For God to be disposed to answer our prayer

[Kristen]

… my understanding is that we must have faith that God will indeed answer it positively. This issue has been vexing me a bit, and I’m hoping someone can help me.

In the case where we are asking for something that reason tells us is highly unlikely, must we believe that God will do it in order for Him to be disposed to answer our prayer?

Let me give a real-life example: Out of a rather strange inspiration, I have decided to pray the Rosary for a week for the conversion of a prominent athiest. I found his e-mail address and wrote him to tell him this, and to ask him to pray the Rosary, too. (I’ve heard about this being done successfully at some point in history.) I think the odds are better that I will become a canonized saint than that he will pray the Rosary, let alone convert to Catholicism! Yet, I felt called to do this, so I am. I know it certainly can’t do any harm! Now, am I expected to believe that God **will **do something so against reason as to convert this man?

Let me clarify that I do believe these two things about prayer:

1. God **can **indeed do anything He wants, however unlikely it seems by our reason!
2. God **will **in fact give adequate graces to this man for him to convert; the problem is that he is highly unlikely to make use of them – he will probably refuse them. My guess is that, given how well-known he is, many people have already prayed for his conversion, the graces have repeatedly been given, and he has repeatedly refused them.

There are numerous other examples of such situations in my personal life, too – relationships that seem too broken to fix, problems that seem too complex to unravel, etc., so this is pretty important to me.

Could anyone enlighten me? Thanks and God bless you!

Kristen

 

[baltobetsy]

This question reminds me of something my older playmates told me when I was about 5 years old. It was the late 50’s, and pizza was just coming on to the scene. They told me that the cheese would stretch, but ONLY if you honestly believed that it WOULD NOT stretch. So there I was, trying to make the cheese stretch by believing that it wouldn’t.

I don’t think our loving Father God expects any mental gymnastics from us when we ask Him for good things. Remember, one of His attributes is that He is unchangeable. So we cannot change His disposition by our belief that He will answer our prayer, or our lack thereof. Like little children, we should just ask for all the good things, and leave the disposition of our request in His hands.

Betsy

 

[Ancilla]

Hi Kristen,

Your dedication and determination to pray for this atheist, as well as informing him of your intentions is very impressive.

You’ve probably heard the expression “God answers all prayers”. I really believe that He does. We should always have an expectation or hope that He will answer what we are asking for with what we want. I guess the easiest way to put it is: God answers our prayers in the affirmative when we unite our will completely to His. You would probably agree that God wants the atheist to convert, so your will is united to His. So, maybe it’s not as impossible as one might think - it just might not happen on our time table.

I’m not sure how the free-will of the atheist factors in here, though. That seems to be the biggest unknown. It’s an intriguing question - especially since a lot of us pray for situations that seem impossible, and for the conversions of many.

Please keep us posted.

 

[BarbaraTherese]

Ancilla:

Your dedication and determination to pray for this atheist, as well as informing him of your intentions is very impressive.

… …

Our confusion can arise out of the fact that we think our human logic always has the very best answer in any situation…rather “My ways are not your ways” and God forever and always answers our prayers in the very best interests of the situation we are praying for and very often this has nothing at all to do with our human logic and what I think is the best for the situation. This is why the greatest prayer is “not my will but thine be done” - and like Christ this may take us to the cross. The cross is a human contradiction - it is from the cross that Christ reigns in Glory and we also from our crosses. This is what St. Paul called “a stumbling block” to many. “we make up in our own bodies what was lacking in the Sufferings of Christ” i.e. a part of our vocation and call is to the cross and this is why it is our standard that goes before us, and which we claim as our symbol.
Over and above that, while to be called to be Catholic and baptized into The Catholic Church is to my mind one of the greatest Graces one can ever receive…not only Catholics are saved - even an athiest can be and many will be saved. Why God grants the great Grace of Catholicism to one and to not another is a very great mystery “My ways are not your ways”. All who are saved and enter Heaven do so through Christ and His Overwhelming Mercy. Not every person not Christian or Catholic is so through wilful culpability. There is a far greater sin for sure…and that is those unfaithful to their call and baptism and the sins in The Church and this comes across very strongly in Revelataions.

Blessings - Barb

 

[PhilotheaZ]

It is quite possible that God will answer your prayer positively, but without letting you know (thus avoiding the possibility of any pride on your part). Your atheist may be converted after your death (as Elisabeth Leseur’s atheist husband was, after her death), or he may be converted at the moment of his death, without you ever knowing about it.

And remember, prayer is more about developing a loving relationship with God, and with trying to conform our wills to His, as opposed to trying to get Him to conform His will to ours. Believe it or not, He always knows best!

