Prayer

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Hypothesis

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Seriously,

Can anyone please tell me if they have ever had a ‘prayer’ answered? I have prayed my entire life and never, not once has it been answered. Trust me, I had faith the size of a grain of mustard seed. Just would like to hear some examples of answered prayer, because I feel like God does not answer prayers anymore.

Thanks.
 
I have had many prayers answered. One thing you must remember is that God will “answer” all prayers. He’s listening. You may not get the “answer” that you want, but in time, you will definately get a response! Have you ever considered that your “answer” is not seeing an answer at all?

For example, I prayed for quite awhile to be accepted to a particular graduate program, but ran into many obstacles and was ultimately never accepted. Several years later, I don’t see this as an unanswered prayer. The prayer was answered… I now realize that it wasn’t in God’s plans for me to attend that program. I didn’t get the acceptance that I was initially looking for, but I did get an answer (and am now more than satisfied with that response).

Also, you may not see your “answer” immediately. Sometimes it can take years to find your answer, but you should never give up praying.

I also think it’s important to not just pray for things we want, but to remember to do prayers of thanks, and prayers of adoration of God. Perhaps it isn’t necessary to worship God in prayer or thank him for all of the good things in our lives to have prayers answered, but I believe it’s a very important part of prayer.

How active are you in other aspects of your faith? While I don’t believe God favors those who regularly attend Church or partake in the Eucharist, I do think that people who have cultivated their spiritual sides are more in tune to hear and see God’s answers to their prayers.
 
Yes, Our Lord has answered many of my prayers…

Years ago I was in doubt about how real the Eucharist is… As I went into the chapel I prayed "Lord, I believe, help my unbelief… During the mass as the Priest extended his hands over the challis I saw his hand glow (Much like the burning bush)…

When the mass had ended I asked some of the nuns if they had seen what I had seen… The answer was No… I thought I was seeing things… I went to another priest (not the one who celebrated the mass) to ask about what I saw (or was I crazy)… I was told that I had seen the hands of Christ… When the priest is doing the Eucharist prayer he is “Christi Persona” taking on Christ… That priest informed me that often when he does mass he would feel his hand warm has he prays over the Host.

So my answer is yes… God does answer prayer… Sometimes it just boils down to “What are you praying for”
 
Thank you for your replies. Sometimes I guess I have been selfish when asking for things. I usually ask for physical healing of many of my family members that were dying in alot of pain. None of those prayers were ever answered. They suffered until death.
 
I love to hear the prayer stories of others! It helps to grow my own faith. I will share a story of my own. I live in a quiet country area and most mornings I go for a long walk and spend the time in solitude and prayer. One morning I prayed a rosary and when I finished I began to pray silently in my heart for my two highschool age sons to find good work for the summer. I prayed that they would find employers who would teach them something of value and pay them well. While I was in prayer I noticed a man out getting his paper, he waited as I approached him, he was someone I had recently met due to the fact that he was running for public office. We began to visit about the election and I shared that my sons were interested in politics. He then asked how old my boys were and if they might need some work for the summer. I let him know that they would be very interested and within two days they were employed working on this mans property for most of the summer. I floated home on gratitude, that was the quickest affirmative answer to any prayer I have ever requested on record! God is Good!
 
The Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick is a powerful sacrament. Anointing is now often done by announcement of a special Mass, or after Sunday Mass. Everyone over 80 is automatically accepted, as are anyone who believes that they need this Sacrament because of health concerns.

There is nothing wrong about praying for one’s own health … especially when one doesn’t feel well, it is a very good thing to do. Thy will be done prayer, have hope; hope and prayer heals. If it is for someone else, you might do as I do, and pray that the Doctor makes the right decisions for the care of the person and ask Our Lady for help if you are the decision maker.

I wish that we were all careful with our bodies and our health. We should take care of them, and, I’m sure that is in the catechism.
 
