myself onto Expedia and make a bunch of arrangements in a hurry and then within a couple weeks I found myself at the shrine of the Virgin of Revelation which I had managed to figure out how to get myself to. (It required a ride to the end of the metro line, and then a long walk.) Thanking Mother Mary for all her help because without her I surely could not have done it, due to anxiety.

This to me is a miracle with the state I have been in. It will never make the lists of medical miracles for sainthood or anything but she did answer my prayer and help me. And that smell of flowers right on cue was unforgettable.

(By the way, if anybody is planning to go to Rome, you should stop by the Shrine of the Virgin of Revelation. It is a beautiful place to get away from tourists and have some quiet moments with our Lady, and there are a lot of nice cool shady trees. )

 

[Genesis315]

Prayer is always answered in a way that is good for our salvation. As Jesus says, prayer is answered “that your joy may be full” (John 16:24)–full joy is salvation. Perhaps not granting us what we ask is better for our salvation in a particular case, even if it means suffering (See Jesus’ own prayer in Matt. 26:39).

The Roman Catechism sums this up:

For God will either grant what is asked, and thus they will obtain their wishes; or He will not grant it, and that will be a most certain proof that what is denied the good by Him is not conducive either to their interest or their salvation, since He is more desirous of their eternal welfare than they themselves.

 

[ForumPoster]

I appreciate the replies, however I find it rather irritating how everyone assumes I’m after money . Wealth is probably the last thing I’m concerned about. As I see it, poverty isn’t the worst fate that can befall someone.

If not having this “altruistic” intention answered affirmatively is causing you this degree of bitterness, that you would lose your faith, it may be time to do some reflection on the motivations behind your intention. Would being altruistic cause you to be proud of your accomplishments, to be honored by others, to have others look to your greatness instead of God’s blessings?

My problem comes from exhaustion. I’m not trying to be worshiped, but at the same time I’m frustrated because I feel like I don’t exist to God, and that I’m just a nebulous, interchangeable “pawn” that serves little purpose other than to “bring the strong to shame” (1 Corinthians 1:27). We’ve seen this time and time again, however, and every time this same “life” repeats itself, the impact therein diminishes, since the very “strong” these bulks of people are sent to shame eventually get desensitized to it.

Prayer is always answered in a way that is good for our salvation. As Jesus says, prayer is answered “that your joy may be full” (John 16:24)–full joy is salvation. Perhaps not granting us what we ask is better for our salvation in a particular case, even if it means suffering (See Jesus’ own prayer in Matt. 26:39).

I can tell as the person experiencing this that it hasn’t bettered me. As someone who used to read the Bible quite a bit and studied some of the saints, I can see where this may be headed and it’s saddening. I feel like I believe in God, but He doesn’t “believe” in me, almost like withholding these blessings is happening in spite of my individual nature. This is probably why this suffering hasn’t helped, because I want God to know that any blessing He gives, we can handle it together, and God’s still treating me as though I never picked up a Bible before.

 

[Tis_Bearself]

I’m not trying to be worshiped, but at the same time I’m frustrated because I feel like I don’t exist to God, and that I’m just a nebulous, interchangeable “pawn”

Would this be so bad, if you were a pawn of God?
The greatest saints just wanted to be something tiny that God could use. They did not aspire to be the biggest cog in God’s machinery.
And you know that he pays a great deal of attention to you, if he even keeps track of sparrows.

It really sounds like you want God to notice you or pay you special attention to reassure you.
I’m betting that one of two things is going on:

• He’s withholding this for a greater purpose that he wants you to understand, OR
• He has already sent you responses that you haven’t noticed.

I hate to say this but I always find these “God hasn’t answered my prayer” threads to be a bit…frustrating. Why is the person not talking to God and saying, “Hey God, you haven’t answered my prayer, it seems. Can you clue me in as to what’s going on? God, I’m getting frustrated. Show me the way. Answer me. I’m tired of sitting in this vacuum.”
I can’t imagine God would continue to be totally silent when entreated like this…ask Mother Mary also to intercede…you WILL hear from God but it might not be what you want to hear, or pleasant.

