Faith...I think I have it

[LJR]

OK…this may sound silly but it bothers me…
I have been praying to Jesus for something very important to me and my husband. We both have. We ask Mary to interceede for us and some of the saints also.

My question is this. When I ask for this particular thing, I tell Jesus that I know in my heart that he will do this for us, IF it is his will and IF it is good for us. I tell him that I have the faith to know this is possible IF it is what he wants for us. Then I ask him to please grant us this prayer. So basically…I don’t know if the answer will be yes, or no. So am I supposed to believe that it will happen no matter what because if I don’t believe it I’m not showing enough faith?

I know this sounds silly but it really has been eating at me. So am I still showing the faith that I need to show by praying this way??? Thanks!

 

[Lapsed]

Faith is not some sort of leverage with God. The idea that all of our wishes will be granted by God if only we have enough faith is not a Catholic one. God does indeed answer all of our prayers, but sometimes the answer is, “No,” or, “Not yet.”

God sees the full picture of our lives and who we are. God wants what is best for us. We mortals have trouble seeing past tomorrow, or even yesterday. We very often think we know what we need, but God actually knows it.

Faith lies in submitting to God’s will for us even though it may seem that we are suffering unduly or even simply not getting something we desire. Faith invovlves actively trusting in God’s love, wisdom and mercy: it means accepting that even though we may not undesrstand why God is leading us a certain way, He will lead us to far more than we can imagine for ourselves.

Contemplate Christ’s prayer in the garden. He was aware of His coming Passion and death. In His humanity He asked God to let the cup of suffering pass Him by, yet still, no matter how much He personally desired to avoid His suffering on a human level, He submitted to His Father’s will, “Nevertheless, not My will, but Thine be done.”

Trust that God knows what is best for us. Trust that if He tells us “No” or “Not yet” that He has reasons that we cannot see.

Praying in faith is not knowing that God grants us our wishes like some genie. Praying in faith is praying with trust that God will do what is best for us within His plan, which is more than we can ever ask for ourselves.

 

[Lazerlike42]

You do have faith

Doubts are not a sin. For instance, the Council of Trent said something similar to this idea about the forgiveness of sins. Canon 13 of the decree on Justification said (to paraphrase), that it is not wrong for a person to have a doubt about whether his sins are forgiven. We all have insecurities and infirmities. You should definitely try to overcome any doubts, because that is a very virtuos thing, it is the growth of the virtue of Hope. That being said, if you have a doubt here or there about a prayer, that’s not a big deal at all.