Dear PMV,
“Please, please, puleeeze!” doesn’t cut it with God. The prayer of petition is not a prayer by which we convince God to see things our way. Thank God for that because He sees things far better than we. The prayer of petition is a prayer of trust. We place our needs in His hands and then trust that in His love for us, He will answer in the best way and at the best time. We continue to pray for what we need as He instructed us, while at the same time, trusting in His love. Our prayer then becomes an act of love for Him.
Many, many times, the best effect of our prayer of petition, is not in getting of what we asked for, but in the love that such prayer has evoked from us.
Fr. Vincent Serpa, O.P.