Hypothesis said:
Thank you for your replies. Sometimes I guess I have been selfish when asking for things. I usually ask for physical healing of many of my family members that were dying in alot of pain. None of those prayers were ever answered. They suffered until death.
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Oh, I’m sorry. 😦 I do understand this. Not quite three years ago I lost my best friend to cancer - she was 32 years old. And I admit this shook my faith like nothing else had ever done before. I couldn’t understand WHY. She was young and beautiful and compassionate and a brilliant doctor, she had so much to offer this world. But instead of a “happy ending” I watched her suffer and die. I prayed my heart out that she would win through. I prayed “without ceasing”. And finally at the end I prayed that she would not suffer any more. (And let me tell you I still feel guilty for that.)

I still don’t understand “why”. But I trust that God knows what he’s doing. Her illness and death strongly affected me, and made a difference in my life (and the lives of others). Instead of losing my faith, it has blossomed and grown tremendously - in no small part due to the loss of my friend. Suffering can be made holy, and death is not the end of us. We don’t want to lose the people we love, naturally, and it’s so hard to see them suffer. I wish I could tell you something other than “trust in God”. I am not an apologist. I don’t even speak well. But I know this - God DOES answer prayers. Just sometimes the answer is no. And while we may not understand that, my faith tells me that God DOES.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve looked back at things and realised that, if things had gone the way I’d hoped, if God had answered my prayers the way I wanted him to… I’d have had disaster. It’s hard to see when you’re in the moment.

A particular instance of God answering my prayers? Nearly a year ago - last October - I said a novena to St. Therese. I wanted desperately to receive the sacraments, but was getting nowhere in my parish and was frustrated. I asked if by her intercession God would let me know if I should seek to receive the sacraments at my father’s church in another state (where I went to visit in November). On the final day of my novena, my mother (who is not Catholic and knows very little about saints) on a whim brought me a bouquet of roses she’d seen while shopping. (St. Therese often answers prayers with roses.) I took this to mean that I would have my first communion and confirmation at my dad’s parish. I was so excited! I spoke to my dad and stepmom about it and they were very enthusiastic, and agreed to speak to the priest with me.

Well… the best laid plans! LOL 😉 The day I arrived both my father and I got sick, there was about 3 feet of snow on the ground and the temperature outside hovered at minus 24. I never got out of the house, and returned home a week later quite unhappy, and disappointed that St. Therese seemed to be giving me the “wrong” message.

She wasn’t wrong.

In April my aunt became terribly ill. She’s been the light of my life since I was old enough to crawl, and knowing she would be gone soon was terrible. All of the family went to her (across the country). And on April 1st my stepmom became unexpectedly ill. On April 8 my beautiful stepmother died. And on April 9 my beloved aunt died. My dad lost his wife one day, and his sister the next. We were all so floored we couldn’t even ask “WHY?”

From tragedy came great joy. I left home and went to stay with my dad for four months. On May 30 I was received into the church, in my Dad’s parish. Just as St. Therese had promised me.

I could tell you more - I could go on and on about these things, and my experiences. But I think you could read stories upon stories of answered prayers… and still you would have to arrive at the same point - to trust or not to trust in God.

I hope that you will speak to a priest, or a counselor, or your confessor about this. It can be very helpful. Some parishes have grief support groups as well, and that can help to work through some of these issues.

I will keep you in my prayers!

God bless you!
Tammy
 
Yes, God always answers prayers but some time the answers are not as we expect to be answered.
Just remember that our plans are not God’s plans and our time is not God’s time.
Bless you
 
Here is a man, Joe Eszterhas, who speaks of a miraculous healing, who is well known to some, and has written a book about it. Our healing experiences. Someone close to me said the same thing as you, and, I believe that she no longer would say that! How does one get to that point of being healed, one may wonder??? This person has not only been there when I was healed, but, has experienced healing herself, and, the Sacrament of Anointing was very important for her. Someone else said to me that “the family had been called” … sometimes the family is called and with their prayers healing comes instead of death.

catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=13679 “Hollywood author writes of his Damascus-like conversion”

As an appendum, I will say that my parents needed a doublepane glass replaced, and, have mentioned it to various contractors, etc. This has been for a few years (8-10,) but, we were dilatory about it maybe! Then I called a company because of a small discount mentioned in the paper, had a call from far away in response. I told that person we wanted local contractors, and, so a nearby store was contacted. The owner/mg. happened to run into the husband of our catholic elem. principal, who was a self-employed contractor, at a car dealership. Then this man called me early one morning when I was awaiting to hear from the hospital in bringing home my mom who wanted the window (and who was being prayed for anyway, as was told me by the parish clerk, who is related to the principal in question - neither who knew about the window.) It was a rather quiet early morning wake up call, but he came over and looked and claimed, I can replace just the glass for you. Does that qualify as a miracle from prayer?!
 
Please let me suggest “101 Inspirational Stories of the Power of Prayer” by Sister Patricia Proctor, OSC. (You can Google it, order it through Amazon). It is a compilation of stories by many people (and one from me on pg. 199) on how and in what way their prayers were answered. This lovely little book also has meditations and inspiring poetry/thoughts included. Sr. Patricia also has an email newsletter you may subscribe to if you wish. It is called “joynotes” and you can Google that also. It includes excerpts from the book along with other joyful things, one of which is a link to Franciscan e-cards.

God Bless You and don’t stop praying. Never give up!
 
ohhhh do I believe in the power of prayer!!!

Yep I have had some very important prayers answered and I am so very grateful that I could witness prayers being answered.

I have 3 living children and 4 saints in heaven… and I was told I couldn’t have children because of some medical problems I had when I was younger.

When these children and i had nothing… no money, no food…just God and each other… we had EVERYTHING!!! Food would appear, money for bills…came in the form of rebates or other such stuff… just enough to pay a current debt…

I honestly think we don’t see the prayers that are answered in front of us sometimes. I prayed for a solution to a bad babysitter problem… I thought I would get the “perfect” babysitter… nope… I got laid off from my job, thus not needing the services of that babysitter ever again!!! Looking back on it now… it was the best thing that could have happened! His plans are ALWAYS better than mine!
 
God has answered all my prayers, but the thing is when I am in trouble and dealing with problems, I can’t think of a single prayer he’s answered. I have to sit down and remind myself the great things God has done in my life, speak them out in prayer.

It is interesting that at the turning point in my life, when I made a conversion and started all over, the problems in my life seemed to multiply - but they were no longer problems brought on or aggravated by my own immoratlity. I realized whereas I was more successful exteriorly and miserable and dry interiorly, I was now besieged and humbled exteriorly, but happy inside. I believe in part this was God’s way of putting my life in order, of rewriting me.

And after many years of this kind of struggle, where the challenges to faith in the form of problems just rose up one greater than the other, sometimes withering, leaving me exhausted feeling as though I had been arm wrestling with God, I came to understand the meaning of faith a little bit better. It is not a small thing God asks of us, to believe. It is a big thing, a difficult thing, a primary act of love. And sometimes I think God commands us to forgive because he knows from our perspective we sometimes have to forgive him.

So I remind myself constantly God is not in the success business, or the problem solution business, but in the immortal soul business and what he is doing for me, with me and to me he is doing because he wants me with him in the end.
 
One prayer that sticks out in my mind was answered when I was about twelve years old. My dog fell off a cliff that we both were on exploring the the top of an old mine shaft. When he slipped off the side I started to pray. And I mean I literally got down on my knees…I saw him later trotting up the trail to the cliff without a scratch on him. He was my best friend and I still thank God!

