Posted on 12/26/2011 9:04:02 AM PST by Salvation
Gary Zimak is the founder of Following The Truth Ministries (http://www.followingthetruth.com), a lay apostolate created to assist Catholics in learning more about their Faith. He is a regular guest on EWTN Radio’s “Son Rise Morning Show”, Ave Maria Radio’s “Catholic Connection with Teresa Tomeo” and appears frequently on several other Catholic radio programs. In addition to writing for CatholicLane. Mr. Zimak hosts a daily program on BlogTalkRadio and posts frequently on his blog, Facebook and Twitter. He is a member of Catholics United For The Faith and the Knights of Columbus and resides in New Jersey.
According to St. John Damascene, a 6th century bishop and doctor of the Church, “Prayer is the raising of one’s mind and heart to God or the requesting of good things from God.” St. Thérèse of Lisieux stated, “For me, prayer is a surge of the heart; it is a simple look turned toward heaven, it is a cry of recognition and of love, embracing both trial and joy.”
Catholic Ping!
Sometimes, the answer is “NO”.
God answers my prayers. The answer is not always “yes.”
Or "Not yet"
So right.
Answers from God are “yes”, “no” and “later.”
LOL!
And we may not like the “later” for that might lead to some suffering here on earth.
God is not in the business of giving you everything you ask for, and how absurd it would be were it otherwise.
Although I recall a Bible verse that definitely promises us one thing if we seek it and ask for it.
Wisdom.
I was in a Catholic Church during a group prayer. After the prayers were over, a Priest came into the room & told us the group was praying too fast.
The Priest gave us some good prayer advice: God knows all the prayers. God knows what we want & what we need. When we pray we should slow down so we are able to >listen to God. One of the purposes of prayer is to give God the opportunity to transform our hearts.
Very true. I remember saying the Serenity Prayer about every five minutes after my husband died just to get me through the day.
The last line — “And the wisdom to know the difference.”
He knows our needs and desires of our hearts even before we know them, even before we pray them.
The prayer is a simple acknowledgement the He is the Father from whom all good things flow.
Other Translations of Isaiah 55:8
¶ For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your wayes my wayes, saith the Lord.
- King James Version (1611)
“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways, declares the LORD.”
- New American Standard Version (1995)
For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith Jehovah.
- American Standard Version (1901)
For my thoughts are not your thoughts, or your ways my ways, says the Lord.
- Basic English Bible
For my thoughts are not your thoughts, or your ways my ways, says the Lord.
- Darby Bible
For my thoughts are not your thoughts: nor your ways my ways, saith the Lord.
- Douay Rheims Bible
For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.
- Webster’s Bible
For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, says Yahweh.
- World English Bible
For not My thoughts [are] your thoughts, Nor your ways My ways, — an affirmation of Jehovah,
- Youngs Literal Bible
For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, saith the LORD.
- Jewish Publication Society Bible
If we pray in Jesus’ name, it doesn’t mean we add those words at the end to make God the Genie do what we demand. To ask for something in someone’s name means to ask it on their behalf. It means that what you are asking will advance the goals and purpose of that other being - in this case, Jesus.
For myself, I’ve started dividing my prayers into two - those things I ask in Jesus’ name, and those I ask...well, because of my wants. I find that if I am honest, that first section is pretty short.
I also find it a bit enlightening to pray, “God, I don’t know if you want this or if it is just my sin nature poking through to the surface...” It changes my expectations entirely, and opens a dialog.
A very wise Priest once told me that is important when you pray to patiently discern God’s Will in the present moment, and that God does answer all prayers. No “ifs,” “ands” or “buts” about it.
“The reason that it works is known only to God and is beyond our understanding.” As children, we were taught that our intellects were feeble instruments when the situation involved divine intervention. Sounds right to me.
Augustinian predestinarianism was a lot more confusing, but that’s another issue.
**listen to God. **
Yes, listening to God is the part of prayer that many of us often forget.
Good advice in that last part.
I would like to open a prayer to God and just tell Him that I am open and listening for His voice and will in my life. Don’t ask for anything. Don’t ramble on and on.
Just listening quietly. I think it might prove interesting.
God does answer prayer - always. Perhaps it is your hearing that is not properly working.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.