Prayers and Free Will.

[Nelka]

Hypothetically if my wife was thinking about leaving me and moving on with the children and I decide to pray many prayer that this would not happen how do my prayers effect her free will?

I understand that her free will won’t be taken from her so how do the prayers work in this scenario?

Surely it cannot be a waste of time I was thinking maybe it worked in the manner of giving her the grace to consider her options?

Thanks.

 

[tjaugustine]

I would assume the grace option, you mention. That the truth, about herself, you, your family and situation, her possible motivations to leave are shown much more clearly + a strength and resolution to work on any marital/family problems is given.

She could still choose to leave, even against the aforementioned “evidence” of that being a wrong move.

 

[PluniaZ]

Free will does not mean the unconstrained freedom to choose anything. It means, according to Thomas Aquinas, the ability of one’s rational appetite, which is naturally oriented toward God, to control and subdue one’s baser passions.

newadvent.org/cathen/01656a.htm
newadvent.org/summa/2001.htm
newadvent.org/summa/5092.htm#article1