Why make prayer requests, if they're subject to God's will?

[signit]

Inspired partly by this thread:

forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=1006154

A friend of mine used to wonder, what’s the advantage to prayer requests if they’re subject to God’s will?

If I pray for something that wouldn’t be good for me, like drugs or alcohol, obviously God won’t grant the request.

If I pray for something like a new job or financial success, I can see God not helping me if God knows it wouldn’t be in my interest. I totally understand that.

But, it seems that if that new job is consistent with God’s will, God will grant it anyway.

Unless, perhaps, God will change His will and grant my prayer request because I asked for it.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Bookcat]

Jesus says “ask”.

That is sufficient reason…

God can make a matter contingent upon prayer.

God gives us the dignity of prayer…

 

[Bookcat]

If I pray for something like a new job or financial success, I can see God not helping me if God knows it wouldn’t be in my interest. I totally understand that.

But, it seems that if that new job is consistent with God’s will, God will grant it anyway.

It can be “contingent” upon prayer…

 

[signit]

Jesus says “ask”.

That is sufficient reason…

God can make a matter contingent upon prayer.

God gives us the dignity of prayer…

That makes a lot of sense, thanks.

 

[Bookcat]

To complete what I noted…God give us the dignity of being “in real sense” “causes” even on the spiritual realm -via such as prayer.

God of course will be Who will be the cause -but we are given this dignity …

 

[CatholicRaven]

I agree with bookcat, but wanted to add a bit more.

But, it seems that if that new job is consistent with God’s will, God will grant it anyway.

Unless, perhaps, God will change His will and grant my prayer request because I asked for it.

Thanks in advance.

My husband knows I love him, so why should I say, “I love you” to him every day?

Because he likes to hear it, and I love him and want to make him happy by doing things for him that he likes.

Why spend time with my husband at all? I could just email, or text, or leave a to-do list so he’d have the info he needs. Well, because it’s not always just about the message, but the relationship.

Why do things he asks of me that I know he could do himself? Because I love him, and that is one way to show it.

So why pray? Because it’s a conversation with God. It’s a way to show our love; a reminder to us that we need Him, that he gives to us and loves us; because He asks it of us; and because it’s important to our relationship with Him.

And, yes, sometimes because, just as my husband stops to get me a Dr. Pepper on the way home when I ask him to, some blessings are contingent upon our asking God for them.

 

[signit]

So why pray? Because it’s a conversation with God. It’s a way to show our love; a reminder to us that we need Him, that he gives to us and loves us; because He asks it of us; and because it’s important to our relationship with Him.

Some more good points, thanks.

Regarding prayer, I was told there were four types of prayer: adoration, reparation, thanksgiving, and supplication. The first three, of course, we should do (and I do) whether we want something or not.

 

[JurisPrudens]

Inspired partly by this thread:

forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=1006154

A friend of mine used to wonder, what’s the advantage to prayer requests if they’re subject to God’s will?

If I pray for something that wouldn’t be good for me, like drugs or alcohol, obviously God won’t grant the request.

If I pray for something like a new job or financial success, I can see God not helping me if God knows it wouldn’t be in my interest. I totally understand that.

But, it seems that if that new job is consistent with God’s will, God will grant it anyway.

Unless, perhaps, God will change His will and grant my prayer request because I asked for it.

Thanks in advance.

In addition to what everyone else has said: We pray exactly because we are subject to God’s will. We cannot be indifferent to what God does, fatalistic. We pray because we want our will and His will to coincide in one. I hope I’m making sense.

 

[fred_conty]

Inspired partly by this thread:

forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=1006154

A friend of mine used to wonder, what’s the advantage to prayer requests if they’re subject to God’s will?

If I pray for something that wouldn’t be good for me, like drugs or alcohol, obviously God won’t grant the request.

If I pray for something like a new job or financial success, I can see God not helping me if God knows it wouldn’t be in my interest. I totally understand that.

But, it seems that if that new job is consistent with God’s will, God will grant it anyway.

Unless, perhaps, God will change His will and grant my prayer request because I asked for it.

Thanks in advance.

Why make prayer requests at all, since prayer can be explained away as nonsense?

