Hello,
I want to start a novena for something but I am wondering whether or not I should seek God’s permission to pray novena before I actually start it.
On one hand, any fasting, prayer, sacrifice will not make God happy if they are not in His will. On the other hand, St. Alphonse said “Those who pray will be saved, and those who don’t pray will be lost. Pray for everything, especially the gift of prayer”.
Help???
Thank you,
PS: I don’t think the intention of my novena is sinful, it is rather a childish wish about relationship, and my intention will include asking for a certain sign.
Goodness, I hope the only reason you are even considering this is because you have questions about your intention, and not about whether or not you should be praying!
First, St Paul admonishes us to pray without ceasing in 1 Thesalonians 5:16-18:
“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”
So with regards to whether or not you need to ask God if it’s OK for you to pray – just pray!
Second, with regard to your intention – if that is the reason for your inquiry – we usually pray a novena as part of seeking God’s will for our lives.
I prayed a novena with a gentleman I met online. We were about to meet face-to-face for the first time and wanted to place our meeting in God’s hands. My experience of this novena was life-altering! I met the man, he wasn’t romantically interested in me, and he went back home.
BUT, God granted me such insights into areas of my life that had confused and frustrated me for decades! My goodness, that novena was such a blessing!
Point is, don’t pray a novena to try to manipulate someone – please, God, make this person love me; or please, God, make this person return to the Church.
Instead, bring the desire of your heart to the novena and ask God to allow His will to be done in your life. And then see what happens.
Oh, and if you’re asking God for a sign of what someone else is thinking or feeling, or how a certain relationship will turn out – let it go. As Aslan the Lion says in the
Chronicles of Narnia, “I never tell anyone any story but their own.”
I’ve seen people waste years of their lives waiting for some love interest to fall madly in love with them because years earlier they prayed a novena, asking for a rose or something to indicate that this person was The One. And when that person never “came around” and often fell in love with and married someone else, they couldn’t understand why their “sign” hadn’t worked out the way they thought.
It is a dangerous thing to ask for signs of this sort. Best to just ask God to lead you in His way.
God bless you!