Your brother in Christ

“If you are what you should be, you will set the world on fire!” --Saint Catherine of Siena
 
I too am looking for answers to my mother’s unanswered prayers. My mother has been praying for 32 years for my father to change his life around.
My mother is a devoted Catholic, goes to church every week, teaches Sunday school and works at the church’s parent’s day out program. My father is 52 years old and acts like he’s a 21 year old. He likes to stay out drinking with his friends all hours of the day/night. God only knows what he does because he lies to my mother about where he has been and what he is doing. This has become a weekly thing now. As a young girl I remember when sometime my father wouldn’t come home at all. He constantly cuts her down all the time for going to church. I still have 2 younger brothers at home and he is not involved with their activities.
I’m not for sure what my dad believes. He thinks we are all hipocrits because we sin then go to church and ask for forgiveness. We have tried explaining to him that we are all sinners and not perfect, thats why we go to church. He even denies ever being baptized, but my aunt said he was as a child because she remembers. He has even told us that he didn’t care if he went to hell or not. You don’t know how much that hurt us I believe my father does have some faith because he wears a St. Christopher’s medallion.
I know God does not give us things that we cannot handle. After 32 years of this my mother is worn out. She is always depressed and tired all the time. I wonder why her prayers aren’t being answered and why God wouldn’t want that for her. She has not given up yet and I have total respect for her staying with my father but at the same time she deserves to be happy. She comes to me with these problems and I have no answers for her. I hate being put in the middle. I know God has a plan for her but why does she have to be miserable?
Can he still be helped when he doesn’t want or ask for it? Are we praying wrong? Are we asking for the impossible?
I have a bad feeling that something is going to happen and it’s going to be too late.
 
Seriously,
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Can anyone please tell me if they have ever had a ‘prayer’ answered? I have prayed my entire life and never, not once has it been answered. Trust me, I had faith the size of a grain of mustard seed. Just would like to hear some examples of answered prayer, because I feel like God does not answer prayers anymore.
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Thanks.
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Seriously, I spent almost 10 yrs not being able to see out of one eye and the ‘good’ eye started to exhibit what started with the eye with uveitis… yeah I feared. I spent a decade fearing what if this happens to my good eye? What if I’ll lose my sight? Then again I had met people that were blind and functioned just fine. One I met on a BBS, two worked at the job I had for almost 10 yrs, they all did fine. My last appointment my specialist said all the inflammation was gone in my eyes but still need to keep up with regular visits due to the severity of the case I had and the damage that was done to my eyes. I think there’s people who’ve gone through a lot worse than myself so perhaps conveying my fears over eye problems really doesn’t sound all that spectacular. Bottom line, I know people were praying for me, even when I was on a 6 month medical leave. I was praying to not lose my sight and not have one of the diseases they said I was a high risk candidate for… I was given a medal for St. Odelia, I still have it. It’s been a little over a year back in Catholicism and I have a lot to re-learn and keep learning.
 
My aunt said that she remembers her daughters from their youth, and that is how she deals with their lack of Faith. How have they paid her back for her forgiveness? Well, they have told me that she was mean to them when they were young! She is my Godmother, and is a convert from her youth. When you are old, your children can do with you as they please, and your father should consider that. Anyway, I have tried her system of overlooking things, as her girls have lost their Catholic Faith, and, have done a multitude of things that would sadden all mothers. To do this kind of thing to someone so ornery as your Father, one might imagine how he was at a better time in his life, maybe before the responsibilities of marriage and parenthood. He was once a young man with dreams, and, what happened to them? Find out who you Father is. Hang out with him, doing things that he loves that are honest pursuits. Are there any people that he misses from his youth, people he could share stories with that you can find if you attend certain functions or can arrange to visit, places even. Find his center, with these calming things, and he will never call you a hypocrite again. He is your Father, he is a Father, and because of that title, he deserves to have the respect owed to Fathers. Respect his opinions, and make sure that they are his opinions. Then pray. You need to do the work of the angels, and help others who have the same problem … Subscribe to e-quite moments from Catholic Digest … “Feast of Sts. Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael
An angel is like an arrow of light cutting through the dark.” I don’t know what to say about Saint Christopher, but, some people believe that he is a saint who’s story was declared to be fiction. It may be a key to your Father’s heart.
 
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