 

[Kristen]

Thank you all for your thoughtful replies and encouragement. Each of you has given me a good nugget of insight.

Like little children, we should just ask for all the good things, and leave the disposition of our request in His hands.

It’s strange that I still have so much trouble with this, even though Our Father has been very good to me! Thankfully, He’s in charge.

God answers our prayers in the affirmative when we unite our will completely to His. You would probably agree that God wants the atheist to convert, so your will is united to His. So, maybe it’s not as impossible as one might think - it just might not happen on our time table.

…

Please keep us posted.

This is a consolation; may His will be done!

As for what has happened so far: I have not heard from the atheist (nor did I expect to!), but I have done as I promised. So far, I have prayed three of the seven Rosaries for him.

Over and above that, while to be called to be Catholic and baptized into The Catholic Church is to my mind one of the greatest Graces one can ever receive…not only Catholics are saved - even an athiest can be and many will be saved. Why God grants the great Grace of Catholicism to one and to not another is a very great mystery “My ways are not your ways”. All who are saved and enter Heaven do so through Christ and His Overwhelming Mercy. Not every person not Christian or Catholic is so through wilful culpability.

I agree. Living as a member of the Church is the “ordinary” way that ne may attain Heaven, but God can (and I’m sure often does, in His great Mercy) use “extraordinary” means to get people to Heaven. So, even if he never converts, I am glad that Our Lord may yet welcome him Home. Also, one of the things I wrote to the atheist is that one of the reasons I decided to pray for him was that he always looks so down and disappointed when one sees him on TV. So, I really think that converting will make him happier in this life, not just in the next.

And, though this is off-topic, Barb, I just wanted to thank you for all the great work you do to put together the daily liturgy/Church calendar thread! I visit it regularly and find it thorough and very helpful. What a blessing for all of us here!

It is quite possible that God will answer your prayer positively, but without letting you know (thus avoiding the possibility of any pride on your part).

Pride has always been a big struggle for me (that and low self-esteem – go figure! ), so it would indeed be providential if I do not learn in this life how this all turns out. In Heaven, I can no longer sin, so maybe God will let me see the story’s ending!

May God bless you all!

Kristen

 

[BarbaraTherese]

Kristen :

And, though this is off-topic, Barb, I just wanted to thank you for all the great work you do to put together the daily liturgy/Church calendar thread! I visit it regularly and find it thorough and very helpful. What a blessing for all of us here!

… …thank you…

Pride has always been a big struggle for me (that and low self-esteem – go figure! ), so it would indeed be providential if I do not learn in this life how this all turns out. In Heaven, I can no longer sin, so maybe God will let me see the story’s ending!

I hope and will pray that in this life you will indeed see the story come to a joyful conflusion.

Barb

 

[bpbasilphx]

God ALWAYS answers prayer.

Sometimes, He says, “Yes.”

Sometimes, He says, “No.”

And sometimes, He says, “Wait.”

 

[leonie]

It’s funny. At our family Thanksgiving party, I was complaining to my mom and my brother that when I pray for people who are ill or dying, they seem to stay ill and die. My brother (nonpracticing for years) said, “well, don’t pray for me if I get sick.”

While, my mom nodded her head sympathetically. She knew exactly what I meant. It’s just a frustration. We both knew that many of these people’s healings will happen in Heaven. It’s hard to watch people be sick and die. A year ago,in our parish, mother of six young kids died from breast cancer. She was diagnosed when she was pregnant with her six child. She refused an abortion and had modified chemo. She had a masectomy after the birth of the child and more chemo, but succombed within a couple of years.

That was hard to see. The whole parish prayed intensely for her.

But, my friend who is a Hospice nurse has seen miracles.

 

[CSN]

God ALWAYS answers prayer.

Sometimes, He says, “Yes.”

Sometimes, He says, “No.”

And sometimes, He says, “Wait.”

A few things:

I read somewhere that the answers are “Yes”, “Wait”, and “I have something much better for you”…

Also, I think I read that someone once asked Padre Pio, who was known to have tremendous miraculous powers even while alive, why he would not pray for the healing of a crippled nephew. He responded that his nephew’s situation was necessary for him to go to heaven. I think it was also him that told a blind girl that she could have her sight restored, but if so, her soul was in danger of falling away. So she chose to remain blind.

Finally, has the OP read about the conversion of Alphonse Ratisbonne? If your friend will not say the rosary, why don’t you try the friendly wager mentioned in this link?

angelfire.com/ms/seanie/BVM/ratisbonne.html

I wish everyone would wear the Miraculous Medal !!