Prayers of Petition and Submission to God's Will

[Neithan]

Isn’t it true that the essential goal of the Christian life is to wholly submit our will to God? To so unite ourselves to His Holy Spirit that our every thought and action is perfectly in accord with His Divine Will? Is this not the essence of Christ’s purpose and example?

If this is so, what purpose do prayers of petition serve? Especially when we are asking for something in accord with our own will? Doesn’t this interfere with our fundamental existential purpose of uniting our will to God’s? Rather than pray for what we want, shouldn’t we simply say ‘Lord, show me your Will, and give me the Grace to fully will it’? Especially considering the fact that we cannot change God’s mind, we cannot change His will, that *evil *is defined by what is contrary to it—prayers of personal petition seem contrary to Christian spirituality. By focusing on our will and ‘hoping God agrees’ they put a block between our will and God’s, erecting a barrier and maintaining a rift the elimination of which is the meaning of our existence.

Comments? Criticism? Corrections?

 

[CatholicSam]

Remember, God *wants * us to ask him for things, especially for spiritual graces. This is one of the ways that we build our relationship with God. Look at the prayer Jesus taught us, the Our Father. There are several petitions in that one. Prayers of petition are an important part of one’s prayer life, but people need to remember to give prayers of thanksgiving, praise, etc. as well.

 

[Agricola]

Think of Chirst in the Garden of Gethsemane. He asked that the cup of suffering that was being given to Him be taken away if it were His Father’s will. That is a petition that was not in line with God’s will, but He prayed it nonetheless.

I think that asking God for what WE want is not only not wrong, but good and natural also. Was it not natural to ask our earthly fathers for something we wanted as children? We asked for all sorts of things, didn’t we?

God will not give us something we ask for if it is not good for us. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t ask, it just means that our relationship is really that of children and Father.

The tricky part is discerning what is God’s will after we ask. But even in that, we can ask for clear guidance, right? Don’t worry, ask Him. Listen to Him. Trust Him. He is your Father and wants to give you everything you ask for. The closer you get to Him, the more the things you want will be in line with His will, and the more He’ll be able to give you those things that you want.

Hope this helps.

God bless,

Agricola