(The last time I got frustrated with God and said, “You don’t seem to be doing anything about my prayer, please make something happen, God” I got a Big Dramatic Answer…it was NOT pleasant)

 

[Irishmom2]

I feel like I believe in God, but He doesn’t “believe” in me, almost like withholding these blessings is happening in spite of my individual nature. This is probably why this suffering hasn’t helped, because I want God to know that any blessing He gives, we can handle it together, and God’s still treating me as though I never picked up a Bible before.

Maybe you don’t realize how this sounds to us. Are you actually questioning God as if you know better than he does? Because that is what this sounds like.

 

[TheLittleLady]

 

[ForumPoster]

Can you clue me in as to what’s going on? God, I’m getting frustrated. Show me the way. Answer me. I’m tired of sitting in this vacuum.”
I can’t imagine God would continue to be totally silent when entreated like this…ask Mother Mary also to intercede…you WILL hear from God but it might not be what you want to hear, or pleasant.

The only response I got is one I can’t even confirm as true. It was in a dream and I heard “This prayer cannot be granted without love”. The only problem is the rest of the dream was utterly incoherent, so there’s a good chance that my sub-conscience was attempting to give me hope in God’s absence.

 

[Tis_Bearself]

“This prayer cannot be granted without love” sounds pretty dern clear to me.

So, love more. If you get caught up enough in loving, you’ll probably forget about wanting an answer to your prayer.

 

[ForumPoster]

“This prayer cannot be granted without love” sounds pretty dern clear to me.

So, love more. If you get caught up enough in loving, you’ll probably forget about wanting an answer to your prayer.

The rest of the dream was incoherent, though. How am I supposed to know if it was God or not? It’s not like I saw Jesus in His glory stating this from the gates of Heaven.

 

[Tis_Bearself]

God gives you an answer in a dream, and the answer was totally something God would say, and you sit there going, “Well how am I supposed to know if it was God or not?”

What, does he have to show up with a blast of trumpets and a pillar of fire and leave you a calling card that says “God”?

Is the Devil going to send you messages about love?

 

[ForumPoster]

God gives you an answer in a dream, and the answer was totally something God would say, and you sit there going, “Well how am I supposed to know if it was God or not?”

What, does he have to show up with a blast of trumpets and a pillar of fire and leave you a calling card that says “God”?

Alright, you got me here. I’ve got nothing for this

If this is legit, the question now becomes, is there any way to do this quickly? Are there any steps I can take to make my heart more susceptible to love so that I can achieve this? Maybe that’s partially missing the point, but as stated earlier, I feel that the sooner I get this blessing, the more impact it will have.

 

[Tis_Bearself]

Start by loving those closest to you, like your family, your close friends, work colleagues.
Pray more, go to church more, ask God to open your heart and show you how to love God and your neighbor more.
Try to do one loving thing each day.
But it must be done out of love, not just in hopes of getting something.

 

[Irishmom2]

Tis_Bearself:

“This prayer cannot be granted without love” sounds pretty dern clear to me.

So, love more. If you get caught up enough in loving, you’ll probably forget about wanting an answer to your prayer.

The rest of the dream was incoherent, though. How am I supposed to know if it was God or not? It’s not like I saw Jesus in His glory stating this from the gates of Heaven.

Well here’s the thing. You have had other threads and said you have been praying for nine months and come here and asked what we think. So far, God has not answered your prayer, has he? As I said before, sometimes the answer is no. Now you say you had a dream and he said no. But you still won’t accept it.

Perhaps what you are asking will not happen now. Or next week or year. Maybe it won’t happen for 20 years. So what are you going to to do? Are you going to get mad at God because he didn’t grant your desire? Are you going to lose faith because he didn’t grant your desire? If you do these things, I would question your maturity and your faith.