From C.S. Lewis

But since your patient has contracted the terrible habit of obedience, he will probably continue such “crude” prayers whatever you do. But you can worry him with the haunting suspicion that the practice is absurd and can have no objective result. Don’t forget to use the “heads I win, tails you lose” argument. If the thing he prays for doesn’t happen, then that is one more proof that petitionary prayers don’t work; if it does happen, he will, of course, be able to see some of the physical causes which led up to it, and “therefore it would have happened anyway”, and thus a granted prayer becomes just as good a proof as a denied one that prayers are ineffective.

Mary explains why we should pray when she gave us her miraculous medal.

Her picture on the front of the medal shows her arms down and stretched out. There are rays of light comming from her hands. These rays are comming from each ring on her fingers. Each finger has 3 rings. Many rings are radiating light, but some are not. She said that those emanating light are graces that were asked for. Those that didn’t shine rays of light were graces lost because they were not asked for. So it is very important that we ask.

 

[signit]

In addition to what everyone else has said: We pray exactly because we are subject to God’s will. We cannot be indifferent to what God does, fatalistic. We pray because we want our will and His will to coincide in one. I hope I’m making sense.

Another great point.

Of course, I don’t know God’s will.

I might think if I have a new job in a certain field and a steady income that that would be consistent with God’s will. I can’t be sure. Maybe I’d be a poor employee or wouldn’t like the job, or maybe if I had a high income that would be detrimental to me in some way.

It seems all I can do is pray, saying that if the new job and whatever goes along with it are consistent with God’s will, it might happen.

 

[Kurisu35712]

I read somewhere recently, though I can’t remember where exactly… He and I or maybe one of St. Theresa of Avila’s books… that praying is less about us asking God to grant us requests, and more about training ourselves to align our will and desires with God’s for us. So, in the example of a job you brought up, asking God for the job is less about God granting you the job and more about, if God’s will involves you getting that job, that you’re also showing yourself to be in accordance with that by asking. Does that make sense?

Of course, the same text, pretty sure He and I though I know others mention the same train of thought, also says that we should still ask God for things we may even think are absurd or things that He would never grant because they’re too ambitious. They may be ambitious, but no Saint accomplished the things they did by convincing themselves they weren’t good enough or their requests were outside the realm of possibility. Just something to think about.

Obviously God isn’t some wish granting genie, but at the same time, we shouldn’t be discouraged from asking for things because we think He won’t do them anyway. A significant part of prayer is humility and our understanding of our own meekness in relation to God. Thus we should approach it with confidence that God will grant what is best for us, but also temper that with the understanding that what is best for us may not be what we were considering.

 

[mikekle]

I know what you mean, Ive been praying for a powerball win for years, but no luck so far…yet if If did win millions, A WHOLE LOT of charities would be helped, it would be a very good thing for a lot of people, so Im not sure why we dont see more christian lottery winners, maybe God does not desire that kind of assistance.

To me, praying is sort of like kids asking their parents for things…a parent tells their children they can have anything they want, BUT thats not really true, its all dependent on if the parent agrees. (thats the catch).

So I guess if you go so long without receiving what you prayed for, you can be sure God did not agree, and maybe try to find out why he did not agree.

 

[Kurisu35712]

In addition to what everyone else has said: We pray exactly because we are subject to God’s will. We cannot be indifferent to what God does, fatalistic. We pray because we want our will and His will to coincide in one. I hope I’m making sense.

I didn’t see your post before I posted, but I agree with this entirely. It’s more about us conforming our will with God’s and entering into dialogue with Him than it is getting requests granted. Many many Saints have expounded on the idea that prayer is ideally a constant feature in our life, rather than something we do when we feel it’s necessary.

 

[JosieN]

This is how I understand it. Only God knows what is truly best for us. If you pray for a job and do not get it, there was a reason. God’s ways are not our ways, God’s time is not our time, and we are not as wise as God. This is where trust is important. Trust God and thank Him even when things do not go as you planned. Trusting His Wisdom will lead to something better in the future even if you do not understand it now. A prayer is never wasted as you will benefit spiritually from every prayer you say. You will receive strength and guidance throughout your life with daily prayer. I have noticed that perseverance also works, sometimes the answer is not now or not yet.