Is it OK to pray for earthly things?

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When I pray I usually ask to be kept from sin, to be forgiven, help me forgive/love etc… however, I recently added to those things the prayer that God would help me learn Jazz Piano b/c that has been a long time goal of mine but just something that I started to revisit.

Is it OK to ask for temporal things like this when we have all of eternity ahead of us and the main thing is pursuing the things of God?
 
I think God wants us to pray for anything that will help us grow closer to Him and increase our love for Him and our fellow brothers and sisters. If learning jazz or the piano will enable you to love Him, serve Him, and know Him more fully, then I say go for it.
 
We are supposed to! To glorify the Father and to live our lives. Jesus told us to.
 
Praying for earthly goods, whether they are necessities or simply desires, in a very real way reveals to us our dependence on God. To pray for earthly goods can be a first step on the road to true childlike humility and dependence on God, so long as we leave the final decision to God’s own will.

As another musician I’d say, praying to become a good Jazz piano player is a great thing to pray for. I pray that I might become a better Irish flutist, and even one day a good Chinese flutist… 😃
 
If we pray for the most mundane of things it is an acknowledgement that God is in charge of everything. Some things I pray for when I think of it: parking spaces, finding the exact thing I am looking for at the grocery store - especially if they have moved things around - again, sometimes just to say thanks for the beautiful day, quiet day, good nights sleep. etc. Yeah, I think it is fine to pray for those kind of things.
 
A former priest of our Church explained it this way. “When you pray for material things, explain to God what you intend to do with them and how you will use them for His greater glory.”
 
quote=Ohana;8791049]If we pray for the most mundane of things it is an acknowledgement that God is in charge of everything. Some things I pray for when I think of it: parking spaces, finding the exact thing I am looking for at the grocery store - especially if they have moved things around - again, sometimes just to say thanks for the beautiful day, quiet day, good nights sleep. etc. Yeah, I think it is fine to pray for those kind of things.

Exactly! God is a loving father who wants to hear what his kids have to say about everything, whether it’s praying to grow in a virtue, or for physical necessities or about the things that make life more than just existence.
 
Link0126 said:
When I pray I usually ask to be kept from sin, to be forgiven, help me forgive/love etc… however, I recently added to those things the prayer that God would help me learn Jazz Piano b/c that has been a long time goal of mine but just something that I started to revisit.

Is it OK to ask for temporal things like this when we have all of eternity ahead of us and the main thing is pursuing the things of God?
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The answer to that can be found in John’s Gospel. What does Mary bring to Jesus’ attention?

“They have no wine.”

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF 🙂
 
BUT REMEMBER TO ALWAYS GIVE THANKS FOR ANSWERED PRAYERS !!

Answered Prayer…
This happened to my late mother, 32 yrs ago…

She was walking to work (night shift in a care home) My Dad used to walk with her to give our Dog his nightly walk As she looked up the clouds were so thick and heavy she knew there was going to be a pretty heavy downpour… she fumbled in her pocket for any loose change for the bus as they would shortly be passing a bus stop. The bus would get her to work early but would mean Dad may have time to get home and stay dry… They didn’t have any cash on them so my mother prayed to just find enough change for her bus… As they were walking past the stop she glanced down at the pavement… THERE was the exact change…

The next night, again walking to work, my mum remembered as they rounded the corner that she hadn’t given thanks so she started praying and offered up some prayers, as she past the bus stop she looked down and there in the spot that the change had been was a simple gold cross…

That cross was given to me to wear at my wedding and when I emmigrated she gave it to me…
 
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